Daniel Perez
Username
Daniel Perez
Proposer First Name
Daniel
Proposer Email
dperez@petersenengineering.com
Proposer Last Name
Perez
Proposer Company/Organization
Petersen Engineering
Proposer Phone
(603) 436-4233
Proposer Job Title
Sustainability & Passive House Consultant

Boston 2023 Areas of Focus

Proposer Additional Info
Petersen Engineering has over 40 multi-family Passive House projects ranging from in design, construction, and completed and occupied, and is actively engaged in addressing the challenges of efficiently heating domestic water for multi-family buildings in Boston, MA.
Proposed Session Description
Central domestic water heating (DHW) plants have been difficult to electrify in colder climates because of a lack of proven commercial-scale air source heat pump (ASHP) water heating equipment until recently. This session will review design considerations to accommodate ASHP DHW including space planning, sizing, system efficiencies and operating costs. The presenters will set the context on the electrification of DHW in large multifamily buildings, particularly in affordable housing, as it relates to Passive House goals and broader sustainability objectives.
Diversity and Inclusiveness
In addition to the environmental justice component that stems from the full removal of fossil fuel combustion systems from multifamily housing, our session will show how efficient ASHP systems help mitigate the energy cost differential between gas and electric utility rates. The prospect of higher utility bills is already a real obstacle for many families (even more so in the current inflationary economic climate and volatile energy markets) and settling for a "cheap but dirty" versus "clean but expensive" binary is a losing proposition for our communities and environment.
Learning Objectives
Classify the typologies of electric DHW heating in large multifamily buildings.
Evaluate the current opportunities and obstacles to installing central ASHP DHW plants in their existing and future multifamily projects.
Identify space planning considerations for designing central ASHP DHW plants and for incorporating provisions for future conversion.
Assess a multifamily project's feasibility in achieving net-zero carbon emissions by using a central ASHP system as their source for DHW.
Has this session been presented before?
No
Session Format
Workshop or skill-building session
Presentation followed by facilitated discussion or breakout groups
Recommended Length
60-minute session

Strongest Content Connection - Boston 2023

Comments about your speaker roster
James Petersen Bio James began his career in building systems in 1986 and founded Petersen Engineering, Inc. in 1992. He has always had a passion for energy efficiency and is an industry leader in advancing sustainability, high-performance building, and building a zero-carbon future. With his holistic philosophy for the design of buildings James leads and collaborates with project teams to optimize the integration of MEP/FP systems with architecture, sites, building enclosures and building science fundamentals. James is a licensed Professional Engineer in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, Maine, Vermont, and the District of Columbia. He received a BS in mechanical engineering and a BA in philosophy from the University of New Hampshire. He is also a lifetime member and leader in Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) having served as chair of the board of directors, and co-chair of the Boston Building Energy Conference. From 2020 through 2021, James served as co-chair of the Citizen Response Task Force, a 21-person committee charged with making recommendations to Portsmouth, NH city officials related to COVID-19. Daniel Perez Bio Daniel has been interested in sustainable design since his undergraduate days, having evaluated the feasibility of a then little-known approach known as Passive House for upcoming campus construction projects. His role at Petersen Engineering involves guiding projects through the PHIUS certification process and modeling the energy flows for buildings in the design stage to better understand how they will perform. Prior to joining the team at Petersen, Daniel served two terms as an AmeriCorps member in rural MA and ID engaged in hands-on conservation work maintaining hiking trails on public lands. He spent three years running similar programs in VT and NY before returning to Boston, pursuing opportunities focused on the City’s efforts to confront the effects of climate change through resilient and sustainable design. Daniel has a BA in Geosciences from Williams College, an M.Arch from Massachusetts College of Art and Design, and is a Certified Passive House Consultant.
Anything else you'd like to tell us about your session proposal?
The timing of this session could not be better, given the policy and regulation changes that are happening at the local and state levels. We believe that DHW is the next frontier for reducing energy demand in multifamily housing, and sharing what we know about central ASHP DHW is an important part of that bigger picture.
Reviewer 1
Ngo, Tammy
Reviewer 2
Rauls, Shari
Curator
Field, Keirstan
Proposal #
166
Session #
704
Committee Decision
Accepted

Presenters

Full Description
The imperative to eliminate the last remaining source of fossil fuel consumption in multifamily building systems has been known for some time. State and local governments are beginning to catch up, with Massachusetts’ pilot program for municipalities to ban fossil fuels announced this summer, as well as Boston’s Zero Net Carbon Building policy, which is now in its public comment period. This session aims to help attendees see that the path forward to full building electrification with central ASHP DHW is not only attainable but scalable when compared to current decentralized electric DHW options.