Expert from NREL Testifies Before Canada House of Commons

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Sheila Hayter, a 26-year NREL veteran who is currently serving on special assignment as the 2018-2019 president of ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Condition Engineers), testified before the Canada House of Commons Standing Committee on Natural Resources last month.

Given her decades of energy systems integration work, Hayter was uniquely qualified to testify before the committee, which is studying Canada's economic opportunities for energy efficiency and building performance.

"As you know, our building and energy infrastructure is rapidly changing. We are moving to smart buildings, smart cars and a smart grid. This integration and communication presents tremendous opportunity for energy cost savings," Hayter said in her testimony.

During her testimony, Hayter also discussed the technical tools, standards and guidelines that ASHRAE develops that can help the government and private sector deliver on energy efficiency and building performance.

"While building standards and codes can tackle emissions for new construction, most of the building environment already is in place today. Evaluating, assessing and then retrofitting buildings to improve energy performance is where Canada can make even greater progress toward its energy and climate commitments," Hayter testified.

Hayter is leading ASHRAE as it develops the tools and resources that define the relationship between buildings and the smart grid, ensuring it's done in a safe and secure manner, and her focus intersects with that of NREL's work on energy systems integration.

"NREL has been a leader in facilitating conversations and finding solutions on the 'whole buildings' design concept," she testified. "As ASHRAE develops tools and resources for practicing professionals in the buildings industry, we look to NREL's expertise in energy systems integration, which is unique in the national lab system."

Before assuming the role of ASHRAE president, Hayter spent a decade as group manager in the lab's Integrated Applications Center and led a team of experts supporting international, federal, state, and local entities with the goal of significantly reducing nonrenewable energy consumption through optimized use of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. She is now a senior research adviser to the lab's Energy Systems Integration directorate.