Dr. Kim Trenbath is the innovation lead for systems technology research and development in the Building Technologies and Science Center at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL). She directs a portfolio of projects on technology research, market transformation, field validation, and workforce development. She works on plug and process load efficiency; commercial building heating, ventilating, and air conditioning; automated fault detection and diagnostics; commercial building sensors and controls; and advanced technologies that will make buildings grid interactive.

She leads the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Better Buildings Alliance Plug and Process Loads Technical Team. She also serves as the NREL lead for the DOE-funded JUMP into STEM building science competition for university students. She was the lead project manager for other NREL projects including the DOE-funded End Use Load Profiles project. In addition to her work at NREL, Trenbath is an adjunct professor at the Colorado School of Mines.

Trenbath previously served as business manager for NREL's Commercial Buildings Research Group for four years. Before joining NREL, she worked as an analyst in global power strategic sourcing, risk management, and wind energy business development. Her prior research involved in-cabin air quality, undergraduate students' understanding of scientific concepts, and break-in training.

Research Interests

Plug and process load/miscellaneous electric loads in commercial buildings

Integration technology for commercial buildings

Building fault detection and diagnostics

Zero energy schools

Power over Ethernet technology

Energy-efficient buildings workforce development

Education

Ph.D., Atmospheric Science, University of Colorado

M.S., Atmospheric Science, University of Colorado

M.S., Industrial Engineering, West Virginia University

B.E., Civil and Environmental Engineering, Vanderbilt University

Featured Work

Device-level plug load disaggregation in a zero energy office building and opportunities for energy savings, Energy and Buildings (2019)

Integrating Smart Plug and Process Load Controls into Energy Management Information System Platforms: A Landscaping Study, NREL Technical Report (2019)
 
A Guide to Zero Energy and Zero Energy Ready K-12 Schools, NREL Technical Report (2019)

Energy savings and usability of zero-client computing in office settings, Intelligent Buildings International (2018)

Evaluation of retrofit crankcase ventilation controls and diesel oxidation catalysts for reducing air pollution in school buses, Atmospheric Environment (2009)

View all NREL publications for Kim Trenbath.