Utility Collaboration
When six major New England utilities wanted to improve the energy-efficiency of new residences and light-commercial buildings built in their service territories, SDA first worked with them to help define the program. Through interviews and focus groups, it was discovered that the principal impediment to greater use of energy-efficient construction was the lack of clear market signals. Surprisingly, even though it is often the largest purchase of their lifetime, most people have little or no idea of what goes into the houses they buy or have built for them. Customers claimed there wasn't enough information on the available options and their relative advantages and costs. For their part, builders were simply reluctant to innovate without clear customer demand.

SDA helped with the development of a 250-page manual of recommended design practice and the presentation of a workshop series for architects, contractors, tradesmen and others on the principals and practices of energy-efficient construction. In addition, an innovative public information campaign ( the `cheese house') was launched promoting the benefits of energy efficiency to both builders and buyers. Thousands attended these workshops and the quality of building in the region increased significantly as a result.

International Energy Agency
The US Department of Energy appointed SDA President Steven Strong US representative to the International Energy Agency. He is currently participating in a five-year international collaboration on the development of PV systems for buildings. This expert group of engineers and architects from 15 countries including Japan, Switzerland, Canada, the UK and Germany, is working to further the knowledge base through the construction and evaluation of PV-powered buildings around the world. The group will also help develop international standards for utility interface and product performance as well as a design manual of recommended practice to be published in Europe, the US and Japan.

Mr. Strong also helped the IEA to organize an International Design Competition on Photovoltaics in the Built Environment in 1994 and was invited by the Netherlands Office of Energy and Environment to serve on the jury. He was also appointed by the IEA as Chair of the 1st International Conference on Solar Electric Buildings held in the US in March 1996.

American Institute of Architects The American Institute of Architects and the National Renewable Energy Laboratory wanted to set the stage for the coming market in building-integrated photovoltaics. SDA helped develop a curriculum for graduate schools of architecture which presents the principals of integrating PV in building design. The AIA next addressed their professional members, asking SDA to develop and present a nation-wide workshop program for architects and related design professionals on the integration of solar electricity in buildings. The AIA also asked Mr. Strong to help plan and jury a national design competition on Building-integrated PV held in 1996.

US Department of Energy
To prepare for widespread use of distributed PV systems on the utility grid, DOE's Sandia National Laboratories asked SDA to create a bench-mark document defining all the engineering and code issues related to the interconnection and operation of PV systems with the utility grid. In addition to examining these issues from the utility engineer's perspective, SDA engineers worked with code officials and standards agencies to address compliance issues with the National Electrical Code (NEC) as well as standards set by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE), American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Underwriters Laboratories (UL), among others. The resulting document, "The Interconnection of Photovoltaic Power Systems with the Utility Grid," is being used to help establish uniform interconnection guidelines for distributed PV systems.

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