SERDP & ESTCP Webinar Series
SERDP and ESTCP have launched a webinar series to promote the transfer of innovative, cost-effective and sustainable solutions developed through projects funded in five program areas. The webinar series targets Department of Defense and Department of Energy practitioners, the regulatory community and environmental researchers with the goal of providing cutting edge and practical information that is easily accessible at no cost.
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Webinar #75 (07/12/2018)
Innovative Low-Cost Building Automation Sensors and Controls
Mr. Julian Lamb, Paragon Robotics
Dr. Michael Brambley, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
July 12, 2018
12:00 PM ET (9:00 AM PT)
Abstracts
“Wireless Decentralized Energy Management and Control” by Mr. Julian Lamb
This presentation will review the results and lessons learned from ESTCP project EW-201410, the first demonstration of a wireless building management system (BMS) at a DoD installation. An overview of the Energy Saving Performance Contract (ESPC) process will be described. Wireless BMS technology has been designed to work closely with ESPCs to greatly improve the return on investment for common types of energy savings projects. Installing advanced BMS systems in DoD’s small building sector is expected to provide 8% or more energy savings when replacing an optimized non-BMS control system, and more than 30% energy savings when replacing building controls that lack an off-hour energy reduction scheme. Installing BMSs into a greater portion of small DoD buildings will provide other benefits such as improved maintenance response and energy accountability.
“Demonstration of a Building Automation System Embedded Performance Degradation Detector Using Virtual Water/Air Flow Meters” by Dr. Michael Brambley
Physical meter installations require long, straight and unobstructed pipes or ducts. Space limitations plus expensive installation costs are the most dominant factors discouraging physical flow meter installations in existing buildings, which account for $4 billion of DoD energy costs annually. The lack of metering capacities makes building commissioning and energy performance improvement difficult, requiring that energy professionals perform onsite measurements using portable meters to identify many efficiency improvement measures. Those measurements are usually labor-intensive and thus, costly. The proposed Building Automation System (BAS) embedded performance degradation detector (PDD) improves upon the typical 4-phased open-loop commissioning process by deploying a cyclical, continuous, closed-loop process using low cost and reliable virtual flow meter technologies. This includes virtual pump water flow meters for hot and chilled water systems, virtual fan airflow meters for air handling units (AHUs), and valve water-flow meters for AHU coils, which enable real-time continuous performance measurement and verification for major building systems.
Speaker Biographies

Mr. Julian Lamb is the founder and president of Paragon Robotics, a manufacturer and supplier of next-generation data acquisition and control products for the energy industry, including wireless data loggers, monitoring and control systems. These sensors are used throughout the United States, Canada and Europe for applications such as energy efficiency auditing, building performance, air quality studies, and warehouse, storage and greenhouse environmental monitoring. Mr. Lamb has spent the last two decades managing multi-disciplinary engineering efforts ranging from microelectronic design, embedded software, network engineering, and enterprise software development. He now focuses on leading projects related to energy efficiency, resilience and cybersecurity of facility control systems. Mr. Lamb earned a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from North Carolina State University.

Dr. Michael Brambley is a Staff Scientist at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. He has over 30 years of academic and research experience related to energy technologies and policy, focusing on advancements in control, automated fault detection and diagnostics, and self-healing systems. Dr. Brambley has served in a variety of roles including principal investigator and research contributor, project and program manager, technical group leader, department chief scientist, and leader of several initiatives. Most of his work over the last 25 years has focused on improving the actual operating efficiency of buildings. He earned his bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree and doctoral degree in engineering sciences from the University of California at San Diego.
Past Webinars
- Installation Energy and Water (19)
- 11/18/2021 - Applying Open-Source Tools to Unlock Data and Optimize Building Operations
- 05/20/2021 - Advancing Microgrid Solutions
- 07/09/2020 - Securing DoD Control Systems and Infrastructure from Cyber Threats
- 02/06/2020 - Battery Storage Resiliency Results from Installation Microgrid Simulations and Opportunities for Field Demonstration
- 01/14/2020 - Improving Energy Efficiency through Advanced Building Controls
- 08/08/2019 - Building Energy and Water Efficiency Solutions
- 02/21/2019 - Utilization of Advanced Conservation Voltage Reduction for Energy Reduction on DoD Installations
- 07/12/2018 - Innovative Low-Cost Building Automation Sensors and Controls
- 03/22/2018 - Cloud Computing Services for DoD - We Are Going to The Cloud!
- 11/16/2017 - Building Envelope Technologies
- 06/15/2017 - Coupling Geothermal Heat Pumps with Underground Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage
- 04/20/2017 - Solutions for Installations' Participation in Energy Markets
- 01/12/2017 - Award Winning Projects: Energy and Water
- 10/06/2016 - Cyber Security and its Impacts on Installation Energy Management
- 07/14/2016 - Remote Methods for Water Conservation
- 05/05/2016 - Cost Effective and Resilient Building-Scale Microgrid Solutions for Increased Energy Security
- 10/15/2015 - LED-ing the Way: Sophisticated and Energy Efficient Exterior Lighting Systems for DoD Installations
- 02/19/2015 - Raise the Roof: Increased Rooftop Solar Efficiency Beyond Flat Panel PV
- 12/18/2014 - Energy Audits: From Clipboard to Cloud
- Environmental Restoration (61)
- 05/05/2022 - Predictive and Modeling Tools for Improved Assessments of PFAS Environmental Risks
- 04/07/2022 - Developments in Wastewater Treatment and Reuse at DoD Facilities
- 02/10/2022 - Quantifying Abiotic Transformation Rates and Mechanisms for Chlorinated Ethenes in Subsurface Environments
- 01/13/2022 - Applying Cometabolism for Treatment of Traditional and Emerging Contaminants at DoD Sites
- 12/09/2021 - Forensic Techniques for Differentiating PFAS Sources
- 10/21/2021 - Advances in Stormwater Monitoring and the Development of Best Management Practices for Treatment
- 09/23/2021 - Management of AFFF Impacts in Subsurface Environments and Assessment of Novel and Commercially Available PFAS-Free Foams (Part 2)
- 09/09/2021 - Management of AFFF Impacts in Subsurface Environments and Assessment of Novel and Commercially Available PFAS-Free Foams (Part 1)
- 06/03/2021 - PFAS Analytical Challenges and Opportunities
- 05/06/2021 - Fate, Transport and Treatment of Munitions Constituents in Soil and Groundwater
- 04/08/2021 - Advances in Understanding PFAS Ecological Risks
- 02/25/2021 - Managing Chlorinated Solvents in Groundwater Using Biological Treatment
- 01/28/2021 - Improved Approaches for PFAS Sampling and Treatment
- 01/20/2021 - Development of a Decision Support Tool for Vadose Zone Remediation of Volatile Contaminants
- 12/10/2020 - Approaches for Managing Contaminated Sediments
- 11/19/2020 - Abiotic Degradation of Chlorinated Solvents in Subsurface Environments
- 10/22/2020 - Managing Aqueous Film Forming Foam (AFFF) Impacts to Subsurface Environments and Assessment of Commercially Available PFAS-Free Foams (Part 2)
- 10/08/2020 - Managing AFFF Impacts to Subsurface Environments and Assessment of Commercially Available PFAS-Free Foams (Part 1)
- 07/23/2020 - PFAS Fate, Transport and Treatment
- 06/18/2020 - Advances in the Treatment of 1,4-Dioxane in Mixed Contaminant Plumes
- 05/07/2020 - Innovative Technologies for PFAS Destruction in Investigation Derived Wastes
- 04/09/2020 - Ecological Risk Assessment Approaches at PFAS-Impacted Sites
- 03/12/2020 - Applying Compound-Specific Isotope Analysis to Document Contaminant Degradation and Distinguish Sources
- 12/12/2019 - Advances in Remediating Groundwater Contaminated with Chlorinated Solvents
- 11/07/2019 - Status of SERDP and ESTCP Efforts on PFAS and Innovative Approaches for Treatment of Waste Derived from PFAS Subsurface Investigations
- 10/24/2019 - Advances in Managing Contaminated Groundwater Using High Resolution Site Characterization and Contaminant Mass Flux Reduction
- 10/17/2019 - Managing AFFF Impacts to Subsurface Environments and Assessment of Commercially Available Fluorine-Free Foams
- 09/05/2019 - The Use of Advanced Molecular Biological Tools in Groundwater Contaminated with Chlorinated Solvents
- 06/20/2019 - Vapor Intrusion: Modeling Tools and Cost Effective Mitigation
- 05/23/2019 - Treatment Options for the Emerging Contaminants 1,2,3-Trichloropropane and 1,2-Dibromoethane
- 04/11/2019 - Managing Contaminated Sediments: Passive Sampling Methods and In Situ Treatment
- 02/07/2019 - The REMChlor-MD Groundwater Transport and Remediation Model for Sites with Matrix Diffusion
- 11/15/2018 - Stormwater Impacts on Sediment Recontamination
- 10/18/2018 - Restoration of Chlorinated Solvent Contaminated Groundwater Sites: The Value of Information Challenge
- 10/04/2018 - Managing Groundwater Impacts at Chlorinated Solvent Sites
- 08/09/2018 - Energy Sustainable Wastewater Treatment Systems for Forward Operating DoD Installations
- 06/28/2018 - Managing Sites Impacted by 1,4-Dioxane: New Developments in Molecular Tools and Conceptual Site Models
- 09/07/2017 - Research and Development Needs for Management of DoD's PFAS Contaminated Sites
- 07/27/2017 - Management of Energetic and Propellant Material Releases on Testing and Training Ranges
- 05/18/2017 - High-Resolution Site Characterization at Chlorinated Solvents Sites
- 04/06/2017 - 1,4-Dioxane Impacts and Innovative Cleanup Technologies at DoD Contaminated Sites
- 03/09/2017 - Award Winning Projects: Environmental Restoration
- 02/23/2017 - Monitoring and Risk Assessment of Environmental Risks Posed by Munitions Constituents in Aquatic Systems
- 12/15/2016 - Advances in the Assessment and In Situ Treatment of Contaminated Sediments
- 11/03/2016 - Bioavailability of Contaminants of Concern in Soils at DoD-Impacted Sites
- 09/08/2016 - Practical Assessment and Optimization of Redox-Based Groundwater Remediation Technologies
- 07/28/2016 - Geophysics 101 – Realistic expectations for geophysics when used for site characterization and remediation monitoring - Part 2
- 06/30/2016 - Geophysics 101 – Realistic expectations for geophysics when used for site characterization and remediation monitoring - Part 1
- 06/02/2016 - Insensitive Munitions: Environmental Health Criteria, Fate and Transport
- 04/21/2016 - Long Term Monitoring Issues at Chlorinated Solvent Sites
- 01/28/2016 - Per- and Polyfluoroalkyl Substances (PFASs): Analytical and Characterization Frontiers
- 01/14/2016 - Vapor Intrusion: Regulatory Update and Advances in Assessment Tools
- 12/17/2015 - Watershed Assessment and Stormwater Management Optimization Tools
- 12/03/2015 - Emerging Contaminants: DoD Overview and State of Knowledge on Fluorochemicals and 1,4-Dioxane
- 10/29/2015 - Assessment and Treatment of Contaminated Sediments
- 08/20/2015 - Characterization and Remediation in Fractured Rock Environments
- 05/28/2015 - New Tools for Characterizing and Remediating Munitions and Energetics at Military Ranges
- 03/19/2015 - Quantitative Framework and Management Expectation Tool for the Selection of Bioremediation Approaches at Chlorinated Solvent Sites
- 01/08/2015 - DNAPL Source Zone Management Approaches
- 11/20/2014 - New Tools for Improving the Management of Contaminated Sediment Sites
- 10/30/2014 - Key Advances in Vapor Intrusion Assessments at Contaminated Sites
- Munitions Response (17)
- 03/24/2022 - Parameterizing Munitions Mobility and Burial in Riverine Environments
- 08/05/2021 - Improved Characterization, Monitoring and Management of Submerged Munitions in Marine Environments
- 02/11/2021 - Advances in the Detection of Submerged Unexploded Ordnance in Marine Environments
- 09/24/2020 - Munitions Mobility and Burial in Underwater Environments
- 04/23/2020 - Progress on Underwater Unexploded Ordnance Remediation
- 07/25/2019 - Understanding Underwater Munitions Mobility and Behavior on the Beach Face and in Shallow Muddy Environments
- 08/23/2018 - Sediment Volume Search Sonar Development
- 11/02/2017 - Platforms for Underwater and Near-Shore Munitions Surveys
- 06/01/2017 - Classification of Military Munitions using Electromagnetic Induction Data
- 02/09/2017 - Award Winning Projects: Munitions Response
- 06/16/2016 - Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for Advanced Geophysical Classification Investigations – Part 2
- 05/19/2016 - Quality Assurance Project Plan (QAPP) for Advanced Geophysical Classification Investigations – Part 1
- 02/25/2016 - Recent Advances in the Classification of Underwater Munitions near a Water-Sediment Boundary
- 11/12/2015 - Munitions Response: Land Based Program Closeout
- 09/17/2015 - Munitions Response: Underwater Geophysical Sensors
- 05/07/2015 - Factors Affecting Munitions Mobility Underwater and In Situ Measurements
- 02/05/2015 - Acoustic Methods for Underwater Munitions
- Resource Conservation and Resiliency (30)
- 05/19/2022 - DoD Natural Resource Management Through Unmanned Aircraft System Technology
- 03/10/2022 - Fuel Characterization and Fire and Smoke Modeling for Understanding Fire Behavior on Military Lands
- 10/07/2021 - Adapting to Changes in the Hydrologic Cycle under Non-Stationary Climate Conditions
- 06/17/2021 - Changes in Pathogen Exposure Pathways Under Non-Stationary Conditions
- 04/22/2021 - Innovative Approaches to Monitor and Survey At-Risk Species on DoD Lands
- 03/11/2021 - New Resource Conservation Paradigms on DoD Lands
- 11/05/2020 - Changes in Pathogen Exposure Pathways under Non-Stationary Conditions and Their Implications for Wildlife and Human Exposure on Department of Defense Lands
- 08/20/2020 - Addressing Threatened and Endangered Species on DoD Lands
- 05/21/2020 - Analysis of Defense Related Ecosystem Services
- 03/26/2020 - Long-Term Ecological Studies: Evaluating Responses to Ecosystem Restoration and Optimizing Recovery of Plant Communities
- 10/03/2019 - Variation in Phenological Shifts: How do Annual Cycles and Genetic Diversity Constrain or Enable Responses to Climate Change?
- 08/22/2019 - Pacific Island Ecology and Management: Recovery of Native Plant Communities Following Removal of Non-Native Species
- 06/20/2019 - Developing Adaptation Strategies to Address Climate Change and Uncertainty
- 05/09/2019 - Roles of Soil Microbial Communities in Ecosystem Restoration
- 03/14/2019 - Determining the Temporal and Spatial Scales of Non-Stationarity in Temperature and Precipitation across the Continental United States
- 11/01/2018 - Plant Diversity and Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Longleaf Pine Ecosystems at Military Installations
- 09/20/2018 - Plant Diversity and Biological Nitrogen Fixation in Longleaf Pine Ecosystems at Military Installations
- 09/06/2018 - Informing Restoration Programs for Threatened and Endangered Plant Species
- 06/14/2018 - Approaches to Managing Threatened, Endangered and At-Risk Bird Species
- 05/03/2018 - Overview of the Defense Coastal/Estuarine Research Program (DCERP)
- 03/08/2018 - Quantifying and Modeling Fugitive Dust Emissions from DoD Activities
- 12/07/2017 - Management of Novel Hawaiian Ecosystems
- 10/05/2017 - New Resource Conservation Insights to Desert Environments
- 06/29/2017 - Future Vulnerabilities to Alaskan Ecosystems and Tools for Permafrost Assessment
- 02/23/2017 - Award Winning Projects: Resource Conservation and Resiliency
- 10/20/2016 - DoD Decision Making and Climate Change
- 09/22/2016 - Managing the Brown Treesnake Headache: Assessment of the Aerial Acetaminophen Bait Drop on Guam
- 04/07/2016 - Use of Climate Information for Decision Making and Impacts Research
- 03/26/2015 - Innovative Tools for Species Inventory, Monitoring, and Management
- 11/06/2014 - New Tools for Advancing Our Understanding of Marine Mammal Behavioral Ecology
- Weapons Systems and Platforms (28)
- 04/21/2022 - Additive Manufacturing and Reuse of Waste Materials
- 02/24/2022 - Key Advances in Waste to Energy Demonstrations
- 11/04/2021 - Corrosion Mitigation and Predictive Analysis for DoD Weapons Systems
- 07/08/2021 - Energetic Materials and Munitions
- 03/25/2021 - Advancing Coating Systems for Army Tactical Assets: A Fred Lafferman Tribute Webinar
- 09/10/2020 - Reducing Hazardous Materials in Weapons Systems: Advances in Waterjet Applications and Cold Spray Technologies
- 06/04/2020 - Waste Reduction and Treatment in Armed Forces Vessels
- 02/27/2020 - Advances in the Development of Environmentally Friendly Pyrotechnic and Propellant Formulations
- 10/31/2019 - Developing and Demonstrating Non-Toxic and Sustainable Coating Systems for Military Platforms
- 09/19/2019 - Life Cycle Assessment and Developmental Environment Safety and Occupational Health Evaluation: Tools for Sustainment and Health
- 06/06/2019 - Developing and Demonstrating Non-Toxic and Sustainable Coating Systems for Military Platforms
- 04/25/2019 - Accelerated Corrosion and Ageing Studies
- 05/31/2018 - Resonant Acoustic Mixing of Energetic Material Formulations
- 04/05/2018 - Advanced Nanocrystalline Alloys as Alternatives for Repair and Replacement of High Wear Parts
- 02/08/2018 - Improved Methods to Evaluate Aerial Emissions and Develop Pollutant Emission Factors
- 10/19/2017 - Laser De-Paint and Surface Preparation Mechanism and Technologies
- 08/17/2017 - Zinc Nickel Dip and Brush Plating
- 05/04/2017 - Novel Coatings Systems for Use as High Performance Chemical Resistant Powder Topcoats
- 01/26/2017 - Award Winning Projects: Weapons Systems and Platforms
- 08/11/2016 - An Environmentally Acceptable Alternative for Fast Cook-Off Testing, Demonstration, Validation and Implementation Efforts
- 03/24/2016 - Cadmium and Chromate Elimination Efforts: Implementation Plans and Strategic Roadmaps for Three DoD Depots
- 02/11/2016 - Chromate/Hazardous Material Free Coating Systems for Military Aircraft and Ground Support Equipment
- 10/01/2015 - Hexavalent Chrome Elimination from Hard Chrome Surface Finishing
- 07/16/2015 - Sustainable Pyrotechnics: Flares and Projectiles
- 04/16/2015 - Blast Noise Measurements and Community Response
- 03/05/2015 - Understanding and Mitigating the Risks Associated with Lead-Free Electronics
- 01/22/2015 - Bio-Based Methodologies for the Production of Environmentally Sustainable Materials
- 12/04/2014 - Waste to Energy Options for Base Camps: Efficient Tar Management and Rotary Kiln Gasification
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