Decarbonization: What, Where, and How to Make an Impact

November 2021
Sponsored by Trane

Presented by Matt Brunner, Charles Jelen, and Jackie Sopko

Continuing Education

Use the following learning objectives to focus your study while reading this month’s Continuing Education article.

Learning Objectives - After reading this article, you will be able to:

  1. Explain the concept and goals of decarbonization.
  2. Understand the impact regional decarbonization policies may have on customer or market priorities.
  3. Identify system design improvement strategies consulting engineers can employ to help their customers reduce carbon emissions.
  4. Discover various HVAC technology solutions that support a decarbonization strategy, such as VRF, air-source heat pumps, chiller heaters, and more.

Customers, cities, states, and countries are taking action to reduce their carbon emissions. In the U.S., an increasing number of cities and states are poised to adopt emission-reduction policies. Buildings are a huge target for emissions reductions, as they consume 40% of primary energy in the U.S. Consulting engineers are lighting the path of decarbonization. This session will introduce the topic of decarbonization, examining why it’s needed for a sustainable future, define how the grid is already getting greener, and explore potential electric solutions design teams can employ to help customers.

Photo courtesy of Trane

Matt Brunner heads up the VRF & Ductless group for Trane New England based out of the Boston office. He’s been involved in bringing VRF to the greater Boston area since 2016 and has watched the market grow from a niche product to a crucial piece of decarbonization initiatives. Strategic electrification is critical to policy at the local and state level and Matt assists consulting engineers and architects in adapting sustainable, all-electric design. Matt holds a B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Wisconsin – Madison. A self-proclaimed tree hugger; Matt enjoys spending his free time in the outdoors.

Charles Jelen is the decarbonization program manager based out of La Crosse, Wisconsin. He has been involved in the development and support of HVAC systems for Trane since 2012. His areas of expertise are in hydronic systems, refrigerants, system modeling, and decarbonized system designs including the electrification of heating. As the decarbonization program manager Charles has responsibility for key account decarbonization and customer project support across North America.

Jackie Sopko is a Product Manager based out of Pueblo, Colorado. She has worked for Trane supporting chillers since 1997. Currently she is the Product Manager for the Arctic integration with a focus on products that support electrification. During her time at Trane she has had a number of different positions; Technical Support Engineer, Water-cooled and Air-cooled Chiller Product Manager. This gives her a great foundation to support customers. Jackie has a degree in Mechanical Engineering from Colorado State University – Pueblo and outside of work spending her free time traveling, camping, and 4-wheeling.