Michael E. Webber

Michael E. Webber

Austin, Texas, United States
8K followers 500+ connections

About

Dr. Michael E. Webber is the Sid Richardson Chair in Public Affairs and John J. McKetta…

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Experience

  • The University of Texas at Austin Graphic

    The University of Texas at Austin

    Austin, Texas, United States

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    New York City Metropolitan Area

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    Paris, Île-de-France, France

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    Austin, Texas, United States

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    Austin, Texas

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    Austin, Texas Area

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    Santa Monica, CA

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    Austin, Texas, United States

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    Austin, Texas, United States

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    Mountain View, California, United States

Education

Publications

  • Using BEopt (EnergyPlus) with energy audits and surveys to predict actual residential energy usage

    Energy and Buildings

    Simulations of building energy use can give insights into how energy efficiency retrofits and operational changes can influence a building's total and temporal energy use. However, before those models are used to generate recommendations, it is important to understand how accurately the simulations predict actual energy use. This paper seeks to determine model accuracy by considering 54 homes in Austin, TX that are part of a smart grid demonstration project. Data about the homes were collected…

    Simulations of building energy use can give insights into how energy efficiency retrofits and operational changes can influence a building's total and temporal energy use. However, before those models are used to generate recommendations, it is important to understand how accurately the simulations predict actual energy use. This paper seeks to determine model accuracy by considering 54 homes in Austin, TX that are part of a smart grid demonstration project. Data about the homes were collected with energy audits then converted into energy models using BEopt (version 2.0), a residential building-focused graphical user interface (GUI) front-end for EnergyPlus developed by NREL. Actual meter reads (kWh) were compared to simulation results for four cases: (1) energy model output with typical meteorological year (TMY) weather data, (2) output with an actual meteorological year weather (AMY) file created using real weather data from a year during which actual energy use measurements were made, (3) model output with thermostat user behavior data, and (4) output using a simplified home geometry. The purpose of this analysis was to evaluate how well this model, as it is, could be expected to predict energy usage using varying levels of inputs that might be included on an energy audit and survey. Results indicate that the modeling software was able to estimate aggregate annual electrical energy usage within 1% (for groups of homes) but might vary up to 28% (absolute) for an individual home. Results show that while the model does a reasonable job predicting usage for homes with average usage, the model has trouble predicting usage of homes with low or high consumption, particularly homes below 5 kW h/ft2/year (0.47 kW h/m2/year) of average energy use or above 10 kW h/ft2/year (0.93 kW h/m2/year), likely due to unknowns about the home when BEopt defaults were used.

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Honors & Awards

  • Presidential Leadership Scholar

    Presidential Leadership Scholars

    Webber was selected as a member of the 4th class of the Presidential Leadership Scholars, which is a leadership training program organized by Presidents George W. Bush and William J. Clinton. The 6-month leadership training program is conducted in partnership with the presidential libraries.

  • Josey Centennial Fellow in Energy Resources

    The University of Texas

    The Josey Centennial Professorship in Energy Resources was established by the Board of Regents of The University of Texas System on February 11, 1983 for the benefit of the Cockrell School of Engineering. The endowment honors Mr. Jack S. Josey of Houston, Texas, a 1939 graduate of The University of Texas at Austin Cockrell School of Engineering.

  • Harrington Fellowship

    The University of Texas at Austin

    The Donald D. Harrington Fellows Program was created by Sybil Harrington as a tribute to her late husband. She envisioned a program that would support gifted and ambitious scholars, who would, in turn, share their knowledge and success with future generations, perpetuating the legacy and memory of Don Harrington for all time. The University of Texas at Austin is privileged to be the home of the Harrington Faculty Fellows Program. This preeminent research program is designed to attract…

    The Donald D. Harrington Fellows Program was created by Sybil Harrington as a tribute to her late husband. She envisioned a program that would support gifted and ambitious scholars, who would, in turn, share their knowledge and success with future generations, perpetuating the legacy and memory of Don Harrington for all time. The University of Texas at Austin is privileged to be the home of the Harrington Faculty Fellows Program. This preeminent research program is designed to attract outstanding faculty that are near the beginning of their professional careers. Fellowships are awarded annually to the most highly qualified applicants from universities throughout the United States and around the world. Since the primary purpose of the Harrington Faculty Fellowship is to pursue research, the Fellows have no teaching obligations. Fellows are, of course, free to conduct seminars if they wish. In addition, each Fellow will be provided with funding to support a symposium during the period of his or her stay.

  • Outstanding Teaching by an Assistant Professor

    Cockrell School of Engineering, The University of Texas at Austin

    2011-2012

  • Regents' Outstanding Teaching Award

    University of Texas System

    2011-2012

  • Senior Fellow, Energy and Climate Partnership of the Americas

    Science & Technology Advisers Office, US State Department

    1 of 5 National Selectees annually (2011-2013)

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