President
Peter Rumsey

Rumsey Engineers Team
Team Profile

Peter Rumsey, P.E., Managing Principal

Owner and Managing Principal of Rumsey Engineers in Oakland, California, Peter has worked in engineering and energy consulting since the mid 1980s, and is widely recognized as global player in energy efficiency and a leader in sustainable building design.

Peter has deep expertise in the design of highly efficient HVAC systems for critical environments (data centers, laboratories, and cleanrooms); design of energy monitoring systems; analysis of the financial impacts of energy systems; and the use of guaranteed performance contracts for HVAC systems based solely on measured system data. In the past decade, Peter and Rumsey Engineers have been responsible for many key innovations in energy efficient design and analysis, including pioneering the use of many different system types in U.S. laboratories, such as chilled beams (induction diffusers), efficient outside air systems that eliminate reheat, radiant cooling systems, and low pressure drop systems.

Peter has extensive experience with government, scientific, and private sector projects. Recent clients include: Advanced Data Centers, Pacific Gas and Electric Company, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, The Oakland Museum of California, the Carnegie Institute of Washington, Applied Materials, ST Microelectronics, the Port of Oakland, and the University of California. Recent and current Rumsey Engineers projects include: the first commercial zero energy-zero carbon commercial building in the U.S.; several zero energy buildings; a 35 megawatt data center which will be the most energy efficient data center in the U.S.; the Exploratorium science museum on San Francisco’s Embarcadero; a new Supercomputer facility at University of California, San Diego; and the Center for Sciences at California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo.

Rumsey Engineers was the first firm in the U.S. to be awarded four LEED Platinum ratings for its projects. Other firsts include: the first LEED Platinum rating for a U.S. state office building; the first LEED Platinum building in Nevada; the first LEED Gold rating for interiors; and the first LEED Platinum for a retrofit under LEED 2.2. The firm’s projects are widely recognized consistently for their outstanding design achievements and have received awards from many prominent industry organizations, including AIA Committee on the Environment; AIA Top Ten Green Projects; the Association of Energy Engineers, ASHRAE; Savings By Design; AIA San Francisco chapter; AIA California Chapter; and the University of California Energy Efficiency Partnership Program Best Practices Award.

Peter’s passion for energy efficient and sustainable design issues has led him to publish widely on HVAC energy efficiency. He is the author of a column on GreenerComputing.com, and has contributed to many other publications including Environmental Design and Construction magazine, ASHRAE Journal, Plumbing Engineer magazine, Plant Services magazine, and Cleanrooms magazine. He is a frequent speaker at industry events and seminars, including the national AIA convention, USGBC’s GreenBuild, PG&E’s Pacific Energy Center, Labs21, and Cleanrooms West.

Peter is a Senior Fellow of Rocky Mountain Institute, a recipient of the 2005 AIA Allied Professions Honor Award and the 2002 Energy Engineer of the Year Award from the Bay Area chapter of the Association of Energy Engineers. He is a registered mechanical engineer in eleven states, including California, Oregon, Arizona, and Texas. Peter has held engineering and management positions at Sol*Arc Architects, Lawrence Berkeley Laboratories, XENERGY Energy Consultants, the International Institute for Energy Conservation, and Pacific Gas and Electric Company. He has a Bachelors of Science in Mechanical Engineering from the University of California at Berkeley, and is a Certified Energy Manager and a member of the ASHRAE Cleanrooms Committee (TC9.11).