Energy Trust’s New Buildings team is thrilled to announce our 2025 Net Zero Fellow grant recipients: Tycien Chaney of Access Architecture LLC and Robert Benjamin of Aris Hydronics.

Tycien Chaney

The grant will support Tycien’s research, which will explore solar carports as a strategy to reduce building energy use while providing clean power and shaded parking. Although carports have strong potential to complement rooftop solar and help commercial and multifamily buildings reach net-zero energy, high costs, permitting challenges and lack of accessible design guidance have limited adoption. By creating a flexible and replicable prototype, this project aims to remove those barriers and make solar carports an affordable option for small-scale developers and under-resourced communities.

The solar carport prototype will be optimized for cost-effectiveness, scalability and performance across Oregon’s climate zones. The research will assess design strategies, fabrication methods and policy mechanisms to expand adoption and equitable access to clean energy. Final deliverables will include open-source resources and guidance to support developers, building owners and communities in advancing net-zero goals and strengthening climate resilience.

Robert Benjamin

Multifamily buildings can present unique challenges when implementing low-energy technologies for heating, cooling and hot water. Robert’s research will evaluate the performance impacts of combi hydronic HVAC system technologies and develop modeling tools that can be applied across different brands and equipment providers.

Robert’s research goals are to:

• Build open-source energy models for advanced air-to-water combi systems
• Test model accuracy through lab and field validation
• Show how these systems save energy, improve comfort and reduce costs

Learn more about Tycien, Robert and their research.