76 FR 30696 - Technology Evaluation Process

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-05-26

...-NOA-0039] Technology Evaluation Process AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy... (DOE) seeks comments and information related to a commercial buildings technology evaluation process... technologies for commercial buildings based on the voluntary submittal of product test data. The program would...

76 FR 77977 - U.S. Clean Energy and Energy Efficiency Trade Mission to Saudi Arabia Riyadh and Dhahran, Saudi...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-12-15

... and smart grid; and green building in residential, commercial and industrial settings. This mission....S. companies in the green building and energy efficiency subsectors. Companies will have the... building technologies and services. Greenbuilding/Energy Efficiency: Saudi Arabia is among the highest per...

Building Green: The Adoption Process of LEED- and Energy Star-Rated Office Buildings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Malkani, Arvin P.

2012-01-01

There are opportunities for green building technology in office buildings to produce energy savings and cost efficiencies that can produce a positive economic and environmental impact. In order for these opportunities to be realized, however, decision makers must appreciate the value of green building technology. The objective of this research is…

Re-Building Greensburg

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hewitt, Steven; Wallach, Daniel; Peterson, Stephanie

2010-01-01

Greensburg, KS - A town that was devastated by a tornado in 2007, yet came back to be one of the Nation's most energy-efficient, sustainable communities. Civic leaders and entrepreneurs helped rally residents behind the idea of "greening" Greensburg, inspiring the construction of numerous energy-efficient buildings, some of which generate their own renewable power with solar panels and wind turbines. Many of the town's government buildings use cutting edge energy-saving technologies, saving the local taxpayers' money. Greensburg has demonstrated to the world that any city can reach its energy efficiency and renewable energy goals today using widely available technologies.

Re-Building Greensburg

ScienceCinema

Hewitt, Steven; Wallach, Daniel; Peterson, Stephanie

2017-12-09

Greensburg, KS - A town that was devastated by a tornado in 2007, yet came back to be one of the Nation's most energy-efficient, sustainable communities. Civic leaders and entrepreneurs helped rally residents behind the idea of "greening" Greensburg, inspiring the construction of numerous energy-efficient buildings, some of which generate their own renewable power with solar panels and wind turbines. Many of the town's government buildings use cutting edge energy-saving technologies, saving the local taxpayers' money. Greensburg has demonstrated to the world that any city can reach its energy efficiency and renewable energy goals today using widely available technologies.

Buildings R&D Breakthroughs: Technologies and Products Supported by the Building Technologies Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Weakley, Steven A.

2012-04-01

The purpose of the project described in this report is to identify and characterize commercially available products and emerging (near-commercial) technologies that benefited from the support of the Building Technologies Program (BTP) within the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The investigation specifically focused on technology-oriented research and development (R&D) projects funded by BTP’s Emerging Technologies subprogram from 2005-2011.

Multidisciplinary life cycle metrics and tools for green buildings.

PubMed

Helgeson, Jennifer F; Lippiatt, Barbara C

2009-07-01

Building sector stakeholders need compelling metrics, tools, data, and case studies to support major investments in sustainable technologies. Proponents of green building widely claim that buildings integrating sustainable technologies are cost effective, but often these claims are based on incomplete, anecdotal evidence that is difficult to reproduce and defend. The claims suffer from 2 main weaknesses: 1) buildings on which claims are based are not necessarily "green" in a science-based, life cycle assessment (LCA) sense and 2) measures of cost effectiveness often are not based on standard methods for measuring economic worth. Yet, the building industry demands compelling metrics to justify sustainable building designs. The problem is hard to solve because, until now, neither methods nor robust data supporting defensible business cases were available. The US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Building and Fire Research Laboratory is beginning to address these needs by developing metrics and tools for assessing the life cycle economic and environmental performance of buildings. Economic performance is measured with the use of standard life cycle costing methods. Environmental performance is measured by LCA methods that assess the "carbon footprint" of buildings, as well as 11 other sustainability metrics, including fossil fuel depletion, smog formation, water use, habitat alteration, indoor air quality, and effects on human health. Carbon efficiency ratios and other eco-efficiency metrics are established to yield science-based measures of the relative worth, or "business cases," for green buildings. Here, the approach is illustrated through a realistic building case study focused on different heating, ventilation, air conditioning technology energy efficiency. Additionally, the evolution of the Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability multidisciplinary team and future plans in this area are described.

Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Program. Bibliography, 1993 edition

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Vaughan, K.H.

1993-06-01

The Bibliography contains listings of publicly available reports, journal articles, and published conference papers sponsored by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy and published between 1987 and mid-1993. The topics of Bibliography include: analysis and evaluation; building equipment research; building thermal envelope systems and materials; district heating; residential and commercial conservation program; weatherization assistance program; existing buildings research program; ceramic technology project; alternative fuels and propulsion technology; microemulsion fuels; industrial chemical heat pumps; materials for advanced industrial heat exchangers; advanced industrial materials; tribology; energy-related inventions program; electric energy systems; superconducting technology program for electric energy systems; thermalmore » energy storage; biofuels feedstock development; biotechnology; continuous chromatography in multicomponent separations; sensors for electrolytic cells; hydropower environmental mitigation; environmental control technology; continuous fiber ceramic composite technology.« less

Updated Buildings Sector Appliance and Equipment Costs and Efficiency

EIA Publications

2016-01-01

EIA works with technology experts to project the cost and efficiency of future HVAC, lighting, and other major end-use equipment rather than developing residential and commercial technology projections in-house. These reports have always been available by request. By providing the reports online, EIA is increasing transparency for some of the most important assumptions used for our AEO projections of buildings energy demand.

78 FR 55245 - Activities and Methodology for Assessing Compliance With Building Energy Codes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-09-10

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy [Docket No. EERE-2013-BT-BC... Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice of reopening of public..., Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, 1000...

Daemen Alternative Energy/Geothermal Technologies Demonstration Program Erie County

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beiswanger, Jr, Robert C

2010-05-20

The purpose of the Daemen Alternative Energy/Geothermal Technologies Demonstration Project is to demonstrate the use of geothermal technology as model for energy and environmental efficiency in heating and cooling older, highly inefficient buildings. The former Marian Library building at Daemen College is a 19,000 square foot building located in the center of campus. Through this project, the building was equipped with geothermal technology and results were disseminated. Gold LEED certification for the building was awarded. 1) How the research adds to the understanding of the area investigated. This project is primarily a demonstration project. Information about the installation is availablemore » to other companies, organizations, and higher education institutions that may be interested in using geothermal energy for heating and cooling older buildings. 2) The technical effectiveness and economic feasibility of the methods or techniques investigated or demonstrated. According to the modeling and estimates through Stantec, the energy-efficiency cost savings is estimated at 20%, or $24,000 per year. Over 20 years this represents $480,000 in unrestricted revenue available for College operations. See attached technical assistance report. 3) How the project is otherwise of benefit to the public. The Daemen College Geothermal Technologies Ground Source Heat Pumps project sets a standard for retrofitting older, highly inefficient, energy wasting and environmentally irresponsible buildings quite typical of many of the buildings on the campuses of regional colleges and universities. As a model, the project serves as an energy-efficient system with significant environmental advantages. Information about the energy-efficiency measures is available to other colleges and universities, organizations and companies, students, and other interested parties. The installation and renovation provided employment for 120 individuals during the award period. Through the new Center, Daemen will continue to host a range of events on campus for the general public. The College does not charge fees for speakers or most other events. This has been a long-standing tradition of the College.« less

Daemen Alternative Energy/Geothermal Technologies Demonstration Program, Erie County

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Beiswanger, Robert C.

The purpose of the Daemen Alternative Energy/Geothermal Technologies Demonstration Project is to demonstrate the use of geothermal technology as model for energy and environmental efficiency in heating and cooling older, highly inefficient buildings. The former Marian Library building at Daemen College is a 19,000 square foot building located in the center of campus. Through this project, the building was equipped with geothermal technology and results were disseminated. Gold LEED certification for the building was awarded. 1) How the research adds to the understanding of the area investigated. This project is primarily a demonstration project. Information about the installation is availablemore » to other companies, organizations, and higher education institutions that may be interested in using geothermal energy for heating and cooling older buildings. 2) The technical effectiveness and economic feasibility of the methods or techniques investigated or demonstrated. According to the modeling and estimates through Stantec, the energy-efficiency cost savings is estimated at 20%, or $24,000 per year. Over 20 years this represents $480,000 in unrestricted revenue available for College operations. See attached technical assistance report. 3) How the project is otherwise of benefit to the public. The Daemen College Geothermal Technologies Ground Source Heat Pumps project sets a standard for retrofitting older, highly inefficient, energy wasting and environmentally irresponsible buildings that are quite typical of many of the buildings on the campuses of regional colleges and universities. As a model, the project serves as an energy-efficient system with significant environmental advantages. Information about the energy-efficiency measures is available to other colleges and universities, organizations and companies, students, and other interested parties. The installation and renovation provided employment for 120 individuals during the award period. Through the new Center, Daemen will continue to host a range of events on campus for the general public. The College does not charge fees for speakers or most other events. This has been a long-standing tradition of the College.« less

Jesse Dean | NREL

Science.gov Websites

energy efficiency technologies and managing the commercial building energy assessment trainings that NREL detection and diagnostics for commercial buildings Commercial building energy audits and photovoltaic system

Indoor radon problem in energy efficient multi-storey buildings.

PubMed

Yarmoshenko, I V; Vasilyev, A V; Onishchenko, A D; Kiselev, S M; Zhukovsky, M V

2014-07-01

Modern energy-efficient architectural solutions and building construction technologies such as monolithic concrete structures in combination with effective insulation reduce air permeability of building envelope. As a result, air exchange rate is significantly reduced and conditions for increased radon accumulation in indoor air are created. Based on radon survey in Ekaterinburg, Russia, remarkable increase in indoor radon concentration level in energy-efficient multi-storey buildings was found in comparison with similar buildings constructed before the-energy-saving era. To investigate the problem of indoor radon in energy-efficient multi-storey buildings, the measurements of radon concentration have been performed in seven modern buildings using radon monitoring method. Values of air exchange rate and other parameters of indoor climate in energy-efficient buildings have been estimated. © The Author 2014. Published by Oxford University Press. All rights reserved. For Permissions, please email: journals.permissions@oup.com.

A comprehensive framework to assess, model, and enhance the human role in conserving energy in commercial buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Azar, Elie

Energy conservation and sustainability are subjects of great interest today, especially in the commercial building sector which is witnessing a very high and growing demand for energy. Traditionally, efforts to reduce energy consumption in this sector consisted of researching and developing energy efficient building technologies and systems. On the other hand, recent studies indicate that human actions are major determinants of building energy performance and can lead to excessive energy use even in advanced low-energy buildings. As a result, it is essential to determine if the approach to future energy reduction initiatives should remain solely technology-focused, or if a human-focused approach is also needed to complement advancements in technology and improve building operation and performance. In practice, while technology-focused solutions have been extensively researched, promoted, and adopted in commercial buildings, research efforts on the role of human actions and energy use behaviors in energy conservation remain very limited. This study fills the missing gap in literature by presenting a comprehensive framework to (1) understand and quantify the influence of human actions on building energy performance, (2) model building occupants' energy use behaviors and account for potential changes in these behaviors over time, and (3) test and optimize different human-focused energy reduction interventions to increase their adoption in commercial buildings. Results are significant and prove that human actions have a major role to play in reducing the energy intensity of the commercial building sector. This sheds the light on the need for a shift in how people currently use and control different buildings systems, as this is crucial to ensure efficient building operation and to maximize the return on investment in energy-efficient technologies. Furthermore, this study proposes methods and tools that can be applied on any individual or groups of commercial buildings to evaluate the human impact on their energy performance. This is expected to boost research on the topic and promote the integration of human-focused interventions in large-scale energy reduction initiatives and policies. Finally, this dissertation presents a roadmap for the future challenges to energy conservation and the steps to take towards a more sustainable building sector and society.

The Impact of DOE Building Technology Energy Efficiency Programs on U.S. Employment, Income, and Investment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Scott, Michael J.; Roop, Joseph M.; Schultz, Robert W.

2008-07-31

To more fully evaluate its programs to increase the energy efficiency of the U.S. residential and commercial building stock, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) assesses the macroeconomic impacts of those programs, specifically on national employment, wage income, and (most recently) investment. The analysis is conducted using the Impact of Sector Energy Technologies (ImSET) model, a special-purpose 188-sector input-output model of the U.S. economy designed specifically to evaluate the impacts of energy efficiency investments and saving. For the analysis described in the paper, ImSET was amended to provide estimates of sector-by-sector capital requirementsmore » and investment. In the scenario of the Fiscal Year (FY) 2005 Buildings Technology (BT) program, the technologies and building practices being developed and promoted by the BT program have the prospect of saving about 2.9×1015 Btu in buildings by the year 2030, about 27% of the expected growth in buildings energy consumption by the year 2030. The analysis reported in the paper finds that, by the year 2030, these savings have the potential to increase employment by up to 446,000 jobs, increase wage income by $7.8 billion, reduce needs for capital stock in the energy sector and closely related supporting industries by about $207 billion (and the corresponding annual level of investment by $13 billion), and create net capital savings that are available to grow the nation’s future economy.« less

Diffusion of Energy Efficient Technology in Commercial Buildings: An Analysis of the Commercial Building Partnerships Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Antonopoulos, Chrissi Argyro

This study presents findings from survey and interview data investigating replication of green building measures by Commercial Building Partnership (CBP) partners that worked directly with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL partnered directly with 12 organizations on new and retrofit construction projects, which represented approximately 28 percent of the entire U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) CBP program. Through a feedback survey mechanism, along with personal interviews, quantitative and qualitative data were gathered relating to replication efforts by each organization. These data were analyzed to provide insight into two primary research areas: 1) CBP partners' replication efforts of green building approaches used in the CBP project to the rest of the organization's building portfolio, and, 2) the market potential for technology diffusion into the total U.S. commercial building stock, as a direct result of the CBP program. The first area of this research focused specifically on replication efforts underway or planned by each CBP program participant. The second area of this research develops a diffusion of innovations model to analyze potential broad market impacts of the CBP program on the commercial building industry in the United States. Findings from this study provided insight into motivations and objectives CBP partners had for program participation. Factors that impact replication include motivation, organizational structure and objectives firms have for implementation of energy efficient technologies. Comparing these factors between different CBP partners revealed patterns in motivation for constructing energy efficient buildings, along with better insight into market trends for green building practices. The optimized approach to the CBP program allows partners to develop green building parameters that fit the specific uses of their building, resulting in greater motivation for replication. In addition, the diffusion model developed for this analysis indicates that this method of market prediction may be used to adequately capture cumulative construction metrics for a whole-building analysis as opposed to individual energy efficiency measures used in green building.

Application of BIM technology in green scientific research office building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ni, Xin; Sun, Jianhua; Wang, Bo

2017-05-01

BIM technology as a kind of information technology, has been along with the advancement of building industrialization application in domestic building industry gradually. Based on reasonable construction BIM model, using BIM technology platform, through collaborative design tools can effectively improve the design efficiency and design quality. Vanda northwest engineering design and research institute co., LTD., the scientific research office building project in combination with the practical situation of engineering using BIM technology, formed in the BIM model combined with related information according to the energy energy model (BEM) and the application of BIM technology in construction management stage made exploration, and the direct experience and the achievements gained by the architectural design part made a summary.

Technical Support Document: 50% Energy Savings Design Technology Packages for Highway Lodging Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, Wei; Gowri, Krishnan; Lane, Michael D.

2009-09-28

This Technical Support Document (TSD) describes the process, methodology and assumptions for development of the 50% Energy Savings Design Technology Packages for Highway Lodging Buildings, a design guidance document intended to provide recommendations for achieving 50% energy savings in highway lodging properties over the energy-efficiency levels contained in ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004, Energy Standard for Buildings Except Low-Rise Residential Buildings.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Torrens, I.M.; Stenzel, W.C.

Independent power producers will build a substantial fraction of expected new coal-fired power generation in developing countries over the coming decades. To reduce perceived risk and obtain financing for their projects, they are currently building and plan to continue to build subcritical coal-fired plants with generating efficiency below 40%. Up-to-date engineering assessment leads to the conclusion that supercritical generating technology, capable of efficiencies of up to 45%, can produce electricity at a lower total cost than conventional plants. If such plants were built in Asia over the coming decades, the savings in carbon dioxide emissions over their lifetime would bemore » measured in billions of tons. IPPs perceive supercritical technology as riskier and higher cost than conventional technology. The truth needs to be confirmed by discussions with additional experienced power engineering companies. Better communication among the interested parties could help to overcome the IPP perception issue. Governments working together with industry might be able to identify creative financing arrangements which can encourage the use of more efficient pulverized clean coal technologies, while awaiting the commercialization of advanced clean coal technologies like gasification combined cycle and pressurized fluidized bed combustion.« less

Design, Specification and Construction of Specialized Measurement System in the Experimental Building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Fedorczak-Cisak, Malgorzata; Kwasnowski, Pawel; Furtak, Marcin; Hayduk, Grzegorz

2017-10-01

Experimental buildings for “in situ” research are a very important tool for collecting data on energy efficiency of the energy-saving technologies. One of the most advanced building of this type in Poland is the Maloposkie Laboratory of Energy-saving Buildings at Cracow University of Technology. The building itself is used by scientists as a research object and research tool to test energy-saving technologies. It is equipped with a specialized measuring system consisting of approx. 3 000 different sensors distributed in technical installations and structural elements of the building (walls, ceilings, cornices) and the ground. The authors of the paper will present the innovative design and technology of this specialized instrumentation. They will discuss issues arising during the implementation and use of the building.

China’s R&D for Energy Efficient Buildings: Insights for U.S. Cooperation with China

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Sha; Evans, Meredydd

2010-04-01

This report includes an evaluation of China’s current activities and future direction in building energy efficiency R&D and its relevance to DOE’s R&D activities under the Building Technologies Program in the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The researchers reviewed the major R&D programs in China including the so-called 973 Program, the 863 Program, and the Key Technology R&D Program1 as well as the research activities of major research institutes. The report also reviewed several relevant documents of the Chinese government, websites (including the International Energy Agency and national and local governments in China), newsletters, and financial information listedmore » in the program documents and websites.« less

Economic and environmental analysis of standard, high efficiency, rainwater flushed, and composting toilets.

PubMed

Anand, C; Apul, D S

2011-03-01

The current sanitation technology in developed countries is based on diluting human excreta with large volumes of centrally provided potable water. This approach is a poor use of water resources and is also inefficient, expensive, and energy intensive. The goal of this study was to compare the standard sanitation technology (Scenario 1) with alternative technologies that require less or no potable water use in toilets. The alternative technologies considered were high efficiency toilets flushed with potable water (Scenario 2), standard toilets flushed with rainwater (Scenario 3), high efficiency toilets flushed with rainwater (Scenario 4), and composting toilets (Scenario 5). Cost, energy, and carbon implications of these five design scenarios were studied using two existing University of Toledo buildings. The results showed that alternative systems modeled in Scenarios 2, 4, and 5 were viable options both from an investment and an environmental performance perspective. High efficiency fixtures that use potable water (Scenario 2) is often the most preferred method in high efficiency buildings due to reduced water use and associated reductions in annual water and wastewater costs. However, the cost, energy, and CO(2)EE analyses all showed that Scenarios 4 and 5 were preferable over Scenario 2. Cost payback periods of scenarios 2, 4 and 5 were less than 10 years; in the future, increase in water and wastewater services would further decrease the payback periods. The centralized water and wastewater services have high carbon footprints; therefore if carbon footprint reduction is a primary goal of a building complex, alternative technologies that require less potable water and generate less wastewater can largely reduce the carbon footprint. High efficiency fixtures flushed with rainwater (Scenario 4) and composting toilets (Scenario 5) required considerably less energy than direct energy demands of buildings. However, the annual carbon footprint of these technologies was comparable to the annual carbon footprint from space heating. Similarly, the carbon savings that could be achieved from Scenario 4 or 5 were comparable to a recycling program that can be implemented in buildings. Copyright © 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Energy-Efficient Renovation of Educational Buildings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Erhorn-Kluttig, Heike; Morck, Ove

2005-01-01

Case studies demonstrating energy-efficient renovation of educational buildings collected by the International Energy Agency (IEA) provide information on retrofit technologies, energy-saving approaches and ventilation strategies. Some general findings are presented here along with one case study, Egebjerg School in Denmark, which shows how natural…

Video: NREL and Buildings Research - Continuum Magazine | NREL

Science.gov Websites

solutions to improve the energy efficiency of both residential and commercial buildings, and to accelerate the integration of clean energy technologies with buildings. NREL's commercial buildings research focuses on providing large institutional and private sector commercial building owners with tools

US-China Clean Energy Research Center on Building Energy Efficiency: Materials that Improve the Cost-Effectiveness of Air Barrier Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hun, Diana E.

The US–China Clean Energy Research Center (CERC) was launched in 2009 by US Energy Secretary Steven Chu, Chinese Minister of Science and Technology Wan Gang, and Chinese National Energy Agency Administrator Zhang Guobao. This 5-year collaboration emerged from the fact that the United States and China are the world’s largest energy producers, energy consumers, and greenhouse gas emitters, and that their joint effort could have significant positive repercussions worldwide. CERC’s main goal is to develop and deploy clean energy technologies that will help both countries meet energy and climate challenges. Three consortia were established to address the most pressing energy-relatedmore » research areas: Advanced Coal Technology, Clean Vehicles, and Building Energy Efficiency (BEE). The project discussed in this report was part of the CERC-BEE consortia; its objective was to lower energy use in buildings by developing and evaluating technologies that improve the cost-effectiveness of air barrier systems for building envelopes.« less

76 FR 42688 - Updating State Residential Building Energy Efficiency Codes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-07-19

... 19, 2013. ADDRESSES: Certification Statements must be addressed to the Buildings Technologies Program...-rise (greater than three stories) multifamily residential buildings and hotel, motel, and other..., townhouses, row houses, and low-rise multifamily buildings (not greater than three stories) such as...

Transforming Ordinary Buildings into Smart Buildings via Low-Cost, Self-Powering Wireless Sensors & Sensor Networks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Feng, Philip

The research objective of this project is to design and demonstrate a low-cost, compact, easy-to-deploy, maintenance-free sensor node technology, and a network of such sensors, which enable the monitoring of multiphysical parameters and can transform today’s ordinary buildings into smart buildings with environmental awareness. We develop the sensor node and network via engineering and integration of existing technologies, including high-efficiency mechanical energy harvesting, and ultralow-power integrated circuits (ICs) for sensing and wireless communication. Through integration and innovative power management via specifically designed low-power control circuits for wireless sensing applications, and tailoring energy-harvesting components to indoor applications, the target products willmore » have smaller volume, higher efficiency, and much lower cost (in both manufacturing and maintenance) than the baseline technology. Our development and commercialization objective is to create prototypes for our target products under the CWRU-Intwine collaboration.« less

Energy Efficiency for Building Construction Technology.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Scharmann, Larry, Ed.

Intended primarily but not solely for use at the postsecondary level, this curriculum guide contains five units of materials on energy efficiency that were designed to be incorporated into an existing program in building construction. The following topics are examined: conservation measures (residential energy use and methods for reducing…

Intelligent Controls for Net-Zero Energy Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Li, Haorong; Cho, Yong; Peng, Dongming

2011-10-30

The goal of this project is to develop and demonstrate enabling technologies that can empower homeowners to convert their homes into net-zero energy buildings in a cost-effective manner. The project objectives and expected outcomes are as follows: • To develop rapid and scalable building information collection and modeling technologies that can obtain and process “as-built” building information in an automated or semiautomated manner. • To identify low-cost measurements and develop low-cost virtual sensors that can monitor building operations in a plug-n-play and low-cost manner. • To integrate and demonstrate low-cost building information modeling (BIM) technologies. • To develop decision supportmore » tools which can empower building owners to perform energy auditing and retrofit analysis. • To develop and demonstrate low-cost automated diagnostics and optimal control technologies which can improve building energy efficiency in a continual manner.« less

An insight into actual energy use and its drivers in high-performance buildings

DOE PAGES

Li, Cheng; Hong, Tianzhen; Yan, Da

2014-07-12

Using portfolio analysis and individual detailed case studies, we studied the energy performance and drivers of energy use in 51 high-performance office buildings in the U.S., Europe, China, and other parts of Asia. Portfolio analyses revealed that actual site energy use intensity (EUI) of the study buildings varied by a factor of as much as 11, indicating significant variation in real energy use in HPBs worldwide. Nearly half of the buildings did not meet the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) Standard 90.1-2004 energy target, raising questions about whether a building’s certification as high performing accuratelymore » indicates that a building is energy efficient and suggesting that improvement in the design and operation of HPBs is needed to realize their energy-saving potential. We studied the influence of climate, building size, and building technologies on building energy performance and found that although all are important, none are decisive factors in building energy use. EUIs were widely scattered in all climate zones. There was a trend toward low energy use in small buildings, but the correlation was not absolute; some small HPBs exhibited high energy use, and some large HPBs exhibited low energy use. We were unable to identify a set of efficient technologies that correlated directly to low EUIs. In two case studies, we investigated the influence of occupant behavior as well as operation and maintenance on energy performance and found that both play significant roles in realizing energy savings. We conclude that no single factor determines the actual energy performance of HPBs, and adding multiple efficient technologies does not necessarily improve building energy performance; therefore, an integrated design approach that takes account of climate, technology, occupant behavior, and operations and maintenance practices should be implemented to maximize energy savings in HPBs. As a result, these findings are intended to help architects, engineers, operators, and policy makers improve the design and operation of HPBs.« less

Wireless Sensor for Measuring Pump Efficiency: Small Business Voucher Project with KCF Technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fugate, David L.; Liu, Xiaobing; Gehl, Anthony C.

This document is to fulfill the final report requirements for the Small Business Voucher (SBV) CRADA project with ORNL and KCF Technologies (CRADA/NFE-16-06133). Pumping systems account for nearly 20% of the world’s electrical energy demand and range from 25-50% of the energy usage in many industrial and building power plants. The energy cost is the largest element in the total cost of owning a pump (~40%). In response to a recent DOE mandate for improved pump efficiency pump manufacturers are preparing for the changes that the impending regulations will bring, including design improvements. This mandate also establishes a need formore » new low cost pump efficiency measurement systems. The standard industry definition of pump efficiency is the mechanical water horsepower delivered divided by the electrical horsepower input to the motor. KCF Technologies has developed a new sensor measurement technique to estimate fluid pump efficiency using a thermodynamic approach. KCF Technologies applied for a SBV grant with ORNL as the research partner. KCF needed a research partner with the proper facilities to demonstrate the efficacy of its wireless sensor unit for measuring pump efficiency. The ORNL Building Technologies Research and Integration Center (BTRIC) test resources were used to test and demonstrate the successful measurement of pump efficiency with the KCF sensor technology. KCF is now working on next steps to commercialize this sensing technology.« less

ImSET: Impact of Sector Energy Technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Roop, Joseph M.; Scott, Michael J.; Schultz, Robert W.

2005-07-19

This version of the Impact of Sector Energy Technologies (ImSET) model represents the ''next generation'' of the previously developed Visual Basic model (ImBUILD 2.0) that was developed in 2003 to estimate the macroeconomic impacts of energy-efficient technology in buildings. More specifically, a special-purpose version of the 1997 benchmark national Input-Output (I-O) model was designed specifically to estimate the national employment and income effects of the deployment of Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) -developed energy-saving technologies. In comparison with the previous versions of the model, this version allows for more complete and automated analysis of the essential featuresmore » of energy efficiency investments in buildings, industry, transportation, and the electric power sectors. This version also incorporates improvements in the treatment of operations and maintenance costs, and improves the treatment of financing of investment options. ImSET is also easier to use than extant macroeconomic simulation models and incorporates information developed by each of the EERE offices as part of the requirements of the Government Performance and Results Act.« less

Managing carbon emissions in China through building energy efficiency.

PubMed

Li, Jun; Colombier, Michel

2009-06-01

This paper attempts to analyse the role of building energy efficiency (BEE) in China in addressing climate change mitigation. It provides an analysis of the current situation and future prospects for the adoption of BEE technologies in Chinese cities. It outlines the economic and institutional barriers to large-scale deployment of the sustainable, low-carbon, and even carbon-free construction techniques. Based on a comprehensive overview of energy demand characteristics and development trends driven by economic and demographic growth, different policy tools for cost-effective CO(2) emission reduction in the Chinese construction sector are described. We propose a comprehensive approach combining building design and construction, and the urban planning and building material industries, in order to drastically improve BEE during this period of rapid urban development. A coherent institutional framework needs to be established to ensure the implementation of efficiency policies. Regulatory and incentive options should be integrated into the policy portfolios of BEE to minimise the efficiency gap and to realise sizeable carbon emissions cuts in the next decades. We analyse in detail several policies and instruments, and formulate relevant policy proposals fostering low-carbon construction technology in China. Specifically, Our analysis shows that improving building energy efficiency can generate considerable carbon emissions reduction credits with competitive price under the CDM framework.

Design and Implementation of Green Construction Scheme for a High-rise Residential Building Project

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhou, Yong; Huang, You Zhen

2018-06-01

This paper mainly studies the green construction scheme of a high-rise residential building project. From "four sections one environmental protection", saving material, water saving, energy saving, economical use of land and environmental protection conduct analysis and research. Adopting scientific, advanced, reasonable and economical construction technology measures, implementing green construction method. Promoting energy-saving technologies in buildings, ensuring the sustainable use of resources, Maximum savings of resources and energy, increase energy efficiency, to reduce pollution, reducing the adverse environmental impact of construction activities, ensure construction safety, build sustainable buildings.

Cybersecurity and Optimization in Smart “Autonomous” Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mylrea, Michael E.; Gourisetti, Sri Nikhil Gup

Significant resources have been invested in making buildings “smart” by digitizing, networking and automating key systems and operations. Smart autonomous buildings create new energy efficiency, economic and environmental opportunities. But as buildings become increasingly networked to the Internet, they can also become more vulnerable to various cyber threats. Automated and Internet-connected buildings systems, equipment, controls, and sensors can significantly increase cyber and physical vulnerabilities that threaten the confidentiality, integrity, and availability of critical systems in organizations. Securing smart autonomous buildings presents a national security and economic challenge to the nation. Ignoring this challenge threatens business continuity and the availability ofmore » critical infrastructures that are enabled by smart buildings. In this chapter, the authors address challenges and explore new opportunities in securing smart buildings that are enhanced by machine learning, cognitive sensing, artificial intelligence (AI) and smart-energy technologies. The chapter begins by identifying cyber-threats and challenges to smart autonomous buildings. Then it provides recommendations on how AI enabled solutions can help smart buildings and facilities better protect, detect and respond to cyber-physical threats and vulnerabilities. Next, the chapter will provide case studies that examine how combining AI with innovative smart-energy technologies can increase both cybersecurity and energy efficiency savings in buildings. The chapter will conclude by proposing recommendations for future cybersecurity and energy optimization research for examining AI enabled smart-energy technology.« less

A simulation-based efficiency comparison of AC and DC power distribution networks in commercial buildings

DOE PAGES

Gerber, Daniel L.; Vossos, Vagelis; Feng, Wei; ...

2017-06-12

Direct current (DC) power distribution has recently gained traction in buildings research due to the proliferation of on-site electricity generation and battery storage, and an increasing prevalence of internal DC loads. The research discussed in this paper uses Modelica-based simulation to compare the efficiency of DC building power distribution with an equivalent alternating current (AC) distribution. The buildings are all modeled with solar generation, battery storage, and loads that are representative of the most efficient building technology. A variety of paramet ric simulations determine how and when DC distribution proves advantageous. These simulations also validate previous studies that use simplermore » approaches and arithmetic efficiency models. This work shows that using DC distribution can be considerably more efficient: a medium sized office building using DC distribution has an expected baseline of 12% savings, but may also save up to 18%. In these results, the baseline simulation parameters are for a zero net energy (ZNE) building that can island as a microgrid. DC is most advantageous in buildings with large solar capacity, large battery capacity, and high voltage distribution.« less

A simulation-based efficiency comparison of AC and DC power distribution networks in commercial buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gerber, Daniel L.; Vossos, Vagelis; Feng, Wei

Direct current (DC) power distribution has recently gained traction in buildings research due to the proliferation of on-site electricity generation and battery storage, and an increasing prevalence of internal DC loads. The research discussed in this paper uses Modelica-based simulation to compare the efficiency of DC building power distribution with an equivalent alternating current (AC) distribution. The buildings are all modeled with solar generation, battery storage, and loads that are representative of the most efficient building technology. A variety of paramet ric simulations determine how and when DC distribution proves advantageous. These simulations also validate previous studies that use simplermore » approaches and arithmetic efficiency models. This work shows that using DC distribution can be considerably more efficient: a medium sized office building using DC distribution has an expected baseline of 12% savings, but may also save up to 18%. In these results, the baseline simulation parameters are for a zero net energy (ZNE) building that can island as a microgrid. DC is most advantageous in buildings with large solar capacity, large battery capacity, and high voltage distribution.« less

Lighting: Green Light.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Maniccia, Dorine

2003-01-01

Explains that by using sustainable (green) building practices, schools and universities can make their lighting systems more efficient, noting that embracing green design principles can help schools attract students. Discusses lighting-control technologies (occupancy sensing technology, daylighting technology, and scheduling based technologies),…

Synthetic building materials for transport buildings and structures

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gerasimova, Vera

2017-10-01

The most effective building materials account for the highest growth not only in construction of residential and public buildings, but also other capital projects including roadways, bridges, drainage, communications and other engineering projects. Advancement in the technology of more efficient and ecologically responsible insulation materials have been a priority for safety, minimal maintenance and longevity of finished construction projects. The practical use of modern building materials such as insulation, sound reduction and low energy consumption are a benefit in cost and application compared to the use of outdated heavier and labor-intensive materials. The most efficient way for maximizing insolation and sound proofing should be done during the design stages of the project according to existing codes and regulations that are required by Western Government. All methods and materials that are used need to be optimized in order to reach a high durability and low operational and maintenance cost exceeding more than 50 years of the life of the building, whether it is for public, industrial or residential use. Western construction techniques and technologies need to be applied and adapted by the Russian Federation to insure the most productive successful methods are being implemented. The issues of efficient insulation materials are outlined in this article.

Research on construction quality and improvement of assembly construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, Fei

2017-11-01

Based on the acceleration of the urbanization process and the improvement of the quality of life of our residents, the demand for building construction has been increasing. In this context, the construction industry in order to promote the construction efficiency, quality improvement, to meet the needs of the development of the times to strengthen the new technology, the use of new technologies. At present, China’s engineering construction units in the process of carrying out the project to strengthen the use of assembly-type construction technology, which thus achieved for the traditional construction work low-level, high time-consuming issues, and promote the steady improvement of production efficiency. Based on this, this paper focuses on the analysis of the connotation of the assembly structure and analyzes the quality problems in the construction process of the construction projects and puts forward the improvement measures to promote the improvement of the building quality and the construction of the building Construction speed. Based on this, this paper analyzes the structural system and design of prefabricated building.

Energy Savings Potential and RD&D Opportunities for Commercial Building Appliances (2015 Update)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goetzler, William; Guernsey, Matt; Foley, Kevin

The Department of Energy commissioned a technology characterization and assessment of appliances used in commercial buildings for cooking, cleaning, water heating, and other end-uses. The primary objectives of this study were to document the energy consumed by commercial appliances and identify research, development, and demonstration opportunities to improve energy efficiency in each end-use. This report serves as an update to a 2009 report of the same name by incorporating updated data and sources where possible and updating the available technology options that provide opportunities for efficiency improvements.

Formation of the Integral Ecological Quality Index of the Technological Processes in Machine Building Based on Their Energy Efficiency

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Egorov, Sergey B.; Kapitanov, Alexey V.; Mitrofanov, Vladimir G.; Shvartsburg, Leonid E.; Ivanova, Natalia A.; Ryabov, Sergey A.

2016-01-01

The aim of article is to provide development of a unified assessment methodology in relation to various technological processes and the actual conditions of their implementation. To carry the energy efficiency analysis of the technological processes through comparison of the established power and the power consumed by the actual technological…

The Global Experience of Deployment of Energy-Efficient Technologies in High-Rise Construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Potienko, Natalia D.; Kuznetsova, Anna A.; Solyakova, Darya N.; Klyueva, Yulia E.

2018-03-01

The objective of this research is to examine issues related to the increasing importance of energy-efficient technologies in high-rise construction. The aim of the paper is to investigate modern approaches to building design that involve implementation of various energy-saving technologies in diverse climates and at different structural levels, including the levels of urban development, functionality, planning, construction and engineering. The research methodology is based on the comprehensive analysis of the advanced global expertise in the design and construction of energy-efficient high-rise buildings, with the examination of their positive and negative features. The research also defines the basic principles of energy-efficient architecture. Besides, it draws parallels between the climate characteristics of countries that lead in the field of energy-efficient high-rise construction, on the one hand, and the climate in Russia, on the other, which makes it possible to use the vast experience of many countries, wholly or partially. The paper also gives an analytical review of the results arrived at by implementing energy efficiency principles into high-rise architecture. The study findings determine the impact of energy-efficient technologies on high-rise architecture and planning solutions. In conclusion, the research states that, apart from aesthetic and compositional interpretation of architectural forms, an architect nowadays has to address the task of finding a synthesis between technological and architectural solutions, which requires knowledge of advanced technologies. The study findings reveal that the implementation of modern energy-efficient technologies into high-rise construction is of immediate interest and is sure to bring long-term benefits.

Up against the limit: Office building electrical overload and the user benefits of energy-efficient office equipment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kressner, A.

1995-12-01

The area of office technology is the fastest growing use of electricity in the fastest growing sector-the commercial sector. More than 10% of energy used by the commercial sector is being used in office technology. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency`s Energy Star Program is a manufacturer`s voluntary program and is, in effect, non-regulatory compliance. Energy efficiency in office technology is the basis for many benefits that result because the equipment inherently is more efficient in terms of its energy use. The old 486 computer processors, as they increased in MHz, required bigger fans. In fact, some of the high-end 486-machinesmore » came with two fans. Energy efficiency reduces the amount of cooling required, which can potentially reduce the fan requirements, if that feature is properly incorporated into the design by the manufacturer. Because the equipment is more energy efficient, the components can be placed in the equipment more closely-there could be a higher density of components so that the box becomes smaller. On the desktop, that infrastructure is the most expensive real estate, so a small footprint could be a very valuable feature. Also, because it`s more efficient, it rejects less heat, a benefit customers would identify. An added benefit is that the equipment saves energy. Class B office buildings, which are office buildings built `long ago,` don`t have the fundamental energy facilitating infrastructure for information technology, and retrofitting that technology becomes increasingly more expensive. There have been enormous strides in improving energy use in lighting, a major component of energy use in commercial buildings. In fact, energy use has been reduced from 2.5 to 3 W/sq ft to 1.5 W/sq ft, and potentially to below 1 W/sq ft. The plug load typically had been in the 0.3 to 0.5 W/sq ft range and has increased to 1 W/sq ft. Great value has been achieved because of the plug load, so this technology creates value far in excess of its energy use.« less

Final Technical Report: Commercial Advanced Lighting Control (ALC) Demonstration and Deployment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Arnold, Gabe

This three-year demonstration and deployment project sought to address market barriers to accelerating the adoption of Advanced Lighting Controls (ALCs), an underutilized technology with low market penetration. ALCs are defined as networked, addressable lighting control systems that utilize software or intelligent controllers to combine multiple energy-saving lighting control strategies in a single space (e.g., smart-time scheduling, daylight harvesting, task tuning, occupancy control, personal control, variable load-shedding, and plug-load control). The networked intelligent aspect of these systems allows applicable lighting control strategies to be combined in a single space, layered over one another, maximizing overall energy-savings. The project included five realmore » building demonstrations of ALCs across the Northeast US region. The demonstrations provided valuable data and experience to support deployment tasks that are necessary to overcome market barriers. These deployment tasks included development of training resources for building designers, installers, and trades, as well as development of new energy efficiency rebates for the technology from Efficiency Forward’s utility partners. Educating designers, installers, and trades on ALCs is a critical task for reducing the cost of the technology that is currently inflated due to perceived complexity and unfamiliarity with how to design and install the systems. Further, utility and non-utility energy efficiency programs continue to relegate the technology to custom or ill-suited prescriptive program designs that do not effectively deploy the technology at scale. This project developed new, scalable rebate approaches for the technology. Efficiency Forward utilized their DesignLights Consortium® (DLC) brand and network of 81 DLC member utilities to develop and deploy the results of the project. The outputs of the project have included five published case studies, a six-hour ALC technology training curriculum that has already been deployed in five US states, and new rebates offered for the technology that have been deployed by a dozen utilities across the US. Widespread adoption of ALC technology in commercial buildings would provide tremendous benefits. The current market penetration of ALC systems is estimated at <0.1% in commercial buildings. If ALC systems were installed in all commercial buildings, approximately 1,051 TBtu of energy could be saved. This would translate into customer cost savings of approximately $10.7 billion annually.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bogucz, Edward A.

Healthy buildings provide high indoor environmental quality for occupants while simultaneously reducing energy consumption. This project advanced the development and marketability of envisioned healthy, energy-efficient buildings through studies that evaluated the use of emerging technologies in commercial and residential buildings. The project also provided resources required for homebuilders to participate in DOE’s Builders Challenge, concomitant with the goal to reduce energy consumption in homes by at least 30% as a first step toward achieving envisioned widespread availability of net-zero energy homes by 2030. In addition, the project included outreach and education concerning energy efficiency in buildings.

The Future of Air Conditioning for Buildings - Executive Summary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goetzler, William; Guernsey, Matt; Young, J.

2016-07-01

The Building Technologies Office (BTO), within the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, works with researchers and industry to develop and deploy technologies that can substantially reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in residential and commercial buildings. Air conditioning (A/C) systems in buildings contribute to GHG emissions both directly through refrigerant emissions, as well as indirectly through fossil fuel combustion for power generation. BTO promotes pre-competitive research and development (R&D) on next-generation HVAC technologies that support the phase down of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) production and consumption, as well as cost-effective energy efficiency improvements.more » Over the past several decades, product costs and lifecycle cooling costs have declined substantially in many global markets due to improved, higher-volume manufacturing and higher energy efficiency driven by R&D investments and efficiency policies including minimum efficiency standards and labeling programs.1 This report characterizes the current landscape and trends in the global A/C market, including discussion of both direct and indirect climate impacts, and potential global warming impacts from growing global A/C usage. The report also documents solutions that can help achieve international goals for energy efficiency and GHG emissions reductions. The solutions include pathways related to low-global warming potential2 (GWP) refrigerants, energy efficiency innovations, long-term R&D initiatives, and regulatory actions. DOE provides, with this report, a fact-based vision for the future of A/C use around the world. DOE intends for this vision to reflect a broad and balanced aggregation of perspectives. DOE brings together this content in an effort to support dialogue within the international community and help keep key facts and objectives at the forefront among the many important discussions.« less

Final review of the Campbell Creek demonstrations showcased by Tennessee Valley Authority

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gehl, Anthony C.; Munk, Jeffrey D.; Jackson, Roderick K.

The Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA) Technology Innovation, Energy Efficiency, Power Delivery and Utilization Office funded and managed a showcase demonstration located in the suburbs of west Knox county, Tennessee. Work started March 2008 with the goal of documenting best practices for retrofitting existing homes and for building new high-efficiency homes. The Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) provided technical support. An analytical base was developed for helping homeowners, homebuyers, builders, practitioners and the TVA make informed economic decisions for the materials and incentives necessary to build a new high-efficiency home or retrofit an existing home.more » New approaches to more efficiently control active energy subsystems and information for selecting or upgrading to Energy Star appliances, changing all lights to 100% CFL s and upgrading windows to low-E gas filled glazing yields a 40% energy savings with neutral cash flow for the homeowner. Passive designs were reviewed and recommendations made for envelope construction that is durable and energy efficient. The Campbell Creek project complements the DOE Building Technologies Program strategic goal. Results of the project created technologies and design approaches that will yield affordable energy efficient homes. The 2010 DOE retrofit goals are to find retrofit packages that attain 30% whole house energy savings as documented by pre and post Home Energy rating scores (HERS). Campbell Creek met these goals.« less

Energy Efficiency Opportunities in Highway Lodging Buildings: Development of 50% Energy Savings Design Technology Packages

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Jiang, Wei; Gowri, Krishnan; Thornton, Brian A.

2010-06-30

This paper presents the process, methodology, and assumptions for development of the 50% Energy Savings Design Technology Packages for Highway Lodging Buildings, a design guidance document that provides specific recommendations for achieving 50% energy savings in roadside motels (highway lodging) above the requirements of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004. This 50% solution represents a further step toward realization of the U.S. Department of Energy’s net-zero energy building goal, and go beyond the 30% savings in the Advanced Energy Design Guide series (upon which this work was built). This work can serve as the technical feasibility study for the development of a 50%more » saving Advanced Energy Design Guide for highway lodging, and thus should greatly expedite the development process. The purpose of this design package is to provide user-friendly design assistance to designers, developers, and owners of highway lodging properties. It is intended to encourage energy-efficient design by providing prescriptive energy-efficiency recommendations for each climate zone that attains the 50% the energy savings target. This paper describes the steps that were taken to demonstrate the technical feasibility of achieving a 50% reduction in whole-building energy use with practical and commercially available technologies. The energy analysis results are presented, indicating the recommended energy-efficient measures achieved a national-weighted average energy savings of 55%, relative to Standard 90.1-2004. The cost-effectiveness of the recommended technology package is evaluated and the result shows an average simple payback of 11.3 years.« less

A study on feasibility of super adobe technology –an energy efficient building system using natural resources in Bangladesh

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kamal, Razia; Saifur Rahman, Md.

2018-04-01

The inspiration and concept for the Superadobe system originates not from the modern architecture design experience, but from the influence of traditional rural buildings and landscape, together with a 13th century Persian poet named Jala Ad-Din Muhammad Balkhi, Rumi. The poetry sprit of Rumi, connects and enlightens the architectural theme of Nader Khalili with natural resources that anybody in the world should be able to build a home for his or her family with the simplest of elements: Earth, Water, Air and Fire. Therefore, to build a human shelter that will give maximum safety with low financial budget and minimum environmental impact with natural disaster resilient a Superadobe Technology has been adopted. The Superadobe, a form of earth bag construction using sandbag and barbed wire technology, is an economical, time efficient, energy efficient and ecologically friendly system developed by Iranian-born architect “Nader Khalili”. The system connects the natural materials and rural traditions to create a new way to use natural materials such as mud, water, air and fire which can be finished in a short time without any large construction equipment. The goal of this study is to introduce the building system, analyse the ventilation, lighting and insulation of the prototype of Superadobe system replacing the contextual earth house in Bangladesh.

76 FR 64924 - Updating State Residential Building Energy Efficiency Codes

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2011-10-19

...) considers high-rise (greater than three stories) multifamily residential buildings and hotel, motel, and..., duplexes, townhouses, row houses, and low-rise multifamily buildings (not greater than three stories) such... pumps as compared to other electric heating technologies, this code change is expected to increase the...

High-Performance Buildings – Value, Messaging, Financial and Policy Mechanisms

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCabe, Molly

At the request of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, an in-depth analysis of the rapidly evolving state of real estate investments, high-performance building technology, and interest in efficiency was conducted by HaydenTanner, LLC, for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Program. The analysis objectives were • to evaluate the link between high-performance buildings and their market value • to identify core messaging to motivate owners, investors, financiers, and others in the real estate sector to appropriately value and deploy high-performance strategies and technologies across new and existing buildings • to summarize financial mechanisms that facilitate increased investment inmore » these buildings. To meet these objectives, work consisted of a literature review of relevant writings, examination of existing and emergent financial and policy mechanisms, interviews with industry stakeholders, and an evaluation of the value implications through financial modeling. This report documents the analysis methodology and findings, conclusion and recommendations. Its intent is to support and inform the DOE Building Technologies Program on policy and program planning for the financing of high-performance new buildings and building retrofit projects.« less

Optimal Technology Investment and Operation in Zero-Net-Energy Buildings with Demand Response

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stadler , Michael; Siddiqui, Afzal; Marnay, Chris

The US Department of Energy has launched the Zero-Net-Energy (ZNE) Commercial Building Initiative (CBI) in order to develop commercial buildings that produce as much energy as they use. Its objective is to make these buildings marketable by 2025 such that they minimize their energy use through cutting-edge energy-efficient technologies and meet their remaining energy needs through on-site renewable energy generation. We examine how such buildings may be implemented within the context of a cost- or carbon-minimizing microgrid that is able to adopt and operate various technologies, such as photovoltaic (PV) on-site generation, heat exchangers, solar thermal collectors, absorption chillers, andmore » passive / demand-response technologies. We use a mixed-integer linear program (MILP) that has a multi-criteria objective function: the minimization of a weighted average of the building's annual energy costs and carbon / CO2 emissions. The MILP's constraints ensure energy balance and capacity limits. In addition, constraining the building's energy consumed to equal its energy exports enables us to explore how energy sales and demand-response measures may enable compliance with the CBI. Using a nursing home in northern California and New York with existing tariff rates and technology data, we find that a ZNE building requires ample PV capacity installed to ensure electricity sales during the day. This is complemented by investment in energy-efficient combined heat and power equipment, while occasional demand response shaves energy consumption. A large amount of storage is also adopted, which may be impractical. Nevertheless, it shows the nature of the solutions and costs necessary to achieve ZNE. For comparison, we analyze a nursing home facility in New York to examine the effects of a flatter tariff structure and different load profiles. It has trouble reaching ZNE status and its load reductions as well as efficiency measures need to be more effective than those in the CA case. Finally, we illustrate that the multi-criteria frontier that considers costs and carbon emissions in the presence of demand response dominates the one without it.« less

High Efficiency Solar Integrated Roof Membrane Product

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Partyka, Eric; Shenoy, Anil

2013-05-15

This project was designed to address the Solar Energy Technology Program objective, to develop new methods to integrate photovoltaic (PV) cells or modules within a building-integrated photovoltaic (BIPV) application that will result in lower installed cost as well as higher efficiencies of the encapsulated/embedded PV module. The technology assessment and development focused on the evaluation and identification of manufacturing technologies and equipment capable of producing such low-cost, high-efficiency, flexible BIPV solar cells on single-ply roofing membranes.

Gas-phase optical fiber photocatalytic reactors for indoor air application: a preliminary study on performance indicators

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Palmiste, Ü.; Voll, H.

2017-10-01

The development of advanced air cleaning technologies aims to reduce building energy consumption by reduction of outdoor air flow rates while keeping the indoor air quality at an acceptable level by air cleaning. Photocatalytic oxidation is an emerging technology for gas-phase air cleaning that can be applied in a standalone unit or a subsystem of a building mechanical ventilation system. Quantitative information on photocatalytic reactor performance is required to evaluate the technical and economic viability of the advanced air cleaning by PCO technology as an energy conservation measure in a building air conditioning system. Photocatalytic reactors applying optical fibers as light guide or photocatalyst coating support have been reported as an approach to address the current light utilization problems and thus, improve the overall efficiency. The aim of the paper is to present a preliminary evaluation on continuous flow optical fiber photocatalytic reactors based on performance indicators commonly applied for air cleaners. Based on experimental data, monolith-type optical fiber reactor performance surpasses annular-type optical fiber reactors in single-pass removal efficiency, clean air delivery rate and operating cost efficiency.

Rapid Building Assessment Project

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-05-01

Efficiency Buildings Hub EISA Energy Independence Security Act EPRI The Electric Power and Research Institute ESTCP Environmental Security Technology...Ordinary Least Squares PG&E Pacific Gas & Electric R&D research and development RBA Remote Building Analytics REST representational state...utilities across North America and Europe. Requiring only hourly utility electric meter data, the building type, and address, FirstFuel can produce a

IN2 Profile: 7AC Technologies Takes High-Efficiency Air Conditioning to a New Level

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kozubal, Eric; Swan, Jed; Luttik, Peter

As part of the Wells Fargo Innovation Incubator (IN²) program, 7AC Technologies has developed a liquid desiccant evaporative technology that will result in a 40-50% energy savings for commercial buildings. The IN² program launched in October 2014 and is part of Wells Fargo’s 2020 Environmental Commitment to provide $100 million to environmentally-focused nonprofits and universities. The goal is to create an ecosystem that fosters and accelerates the commercialization of promising commercial buildings technologies that can provide scalable solutions to reduce the energy impact of buildings. According to the Department of Energy, nearly 40 percent of energy consumption in the U.S.more » today comes from buildings at an estimated cost of $413 billion.« less

Energy-efficient building design in cold climates: Schools as a case study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rangel Ruiz, Rocio

Buildings account for great amounts of greenhouse gas emissions. In terms of energy, buildings account for one third of the total amount of energy used in the country every year! Schools account for 14 percent of the energy used annually in commercial and institutional buildings. Further, schools are one of the most commonly constructed building types in Canada and spaces such as classrooms are often duplicated. This makes them preferred candidates for the research that was undertaken where energy-efficient solutions that can be transferred to different school designs were derived. Throughout the study, the Commercial Building Incentive Program (CBIP) was used as a benchmark. The objectives of the study were to demonstrate energy-efficient concepts, provide a case study to evaluate solutions, develop typological models and provide an understanding of the innovation process. The technological and societal aspects of the energy-efficient design were addressed. With respect to the technological aspects, the first step was the analysis of conventional design using a school in Calgary as a case study. The optimization of conventional design was undertaken using computer modeling to identify best practice solutions. Aspects that were included in the studies were lighting design, envelope characteristics, HVAC systems and building plant systems. The inclusion of passive design included the analysis of daylighting and natural ventilation. Computer modeling was used to assess daylighting in classrooms with unilateral and bilateral daylighting. Illuminance levels, glare and light distribution were evaluated. The study of natural ventilation was undertaken using literature review. Airflow and outdoor temperatures were the focus to identify solutions that could be incorporated into the design of classrooms. It was concluded that achieving excellence in energy efficiency in schools could be achieved using readily available technologies. Energy savings of up to 63 percent better than Canada's Model National Energy Code for Buildings (MNECB) reference case and utility cost savings of 30,000 (on a 50,000 annual cost) were achieved through conventional design optimization. Additional energy savings of three percent and utility cost savings of $7,000 were seen when passive strategies were included in the design. With respect to the societal aspects, an exploratory research study was undertaken to examine innovation. Architects and energy consultants were interviewed. All design professionals included in the study had participated in projects approved for a grant under CBIP. The purpose of the study was to identify drivers and barriers to energy efficiency. The study demonstrated that external and internal innovation pressures have a significant effect on whether or not the technology is adopted. Suggestions for reducing barriers and further promoting energy efficiency are discussed in this thesis. It is expected that the research will not only aid designers in assessing projects with regard to local priorities, but will also provide building guidelines that serve as tools for the development of the Canadian energy compliance for CO2 emissions.

Design and Verification of Remote Sensing Image Data Center Storage Architecture Based on Hadoop

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tang, D.; Zhou, X.; Jing, Y.; Cong, W.; Li, C.

2018-04-01

The data center is a new concept of data processing and application proposed in recent years. It is a new method of processing technologies based on data, parallel computing, and compatibility with different hardware clusters. While optimizing the data storage management structure, it fully utilizes cluster resource computing nodes and improves the efficiency of data parallel application. This paper used mature Hadoop technology to build a large-scale distributed image management architecture for remote sensing imagery. Using MapReduce parallel processing technology, it called many computing nodes to process image storage blocks and pyramids in the background to improve the efficiency of image reading and application and sovled the need for concurrent multi-user high-speed access to remotely sensed data. It verified the rationality, reliability and superiority of the system design by testing the storage efficiency of different image data and multi-users and analyzing the distributed storage architecture to improve the application efficiency of remote sensing images through building an actual Hadoop service system.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

LeMar, P.

Integrated Energy Systems (IES) combine on-site power or distributed generation technologies with thermally activated technologies to provide cooling, heating, humidity control, energy storage and/or other process functions using thermal energy normally wasted in the production of electricity/power. IES produce electricity and byproduct thermal energy onsite, with the potential of converting 80 percent or more of the fuel into useable energy. IES have the potential to offer the nation the benefits of unprecedented energy efficiency gains, consumer choice and energy security. It may also dramatically reduce industrial and commercial building sector carbon and air pollutant emissions and increase source energy efficiency.more » Applications of distributed energy and Combined heat and power (CHP) in ''Commercial and Institutional Buildings'' have, however, been historically limited due to insufficient use of byproduct thermal energy, particularly during summer months when heating is at a minimum. In recent years, custom engineered systems have evolved incorporating potentially high-value services from Thermally Activated Technologies (TAT) like cooling and humidity control. Such TAT equipment can be integrated into a CHP system to utilize the byproduct heat output effectively to provide absorption cooling or desiccant humidity control for the building during these summer months. IES can therefore expand the potential thermal energy services and thereby extend the conventional CHP market into building sector applications that could not be economically served by CHP alone. Now more than ever, these combined cooling, heating and humidity control systems (IES) can potentially decrease carbon and air pollutant emissions, while improving source energy efficiency in the buildings sector. Even with these improvements over conventional CHP systems, IES face significant technological and economic hurdles. Of crucial importance to the success of IES is the ability to treat the heating, ventilation, air conditioning, water heating, lighting, and power systems loads as parts of an integrated system, serving the majority of these loads either directly or indirectly from the CHP output. The CHP Technology Roadmaps (Buildings and Industry) have focused research and development on a comprehensive integration approach: component integration, equipment integration, packaged and modular system development, system integration with the grid, and system integration with building and process loads. This marked change in technology research and development has led to the creation of a new acronym to better reflect the nature of development in this important area of energy efficiency: Integrated Energy Systems (IES). Throughout this report, the terms ''CHP'' and ''IES'' will sometimes be used interchangeably, with CHP generally reserved for the electricity and heat generating technology subsystem portion of an IES. The focus of this study is to examine the potential for IES in buildings when the system perspective is taken, and the IES is employed as a dynamic system, not just as conventional CHP. This effort is designed to determine market potential by analyzing IES performance on an hour-by-hour basis, examining the full range of building types, their loads and timing, and assessing how these loads can be technically and economically met by IES.« less

Haselden/RNL - Research Support Facility Documentary

ScienceCinema

Haselden, Byron; Baker, Jeff; Glover, Bill; von Luhrte, Rich; Randock, Craig; Andary, John; Macey, Philip; Okada, David

2017-12-12

The US Department of Energy's (DOE) Research Support Facility (RSF) on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is positioned to be one of the most energy efficient buildings in the world. It will demonstrate NREL's role in moving advanced technologies and transferring knowledge into commercial applications. Because 19 percent of the country's energy is used by commercial buildings, DOE plans to make this facility a showcase for energy efficiency. DOE hopes the design of the RSF will be replicated by the building industry and help reduce the nation's energy consumption by changing the way commercial buildings are designed and built.

Energy Efficient Engine integrated core/low spool design and performance report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stearns, E. Marshall

1985-01-01

The Energy Efficient Engine (E3) is a NASA program to create fuel saving technology for future transport aircraft engines. The E3 technology advancements were demonstrated to operate reliably and achieve goal performance in tests of the Integrated Core/Low Spool vehicle. The first build of this undeveloped technology research engine set a record for low fuel consumption. Its design and detailed test results are herein presented.

Energy savings and cost-benefit analysis of the new commercial building standard in China

DOE PAGES

Zhao, Shanguo; Feng, Wei; Zhang, Shicong; ...

2015-10-07

In this study, a comprehensive comparison of the commercial building energy efficiency standard between the previous 2005 version and the new proposed version is conducted, including the energy efficiency analysis and cost-benefit analysis. To better understand the tech-economic performance of the new Chinese standard, energy models were set up based on a typical commercial office building in Chinese climate zones. The building energy standard in 2005 is used as the baseline for this analysis. Key building technologies measures are analyzed individually, including roof, wall, window, lighting and chiller and so on and finally whole building cost-benefit analysis was conducted. Resultsmore » show that the new commercial building energy standard demonstrates good cost-effective performance, with whole building payback period around 4 years.« less

Energy savings and cost-benefit analysis of the new commercial building standard in China

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhao, Shanguo; Feng, Wei; Zhang, Shicong

In this study, a comprehensive comparison of the commercial building energy efficiency standard between the previous 2005 version and the new proposed version is conducted, including the energy efficiency analysis and cost-benefit analysis. To better understand the tech-economic performance of the new Chinese standard, energy models were set up based on a typical commercial office building in Chinese climate zones. The building energy standard in 2005 is used as the baseline for this analysis. Key building technologies measures are analyzed individually, including roof, wall, window, lighting and chiller and so on and finally whole building cost-benefit analysis was conducted. Resultsmore » show that the new commercial building energy standard demonstrates good cost-effective performance, with whole building payback period around 4 years.« less

Commercial Building Partnerships Replication and Diffusion

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Antonopoulos, Chrissi A.; Dillon, Heather E.; Baechler, Michael C.

2013-09-16

This study presents findings from survey and interview data investigating replication efforts of Commercial Building Partnership (CBP) partners that worked directly with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL). PNNL partnered directly with 12 organizations on new and retrofit construction projects, which represented approximately 28 percent of the entire U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) CBP program. Through a feedback survey mechanism, along with personal interviews, PNNL gathered quantitative and qualitative data relating to replication efforts by each organization. These data were analyzed to provide insight into two primary research areas: 1) CBP partners’ replication efforts of technologies and approaches used inmore » the CBP project to the rest of the organization’s building portfolio (including replication verification), and, 2) the market potential for technology diffusion into the total U.S. commercial building stock, as a direct result of the CBP program. The first area of this research focused specifically on replication efforts underway or planned by each CBP program participant. Factors that impact replication include motivation, organizational structure and objectives firms have for implementation of energy efficient technologies. Comparing these factors between different CBP partners revealed patterns in motivation for constructing energy efficient buildings, along with better insight into market trends for green building practices. The second area of this research develops a diffusion of innovations model to analyze potential broad market impacts of the CBP program on the commercial building industry in the United States.« less

A Wireless Platform for Energy Efficient Building Control Retrofits

DTIC Science & Technology

2012-08-01

University of Illinois at Urbana Champaign UTRC United Technologies Research Center VFD variable frequency drive WSN wireless sensor network ...demonstration area. .............................................................. 16 Table 4. Cost model for wireless sensor network ...buildings with MPC-based whole-building optimal control and (2) reduction in first costs achievable with a wireless sensor network (WSN)-based

78 FR 51100 - Appliance Standards and Rulemaking Federal Advisory Committee: Notice of Open Teleconference/Webinar

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-08-20

... and Building Codes, U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy... posted at http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/asrac.html : Update on Commercial... Energy, Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue SW., Washington, DC 20585...

Eco-development and energy efficient technologies in Russia: prospects and reality

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurakova, Oksana

2017-10-01

The article highlights the concept of eco-standards in Russia, and discusses new technologies that allow to build energy-efficient houses in the form of countryside real estate. Special attention is given to the principle of heat production based on the use of individual facilities, power centers mini thermal power plants, as well as to ways to reduce water consumption at home. Presents analysis of the advantages projects “built-to-suit” for the introduction of the energy efficient technologies. Justified idea and principles of “green construction” in Russia in the real estate market. Conclusion about the effectiveness of the use, opportunities and development of energy efficient technologies.

Data on European non-residential buildings.

PubMed

D'Agostino, Delia; Cuniberti, Barbara; Bertoldi, Paolo

2017-10-01

This data article relates to the research paper Energy consumption and efficiency technology measures in European non-residential buildings (D'Agostino et al., 2017) [1]. The reported data have been collected in the framework of the Green Building Programme that ran from 2006 to 2014. The project has encouraged the adoption of efficiency measures to boost energy savings in European non-residential buildings. Data focus on the one-thousand buildings that joined the Programme allowing to save around 985 GWh/year. The main requirement to join the Programme was the reduction of at least 25% primary energy consumption in a new or retrofitted building. Energy consumption before and after the renovation are provided for retrofitted buildings while, in new constructions, a building had to be designed using at least 25% less energy than requested by the country's building codes. The following data are linked within this article: energy consumption, absolute and relative savings related to primary energy, saving percentages, implemented efficiency measures and renewables. Further information is given about each building in relation to geometry, envelope, materials, lighting and systems.

Engineering management technologies of increasing energy efficiency processes in the investment and construction projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Borisovich Zelentsov, Leonid; Dmitrievna Mailyan, Liya; Sultanovich Shogenov, Murat

2017-10-01

The article deals with the problems of using the energy-efficient materials and engineering technologies during the construction of buildings and structures. As the analysis showed, one of the most important problems in this sphere is the infringement of production technologies working with energy-efficient materials. To improve the given situation, it is offered to set a technological normal at the design stage by means of working out the technological maps studying the set and the succession of operations in details, taking in mind the properties of energy-efficient materials. At Don State Technical University (DSTU) the intelligent systems of management are being developed providing organizational and technological and also informational integration of design and production stages by means of creating the single database of technological maps, volumes of work and resources.

Building Information Model: advantages, tools and adoption efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Abakumov, R. G.; Naumov, A. E.

2018-03-01

The paper expands definition and essence of Building Information Modeling. It describes content and effects from application of Information Modeling at different stages of a real property item. Analysis of long-term and short-term advantages is given. The authors included an analytical review of Revit software package in comparison with Autodesk with respect to: features, advantages and disadvantages, cost and pay cutoff. A prognostic calculation is given for efficiency of adoption of the Building Information Modeling technology, with examples of its successful adoption in Russia and worldwide.

Selecting a Control Strategy for Plug and Process Loads

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lobato, C.; Sheppy, M.; Brackney, L.

2012-09-01

Plug and Process Loads (PPLs) are building loads that are not related to general lighting, heating, ventilation, cooling, and water heating, and typically do not provide comfort to the building occupants. PPLs in commercial buildings account for almost 5% of U.S. primary energy consumption. On an individual building level, they account for approximately 25% of the total electrical load in a minimally code-compliant commercial building, and can exceed 50% in an ultra-high efficiency building such as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) Research Support Facility (RSF) (Lobato et al. 2010). Minimizing these loads is a primary challenge in the designmore » and operation of an energy-efficient building. A complex array of technologies that measure and manage PPLs has emerged in the marketplace. Some fall short of manufacturer performance claims, however. NREL has been actively engaged in developing an evaluation and selection process for PPLs control, and is using this process to evaluate a range of technologies for active PPLs management that will cap RSF plug loads. Using a control strategy to match plug load use to users' required job functions is a huge untapped potential for energy savings.« less

Infrared Technology Trends and Implications to Home and Building Energy Use Efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Woolaway, James T.

2008-09-01

It has long been realized that infrared technology would have applicability in improving the energy efficiency of homes and buildings. Walls that are missing or are poorly insulated can be quickly evaluated by looking at the thermal images of these surfaces. Similarly, air infiltration leaks under doors and around windows leave a telltale thermal signature easily seen in the infrared. The ability to view, evaluate and quickly respond to these images has immediate benefits in addressing and correcting situations where these types of losses are occurring. The principle issue that has been limiting the use of infrared technology in these applications has been the lack of availability and accessibility of infrared technology at a cost point suited to this market. The emergence of low cost microbolometer based infrared cameras, not needing sensor cooling, will greatly increase the accessibility and use of infrared technology for House Doctor inspections. The technology cost for this use is projected to be less than 1 per inspection.

Driving Extreme Efficiency to Market

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Garbesi, Karina

2014-03-01

The rapid development of extremely energy efficient appliances and equipment is essential to curtail catastrophic climate disruption. This will require the on-going development of products that apply all best-practices and that take advantage of the synergies of hybridization and building integration. Beyond that, it requires the development of new disruptive technologies and concepts. To facilitate these goals, in 2011 the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory and the U.S. Department of Energy launched the Max Tech and Beyond Design Competition for Ultra-Low-Energy-Use Appliances and Equipment. Now in its third year, the competition supports faculty-lead student design teams at U.S. universities to develop and test new technology prototypes. This talk describes what the competition and the Max Tech Program are doing to drive such rapid technology progress and to facilitate the entry to the market of successful Max Tech prototypes. The talk also initiates a discussion of physicists' unique role in driving that technology progress faster and farther. Emerging Technologies, Building Technologies Office, U.S. Department of Energy.

Defense-Wide Research and Development Near Term Energy-Efficient Technologies Projects

DTIC Science & Technology

2011-02-18

Continuous Building Commissioning USACE 6.80 5. Energy Enterprise Management USACE 1.94 6. Solid Waste Gasification USACE 2.92 7. Anaerobic...Building Commissioning – USACE, four contracts; • Energy Enterprise Management – USACE, one contract; • Solid Waste Gasification – USACE, four...Energy Supply and Distribution These include waste-to-energy and waste-to-fuel technology research and demonstrations, landfill gas use, biomass and

75 FR 31323 - Energy Efficiency Program: Energy Conservation Standards Furnace Fans: Public Meeting and...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-06-03

.... EERE-2010-BT-STD-0011] RIN 1904-AC22 Energy Efficiency Program: Energy Conservation Standards Furnace Fans: Public Meeting and Availability of the Framework Document AGENCY: Office of Energy Efficiency and... Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies, EE-2J, 1000 Independence...

Haselden/RNL - Research Support Facility Documentary

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Haselden, Byron; Baker, Jeff; Glover, Bill

2010-06-10

The US Department of Energy's (DOE) Research Support Facility (RSF) on the campus of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory is positioned to be one of the most energy efficient buildings in the world. It will demonstrate NREL's role in moving advanced technologies and transferring knowledge into commercial applications. Because 19 percent of the country's energy is used by commercial buildings, DOE plans to make this facility a showcase for energy efficiency. DOE hopes the design of the RSF will be replicated by the building industry and help reduce the nation's energy consumption by changing the way commercial buildings are designedmore » and built.« less

Three essays of economics and policy on renewable energy and energy efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Meng, Yuxi

In face of the crisis in energy security, environmental contamination, and climate change, energy saving and carbon emission reduction have become the top concerns of the whole human world. To address those concerns, renewable energy and energy efficiency are the two fields that many countries are paying attention to, which are also my research focus. The dissertation consists of three papers, including the innovation behavior of renewable energy producers, the impact of renewable energy policy on renewable innovation, and the market feedback to energy efficient building benchmarking ordinance. Here are the main conclusions I have reached in this dissertation. First, through the study on foreign patenting intention with the case study of Chinese solar PV industry, I looked at the patenting behaviors of 15 non-Chinese solar PV producers in solar PV technologies in China, and pointed out that foreign firms may file patents in the home country or production base of their competitors in order to earn the competitive edge in the global market. The second study is about the "Innovation by Generating" process. I specifically focused on Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS) in the United States and the innovation performance within each state, and found out that wind power generation in RPS states has developed rapidly after the adoption of RPS, while the "Innovating by Generating" effect is more significant in solar PV technologies. In general, the innovations of the two technology groups are not prominently encouraged by RPS. My last study is about the benchmarking law and market response in the scenario of Philadelphia Benchmarking Law. By comparing the rental rate of LEED/EnergyStar buildings and ordinary buildings in the city of Philadelphia before and after the adoption of the building energy efficiency benchmarking law, I believe that the passage of Philadelphia Benchmarking Law may be helpful in improving the public awareness and understanding of energy efficiency information of buildings.

ATRF Earns Three Green Globes, Exceeds NIH Building Standards | Poster

Cancer.gov

By Ashley DeVine, Staff Writer From project management and energy and water efficiency to emissions and the indoor environment, the Advanced Technology Research Facility (ATRF) was built with sustainability in mind, exceeding the National Institutes of Health’s (NIH’s) building standards and earning three Green Globes from the Green Building Initiative (GBI).

10 CFR 430.3 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW... B. (8) ASHRAE 103-1993, Methods of Testing for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency of Residential...) ASHRAE 116-1995 (RA 2005), Methods of Testing for Rating Seasonal Efficiency of Unitary Air Conditioners...

Building America Systems Integration Research Annual Report. FY 2012

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gestwick, Michael

2013-05-01

This Building America FY2012 Annual Report includes an overview of the Building America Program activities and the work completed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Building America industry consortia (the Building America teams). The annual report summarizes major technical accomplishments and progress towards U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Program's multi-year goal of developing the systems innovations that enable risk-free, cost effective, reliable and durable efficiency solutions that reduce energy use by 30%-50% in both new and existing homes.

Buildings interoperability landscape - Draft

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hardin, Dave B.; Stephan, Eric G.; Wang, Weimin

2015-02-01

Buildings are an integral part of our nation’s energy economy. The advancement in information and communications technology (ICT) has revolutionized energy management in industrial facilities and large commercial buildings. As ICT costs decrease and capabilities increase, buildings automation and energy management features are transforming the small-medium commercial and residential buildings sectors. A vision of a connected world in which equipment and systems within buildings coordinate with each other to efficiently meet their owners’ and occupants’ needs, and where buildings regularly transact business with other buildings and service providers (such as gas and electric service providers) is emerging. However, while themore » technology to support this collaboration has been demonstrated at various degrees of maturity, the integration frameworks and ecosystems of products that support the ability to easily install, maintain, and evolve building systems and their equipment components are struggling to nurture the fledging business propositions of their proponents.« less

Building America Case Study: Multifamily Central Heat Pump Water Heaters, Davis, California

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Although heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) have gained significant attention in recent years as a high efficiency electric water heating solution for single family homes, central HPWHs for commercial or multi-family applications are not as well documented in terms of measured performance and cost effectiveness. To evaluate this technology, the Alliance for Residential Building Innovation team monitored the performance of a 10.5 ton central HPWH installed on a student apartment building at the West Village Zero Net Energy Community in Davis, California. Monitoring data collected over a 16-month period were then used to validate a TRNSYS simulation model. The TRNSYSmore » model was then used to project performance in different climates using local electric rates. Results of the study indicate that after some initial commissioning issues, the HPWH operated reliably with an annual average efficiency of 2.12 (Coefficient of Performance). The observed efficiency was lower than the unit's rated efficiency, primarily due to the fact that the system rarely operated under steady-state conditions. Changes in the system configuration, storage tank sizing, and control settings would likely improve the observed field efficiency. Modeling results suggest significant energy savings relative to electric storage water heating systems (typical annual efficiencies around 0.90) providing for typical simple paybacks of six to ten years without any incentives. The economics versus gas water heating are currently much more challenging given the current low natural gas prices in much of the country. Increased market size for this technology would benefit cost effectiveness and spur greater technology innovation.« less

Solar buildings program contract summary, calendar year 1999

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

2000-06-07

The mission of the US Department of Energy's Solar Buildings Program is to advance the development and widespread deployment of competitive solar thermal technologies for use in buildings. The long-term goal of the Program is to combine solar energy technologies with energy-efficient construction techniques and create cost-effective buildings that have a zero net need for fossil fuel energy on an annual basis. The Solar Buildings Program conducts research and development on solar technologies that can deliver heat, light, and hot water to residential and commercial buildings. By working closely with manufacturers in both the buildings and solar energy industries andmore » by supporting research at universities and national laboratories, the Solar Buildings Program brings together the diverse players developing reliable and affordable solar technologies for building applications. The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colorado, and Sandia National Laboratories (SNL) in Albuquerque, New Mexico, jointly participate in the Solar Buildings Program. These two national laboratories work closely with industry researching new concepts, developing technology improvements, reducing manufacturing costs, monitoring system performance, promoting quality assurance, and identifying potential new markets. In calendar year 1999, the Solar Buildings Program focused primarily on solar hot water system research and development (R and D), US industry manufacturing assistance, and US market assistance. The Program also completed a number of other projects that were begun in earlier years. This Contract Summary describes the Program's contracted activities that were active during 1999.« less

Evaluating the Life Cycle Environmental Benefits and Trade-Offs of Water Reuse Systems for Net-Zero Buildings.

PubMed

Hasik, Vaclav; Anderson, Naomi E; Collinge, William O; Thiel, Cassandra L; Khanna, Vikas; Wirick, Jason; Piacentini, Richard; Landis, Amy E; Bilec, Melissa M

2017-02-07

Aging water infrastructure and increased water scarcity have resulted in higher interest in water reuse and decentralization. Rating systems for high-performance buildings implicitly promote the use of building-scale, decentralized water supply and treatment technologies. It is important to recognize the potential benefits and trade-offs of decentralized and centralized water systems in the context of high-performance buildings. For this reason and to fill a gap in the current literature, we completed a life cycle assessment (LCA) of the decentralized water system of a high-performance, net-zero energy, net-zero water building (NZB) that received multiple green building certifications and compared the results with two modeled buildings (conventional and water efficient) using centralized water systems. We investigated the NZB's impacts over varying lifetimes, conducted a break-even analysis, and included Monte Carlo uncertainty analysis. The results show that, although the NZB performs better in most categories than the conventional building, the water efficient building generally outperforms the NZB. The lifetime of the NZB, septic tank aeration, and use of solar energy have been found to be important factors in the NZB's impacts. While these findings are specific to the case study building, location, and treatment technologies, the framework for comparison of water and wastewater impacts of various buildings can be applied during building design to aid decision making. As we design and operate high-performance buildings, the potential trade-offs of advanced decentralized water treatment systems should be considered.

78 FR 33838 - DOE Participation in Development of the International Energy Conservation Code

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-06-05

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy [Docket No. EERE-2012-BT-BC... Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Department of Energy. ACTION: Notice and request for comment... Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Office, Mailstop EE-2J, 1000 Independence Avenue SW...

10 CFR 430.3 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th... appendix M to subpart B. (9) ASHRAE 103-1993, Methods of Testing for Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency of... subpart B. (10) ASHRAE 116-1995 (RA 2005), Methods of Testing for Rating Seasonal Efficiency of Unitary...

Research Support Facility (RSF): Leadership in Building Performance (Brochure)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

This brochure/poster provides information on the features of the Research Support Facility including a detailed illustration of the facility with call outs of energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies. Imagine an office building so energy efficient that its occupants consume only the amount of energy generated by renewable power on the building site. The building, the Research Support Facility (RSF) occupied by the U.S. Department of Energy's National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) employees, uses 50% less energy than if it were built to current commercial code and achieves the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED{reg_sign})more » Platinum rating. With 19% of the primary energy in the U.S. consumed by commercial buildings, the RSF is changing the way commercial office buildings are designed and built.« less

Providing Personalized Energy Management and Awareness Services for Energy Efficiency in Smart Buildings.

PubMed

Fotopoulou, Eleni; Zafeiropoulos, Anastasios; Terroso-Sáenz, Fernando; Şimşek, Umutcan; González-Vidal, Aurora; Tsiolis, George; Gouvas, Panagiotis; Liapis, Paris; Fensel, Anna; Skarmeta, Antonio

2017-09-07

Considering that the largest part of end-use energy consumption worldwide is associated with the buildings sector, there is an inherent need for the conceptualization, specification, implementation, and instantiation of novel solutions in smart buildings, able to achieve significant reductions in energy consumption through the adoption of energy efficient techniques and the active engagement of the occupants. Towards the design of such solutions, the identification of the main energy consuming factors, trends, and patterns, along with the appropriate modeling and understanding of the occupants' behavior and the potential for the adoption of environmentally-friendly lifestyle changes have to be realized. In the current article, an innovative energy-aware information technology (IT) ecosystem is presented, aiming to support the design and development of novel personalized energy management and awareness services that can lead to occupants' behavioral change towards actions that can have a positive impact on energy efficiency. Novel information and communication technologies (ICT) are exploited towards this direction, related mainly to the evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT), data modeling, management and fusion, big data analytics, and personalized recommendation mechanisms. The combination of such technologies has resulted in an open and extensible architectural approach able to exploit in a homogeneous, efficient and scalable way the vast amount of energy, environmental, and behavioral data collected in energy efficiency campaigns and lead to the design of energy management and awareness services targeted to the occupants' lifestyles. The overall layered architectural approach is detailed, including design and instantiation aspects based on the selection of set of available technologies and tools. Initial results from the usage of the proposed energy aware IT ecosystem in a pilot site at the University of Murcia are presented along with a set of identified open issues for future research.

Providing Personalized Energy Management and Awareness Services for Energy Efficiency in Smart Buildings

PubMed Central

Fotopoulou, Eleni; Tsiolis, George; Gouvas, Panagiotis; Liapis, Paris; Fensel, Anna; Skarmeta, Antonio

2017-01-01

Considering that the largest part of end-use energy consumption worldwide is associated with the buildings sector, there is an inherent need for the conceptualization, specification, implementation, and instantiation of novel solutions in smart buildings, able to achieve significant reductions in energy consumption through the adoption of energy efficient techniques and the active engagement of the occupants. Towards the design of such solutions, the identification of the main energy consuming factors, trends, and patterns, along with the appropriate modeling and understanding of the occupants’ behavior and the potential for the adoption of environmentally-friendly lifestyle changes have to be realized. In the current article, an innovative energy-aware information technology (IT) ecosystem is presented, aiming to support the design and development of novel personalized energy management and awareness services that can lead to occupants’ behavioral change towards actions that can have a positive impact on energy efficiency. Novel information and communication technologies (ICT) are exploited towards this direction, related mainly to the evolution of the Internet of Things (IoT), data modeling, management and fusion, big data analytics, and personalized recommendation mechanisms. The combination of such technologies has resulted in an open and extensible architectural approach able to exploit in a homogeneous, efficient and scalable way the vast amount of energy, environmental, and behavioral data collected in energy efficiency campaigns and lead to the design of energy management and awareness services targeted to the occupants’ lifestyles. The overall layered architectural approach is detailed, including design and instantiation aspects based on the selection of set of available technologies and tools. Initial results from the usage of the proposed energy aware IT ecosystem in a pilot site at the University of Murcia are presented along with a set of identified open issues for future research. PMID:28880227

Technology Solutions Case Study: Cladding Attachment Over Mineral Fiber Insulation Board

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2015-03-01

Exterior insulating sheathing for high performance building enclosures is an important strategy for meeting energy efficiency requirements in many climates and can position an existing building to perform at the level of best-in-class new construction. Insulation board is also important in high performance building retrofit situations where minimal disruption at the interior is typically desired.

Sensor Characteristics Reference Guide

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cree, Johnathan V.; Dansu, A.; Fuhr, P.

The Buildings Technologies Office (BTO), within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), is initiating a new program in Sensor and Controls. The vision of this program is: • Buildings operating automatically and continuously at peak energy efficiency over their lifetimes and interoperating effectively with the electric power grid. • Buildings that are self-configuring, self-commissioning, self-learning, self-diagnosing, self-healing, and self-transacting to enable continuous peak performance. • Lower overall building operating costs and higher asset valuation. The overarching goal is to capture 30% energy savings by enhanced management of energy consuming assets and systemsmore » through development of cost-effective sensors and controls. One step in achieving this vision is the publication of this Sensor Characteristics Reference Guide. The purpose of the guide is to inform building owners and operators of the current status, capabilities, and limitations of sensor technologies. It is hoped that this guide will aid in the design and procurement process and result in successful implementation of building sensor and control systems. DOE will also use this guide to identify research priorities, develop future specifications for potential market adoption, and provide market clarity through unbiased information« less

Improving building performance using smart building concept: Benefit cost ratio comparison

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Berawi, Mohammed Ali; Miraj, Perdana; Sayuti, Mustika Sari; Berawi, Abdur Rohim Boy

2017-11-01

Smart building concept is an implementation of technology developed in the construction industry throughout the world. However, the implementation of this concept is still below expectations due to various obstacles such as higher initial cost than a conventional concept and existing regulation siding with the lowest cost in the tender process. This research aims to develop intelligent building concept using value engineering approach to obtain added value regarding quality, efficiency, and innovation. The research combined quantitative and qualitative approach using questionnaire survey and value engineering method to achieve the research objectives. The research output will show additional functions regarding technology innovation that may increase the value of a building. This study shows that smart building concept requires higher initial cost, but produces lower operational and maintenance costs. Furthermore, it also confirms that benefit-cost ratio on the smart building was much higher than a conventional building, that is 1.99 to 0.88.

Summaries of reports from the Congressional office of technology assessment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1985-11-01

A summary of reports from the Congressional office of technology assessment on the following topics is presented. (1) Residential Energy Conservation, 1979 (2) Energy Efficiency of Buildings in Cities, 1982 (3)Industrial Energy Use, 1983 (4)Increased Automobiles fuel efficiency and synthetic fuels, 1982. (5)U.S. Vulnerability to an oil import curtailment: The oil Replacement Capability, 1984. (6)Oil and Gas Technologies for the Arctic and Deep water, 1985. (7)Acid Rain and Transport Air pollutants: Implications for Public Policy. (AIP)

Energy Efficiency on Parade

Science.gov Websites

heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, structural insulated panels to improve products and systems. NREL building engineers estimate the combination of advanced products and design Building America program manager George James. "All of the technologies and systems used in this house

Lighting in Commercial Buildings

EIA Publications

2009-01-01

Lighting is a major consumer of electricity in commercial buildings and a target for energy savings through use of energy-efficient light sources along with other advanced lighting technologies. The Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) collects information on types of lighting equipment, the amount of floorspace that is lit, and the percentage of floorspace lit by each type. In addition, CBECS data are used to model end-use consumption, including energy consumed for lighting in commercial buildings.

Technology for America's economic growth : a new direction to build economic strength

DOT National Transportation Integrated Search

1993-02-22

Investing in technology is investing in America's future: a growing economy with more high-skill, high-wage jobs for American workers; a cleaner environment where energy efficiency increases profits and reduces pollution; a stronger, more competitive...

The Consortium of Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB) - A Building America Energy Efficient Housing Partnership

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robb Aldrich; Lois Arena; Dianne Griffiths

2010-12-31

This final report summarizes the work conducted by the Consortium of Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB) (http://www.carb-swa.com/), one of the 'Building America Energy Efficient Housing Partnership' Industry Teams, for the period January 1, 2008 to December 31, 2010. The Building America Program (BAP) is part of the Department of Energy (DOE), Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program (BTP). The long term goal of the BAP is to develop cost effective, production ready systems in five major climate zones that will result in zero energy homes (ZEH) that produce as much energy as they use on an annual basis bymore » 2020. CARB is led by Steven Winter Associates, Inc. with Davis Energy Group, Inc. (DEG), MaGrann Associates, and Johnson Research, LLC as team members. In partnership with our numerous builders and industry partners, work was performed in three primary areas - advanced systems research, prototype home development, and technical support for communities of high performance homes. Our advanced systems research work focuses on developing a better understanding of the installed performance of advanced technology systems when integrated in a whole-house scenario. Technology systems researched included: - High-R Wall Assemblies - Non-Ducted Air-Source Heat Pumps - Low-Load HVAC Systems - Solar Thermal Water Heating - Ventilation Systems - Cold-Climate Ground and Air Source Heat Pumps - Hot/Dry Climate Air-to-Water Heat Pump - Condensing Boilers - Evaporative condensers - Water Heating CARB continued to support several prototype home projects in the design and specification phase. These projects are located in all five program climate regions and most are targeting greater than 50% source energy savings over the Building America Benchmark home. CARB provided technical support and developed builder project case studies to be included in near-term Joule Milestone reports for the following community scale projects: - SBER Overlook at Clipper Mill (mixed, humid climate) - William Ryan Homes - Tampa (hot, humid climate).« less

High-Performance Energy-Efficient Cool Metal Roof Assemblies Utilizing Building Integrated Renewable Solar Energy Technologies for New and Retrofit Building Construction

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-04-01

technology described in this proposal was first commercialized in 2004. It has been installed in 35 states and 5 countries primarily on residential ...temperatures. o Rainwater harvesting systems help reduce demands on potable water systems and help crowded cities manage stormwater drainage problems...of high density polyisocyanurate rigid insulation board installed over the existing roof and between the sub-purlins with the top layer taped to

Research and Development Opportunities for Joining Technologies in HVAC&R

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goetzler, William; Guernsey, Matt; Young, Jim

The Building Technologies Office (BTO) works with researchers and industry partners to develop and deploy technologies that can substantially reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in residential and commercial buildings. This opportunity assessment aims to advance BTO’s energy savings, GHG reduction, and other program goals by identifying research and development (R&D) initiatives for joining technologies in heating, ventilation, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems. Improving joining technologies for HVAC&R equipment has the potential to increase lifetime equipment operating efficiency, decrease equipment and project cost, and most importantly reduce hydroflourocarbon (HFC) refrigerant leakage to support HFC phasedown and GHG reductionmore » goals.« less

Building America Systems Integration Research Annual Report: FY 2012

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gestwick, M.

2013-05-01

This document is the Building America FY2012 Annual Report, which includes an overview of the Building America Program activities and the work completed by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and the Building America industry consortia (the Building America teams). The annual report summarizes major technical accomplishments and progress towards U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Program's multi-year goal of developing the systems innovations that enable risk-free, cost effective, reliable and durable efficiency solutions that reduce energy use by 30%-50% in both new and existing homes.

Construction alternatives for free-standing facilities.

PubMed

Brown, G

1990-01-01

Many hospitals are exploring free-standing facilities as an option for providing more efficient imaging services. Mr. Brown discusses the pros and cons of an emerging building technology, manufactured construction, in which building and site preparation are done simultaneously. He presents the criteria managers should use to make a knowledgeable decision.

Smart Homes and Buildings Research at the Energy Systems Integration Facility

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christensen, Dane; Sparn, Bethany; Hannegan, Bryan

Watch how NREL researchers are using the unique capabilities of the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) to develop technologies that will help the “smart” homes and buildings of the future perform efficiently and communicate effectively with the electricity grid while enhancing occupants' comfort and convenience.

NREL's Sustainable Campus Overview

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rukavina, Frank; Pless, Shanti

2015-04-06

The high-performance buildings across the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) South Table Mountain campus incorporate a number of state-of-the art energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, making them models for sustainability. Each building, designed to meet the Gold or Platinum standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) program, brings NREL closer to developing the campus of the future.

Federally Funded Programs Related to Building Energy Use: Overlaps, Challenges, and Opportunities for Collaboration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cort, Katherine A.; Butner, Ryan S.; Hostick, Donna J.

2010-10-01

As energy efficiency in buildings continues to move from discreet technology development to an integrated systems approach, the need to understand and integrate complementary goals and targets becomes more pronounced. Whether within Department of Energy’s (DOE) Building Technologies Program (BTP), across the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), or throughout DOE and the Federal government, mutual gains and collaboration synergies exist that are not easily achieved because of organizational and time constraints. There also cases where federal agencies may be addressing similar issues, but with different (and sometimes conflicting) outcomes in mind. This report conducts a comprehensive inventorymore » across all EERE and other relevant Federal agencies of potential activities with synergistic benefits. A taxonomy of activities with potential interdependencies is presented. The report identifies a number of federal program objectives, products, and plans related to building energy efficiency and characterizes the current structure and interactions related to these plans and programs. Areas where overlap occurs are identified as are the challenges of addressing issues related to overlapping goals and programs. Based on the input gathered from various sources, including 20 separate interviews with federal agency staff and contractor staff supporting buildings programs, this study identifies a number of synergistic opportunities and makes recommends a number of areas where further collaboration could be beneficial.« less

Impact on Learning Award, 2002.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

School Planning & Management, 2002

2002-01-01

Describes winners of the title award, K-12 school facilities that have solved real-world problems through design, engineering, and technology solutions. Winners were named in the following categories: accessibility, accommodating technology, energy efficient/hi-performance buildings, furniture and equipment for learning, historic preservation,…

Microsystems Enabled Photovoltaics

ScienceCinema

Gupta, Vipin; Nielson, Greg; Okandan, Murat, Granata, Jennifer; Nelson, Jeff; Haney, Mike; Cruz-Campa, Jose Luiz

2018-06-07

Sandia's microsystems enabled photovoltaic advances combine mature technology and tools currently used in microsystem production with groundbreaking advances in photovoltaics cell design, decreasing production and system costs while improving energy conversion efficiency. The technology has potential applications in buildings, houses, clothing, portable electronics, vehicles, and other contoured structures.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

This case study describes a unique vocational program at Lancaster County Career Technology Center in Mount Joy, PA, where high school students are gaining hands-on construction experience in building high performance homes with help from Building America team, Home Innovation Research Labs. This collaboration resulted in the Green Home 3, the third in a series of high performance homes for Apprentice Green. As one of LCCTC’s key educational strategies for gaining practical experience, students are involved in building real houses that incorporate state-of-the-art energy efficiency and green technologies. With two homes already completed, the Green Home 3 achieved a 44%more » whole-house energy savings over the Building America New Construction B10 Benchmark, DOE Zero Energy Ready Home (formerly Challenge Home) certification, and National Green Building Standard Gold-level certification.« less

Capturing Energy-Saving Opportunities: Improving Building Efficiency in Rajasthan through Energy Code Implementation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tan, Qing; Yu, Sha; Evans, Meredydd

2016-05-01

India adopted the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) in 2007. Rajasthan is the first state to make ECBC mandatory at the state level. In collaboration with Malaviya National Institute of Technology (MNIT) Jaipur, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) has been working with Rajasthan to facilitate the implementation of ECBC. This report summarizes milestones made in Rajasthan and PNNL's contribution in institutional set-ups, capacity building, compliance enforcement and pilot building construction.

10 CFR 431.423 - Filing requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, Section 327 Petitions, Building Technologies, EE... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Filing requirements. 431.423 Section 431.423 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL...

10 CFR 431.423 - Filing requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, Section 327 Petitions, Building Technologies, EE... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Filing requirements. 431.423 Section 431.423 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL...

10 CFR 431.423 - Filing requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, Section 327 Petitions, Building Technologies, EE... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Filing requirements. 431.423 Section 431.423 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL...

10 CFR 431.423 - Filing requirements.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy, Section 327 Petitions, Building Technologies, EE... 10 Energy 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Filing requirements. 431.423 Section 431.423 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AND INDUSTRIAL...

78 FR 20628 - Wireless Metering Challenge

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-04-05

... metering devices for use at the electrical panel level within commercial buildings. The specifications are intended to spur the development of new technologies in the wireless electric metering space. DATES... Technologies Office, Mailstop EE-2J, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of...

The combined use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) technologies for the 3D illustration of the progress of works in infrastructure construction projects

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vacanas, Yiannis; Themistocleous, Kyriacos; Agapiou, Athos; Hadjimitsis, Diofantos

2016-08-01

Building Information Modelling (BIM) technology is already part of the construction industry and is considered by professionals as a very useful tool for all phases of a construction project. BIM technology, with the particularly useful 3D illustrations which it provides, can be used to illustrate and monitor the progress of works effectively through the entire lifetime of the project. Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) have undergone significant advances in equipment capabilities and now have the capacity to acquire high resolution imagery from different angles in a cost effective and efficient manner. By using photogrammetry, characteristics such as distances, areas, volumes, elevations, object sizes, and object shape can be determined within overlapping areas. This paper explores the combined use of BIM and UAV technologies in order to achieve efficient and accurate as-built data collection and 3D illustrations of the works progress during an infrastructure construction project.

Humidity Distributions in Multilayered Walls of High-rise Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gamayunova, Olga; Musorina, Tatiana; Ishkov, Alexander

2018-03-01

The limitation of free territories in large cities is the main reason for the active development of high-rise construction. Given the large-scale projects of high-rise buildings in recent years in Russia and abroad and their huge energy consumption, one of the fundamental principles in the design and reconstruction is the use of energy-efficient technologies. The main heat loss in buildings occurs through enclosing structures. However, not always the heat-resistant wall will be energy-efficient and dry at the same time (perhaps waterlogging). Temperature and humidity distributions in multilayer walls were studied in the paper, and the interrelation of other thermophysical characteristics was analyzed.

Field Trial of an Aerosol-Based Enclosure Sealing Technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harrington, Curtis; Springer, David

2015-09-01

This report presents the results from several demonstrations of a new method for sealing building envelope air leaks using an aerosol sealing process developed by the Western Cooling Efficiency Center at UC Davis. The process involves pressurizing a building while applying an aerosol sealant to the interior. As air escapes through leaks in the building envelope, the aerosol particles are transported to the leaks where they collect and form a seal that blocks the leak. Standard blower door technology is used to facilitate the building pressurization, which allows the installer to track the sealing progress during the installation and automaticallymore » verify the final building tightness. Each aerosol envelope sealing installation was performed after drywall was installed and taped, and the process did not appear to interrupt the construction schedule or interfere with other trades working in the homes. The labor needed to physically seal bulk air leaks in typical construction will not be replaced by this technology.« less

Mechanisation and automation technologies development in work at construction sites

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sobotka, A.; Pacewicz, K.

2017-10-01

Implementing construction work that creates buildings is a very complicated and laborious task and requires the use of various types of machines and equipment. For years there has been a desire for designers and technologists to introduce devices that replace people’s work on machine construction, automation and even robots. Technologies for building construction are still being developed and implemented to limit people’s hard work and improve work efficiency and quality in innovative architectonical and construction solutions. New opportunities for improving work on the construction site include computerisation of technological processes and construction management for projects and processes. The aim of the paper was to analyse the development of mechanisation, automation and computerisation of construction processes and selected building technologies, with special attention paid to 3D printing technology. The state of mechanisation of construction works in Poland and trends in its development in construction technologies are presented. These studies were conducted on the basis of the available literature and a survey of Polish construction companies.

Technology Solutions Case Study: Cold Climate Foundation Wall Hygrothermal Research Facility, Cloquet, Minnesota

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2014-09-01

This case study describes the University of Minnesota’s Cloquet Residential Research Facility (CRRF) in northern Minnesota, which features more than 2,500 ft2 of below-grade space for building systems foundation hygrothermal research. Here, the NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership team researches ways to improve the energy efficiency of the building envelope, including wall assemblies, basements, roofs, insulation, and air leakage.

NREL's Sustainable Campus Overview

ScienceCinema

Rukavina, Frank; Pless, Shanti

2018-05-11

The high-performance buildings across the Energy Department's National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) South Table Mountain campus incorporate a number of state-of-the art energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies, making them models for sustainability. Each building, designed to meet the Gold or Platinum standards of the U.S. Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) program, brings NREL closer to developing the campus of the future.

Field Trial of an Aerosol-Based Enclosure Sealing Technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Harrington, Curtis; Springer, David

2015-09-01

This report presents the results from several demonstrations of a new method for sealing building envelope air leaks using an aerosol sealing process developed by the Western Cooling Efficiency Center at UC Davis. The process involves pressurizing a building while applying an aerosol sealant to the interior. As air escapes through leaks in the building envelope, the aerosol particles are transported to the leaks where they collect and form a seal that blocks the leak. Standard blower door technology is used to facilitate the building pressurization, which allows the installer to track the sealing progress during the installation and automaticallymore » verify the final building tightness. Each aerosol envelope sealing installation was performed after drywall was installed and taped, and the process did not appear to interrupt the construction schedule or interfere with other trades working in the homes. The labor needed to physically seal bulk air leaks in typical construction will not be replaced by this technology. However, this technology is capable of bringing the air leakage of a building that was built with standard construction techniques and HERS-verified sealing down to levels that would meet DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes program requirements. When a developer is striving to meet a tighter envelope leakage specification, this technology could greatly reduce the cost to achieve that goal by providing a simple and relatively low cost method for reducing the air leakage of a building envelope with little to no change in their common building practices.« less

RETScreen Plus Software Tutorial

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Ganoe, Rene D.; Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.; DeYoung, Russell J.

2014-01-01

Greater emphasis is being placed on reducing both the carbon footprint and energy cost of buildings. A building's energy usage depends upon many factors one of the most important is the local weather and climate conditions to which it's electrical, heating and air conditioning systems must respond. Incorporating renewable energy systems, including solar systems, to supplement energy supplies and increase energy efficiency is important to saving costs and reducing emissions. Also retrofitting technologies to buildings requires knowledge of building performance in its current state, potential future climate state, projection of potential savings with capital investment, and then monitoring the performance once the improvements are made. RETScreen Plus is a performance analysis software module that supplies the needed functions of monitoring current building performance, targeting projected energy efficiency improvements and verifying improvements once completed. This tutorial defines the functions of RETScreen Plus as well as outlines the general procedure for monitoring and reporting building energy performance.

Smart Homes and Buildings Research at the Energy Systems Integration Facility

ScienceCinema

Christensen, Dane; Sparn, Bethany; Hannegan, Bryan

2018-01-16

Watch how NREL researchers are using the unique capabilities of the Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) to develop technologies that will help the “smart” homes and buildings of the future perform efficiently and communicate effectively with the electricity grid while enhancing occupants' comfort and convenience.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shwehdi, M.H.; Khan, A.Z.

Building automation technology is rapidly developing towards more reliable communication systems, devices that control electronic equipments. These equipment if controlled leads to efficient energy management, and savings on the monthly electricity bill. Power Line communication (PLC) has been one of the dreams of the electronics industry for decades, especially for building automation. It is the purpose of this paper to demonstrate communication methods among electronic control devices through an AC power line carrier within the buildings for more efficient energy control. The paper outlines methods of communication over a powerline, namely the X-10 and CE bus. It also introduces themore » spread spectrum technology as to increase speed to 100--150 times faster than the X-10 system. The powerline carrier has tremendous applications in the field of building automation. The paper presents an attempt to realize a smart house concept, so called, in which all home electronic devices from a coffee maker to a water heater microwave to chaos robots will be utilized by an intelligent network whenever one wishes to do so. The designed system may be applied very profitably to help in energy management for both customer and utility.« less

Increasing energy efficiency level of building production based on applying modern mechanization facilities

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Prokhorov, Sergey

2017-10-01

Building industry in a present day going through the hard times. Machine and mechanism exploitation cost, on a field of construction and installation works, takes a substantial part in total building construction expenses. There is a necessity to elaborate high efficient method, which allows not only to increase production, but also to reduce direct costs during machine fleet exploitation, and to increase its energy efficiency. In order to achieve the goal we plan to use modern methods of work production, hi-tech and energy saving machine tools and technologies, and use of optimal mechanization sets. As the optimization criteria there are exploitation prime cost and set efficiency. During actual task-solving process we made a conclusion, which shows that mechanization works, energy audit with production juxtaposition, prime prices and costs for energy resources allow to make complex machine fleet supply, improve ecological level and increase construction and installation work quality.

Energy Smart Schools--Applied Research, Field Testing, and Technology Integration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Nebiat Solomon; Robin Vieira; William L. Manz

2004-12-01

The National Association of State Energy Officials (NASEO) in conjunction with the California Energy Commission, the Energy Center of Wisconsin, the Florida Solar Energy Center, the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority, and the Ohio Department of Development's Office of Energy Efficiency conducted a four-year, cost-share project with the U.S. Department of Energy (USDOE), Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to focus on energy efficiency and high-performance technologies in our nation's schools. NASEO was the program lead for the MOU-State Schools Working group, established in conjunction with the USDOE Memorandum of Understanding process for collaboration among statemore » and federal energy research and demonstration offices and organizations. The MOU-State Schools Working Group included State Energy Offices and other state energy research organizations from all regions of the country. Through surveys and analyses, the Working Group determined the school-related energy priorities of the states and established a set of tasks to be accomplished, including the installation and evaluation of microturbines, advanced daylighting research, testing of schools and classrooms, and integrated school building technologies. The Energy Smart Schools project resulted in the adoption of advanced energy efficiency technologies in both the renovation of existing schools and building of new ones; the education of school administrators, architects, engineers, and manufacturers nationwide about the energy-saving, economic, and environmental benefits of energy efficiency technologies; and improved the learning environment for the nation's students through use of better temperature controls, improvements in air quality, and increased daylighting in classrooms. It also provided an opportunity for states to share and replicate successful projects to increase their energy efficiency while at the same time driving down their energy costs.« less

Central Campus Construction Progress

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-10-18

A large crane towers overhead as the new, seven-story headquarters building takes shape in the industrial area at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 200,000-square-foot facility will anchor the spaceport’s Central Campus and house about 500 NASA civil service and contractor employees. The building will be more energy efficient than the current Headquarters building and will feature the latest in office and administrative building technology to fulfill Kennedy's role as the premiere multi-user spaceport for NASA and, increasingly, commercial entities.

Building America FY 2016 Annual Report: Building America Is Driving Real Solutions in the Race to Zero Energy Homes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farrar, Sara; Rothgeb, Stacey; Polly, Ben

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building America Program enables the transformation of the U.S. housing industry to achieve energy savings through energy-efficient, high-performance homes with improved durability, comfort, and health for occupants. Building America bridges the gap between the development of emerging technologies and the adoption of codes and standards by engaging industry partners in applied research, development, and demonstration of high-performance solutions.

10 CFR 431.293 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th... 10 Energy 3 2010-01-01 2010-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.293 Section 431.293 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL...

10 CFR 433.3 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 433.3 Section 433.3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR NEW FEDERAL COMMERCIAL.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, Sixth...

10 CFR 431.293 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th... 10 Energy 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.293 Section 431.293 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL...

10 CFR 431.293 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.293 Section 431.293 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL...

10 CFR 431.63 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th... 10 Energy 3 2011-01-01 2011-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.63 Section 431.63 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AND...

10 CFR 431.323 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.323 Section 431.323 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL...

10 CFR 431.105 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

..., Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.105 Section 431.105 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL...

10 CFR 431.63 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.63 Section 431.63 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AND...

10 CFR 431.105 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

..., Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.105 Section 431.105 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL...

10 CFR 433.3 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 433.3 Section 433.3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR NEW FEDERAL COMMERCIAL.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, Sixth...

10 CFR 431.63 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.63 Section 431.63 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AND...

10 CFR 431.293 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.293 Section 431.293 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL...

10 CFR 431.293 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.293 Section 431.293 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL...

10 CFR 431.63 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.63 Section 431.63 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL AND...

10 CFR 433.3 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 433.3 Section 433.3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR NEW FEDERAL COMMERCIAL.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, Sixth...

10 CFR 431.323 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 431.323 Section 431.323 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN COMMERCIAL...

The Microcontroller: A Paradigm for a Robot Building Block

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hammons, John; Deal, Walter F., III

2013-01-01

Microcontrollers are used extensively in transportation and communications technologies, in automobiles to monitor and control engine speed and performance so as to maximize fuel economy and efficiency, and by manufacturing industries to produce "smart" technology. The flexibility, imagination, and spirit that make these tiny devices so…

Building America Best Practices Series Volume 13: Energy Performance Techniques and Technologies: Preserving Historic Homes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Britt, Michelle L.; Baechler, Michael C.; Gilbride, Theresa L.

2011-03-01

This guide is a resource to help contractors renovate historic houses, while addressing issues such as building durability, indoor air quality, and occupant health, safety, and comfort. The best practices described in this document are based on the results of research and demonstration projects conducted by Building America’s research teams. Building America brings together the nation’s leading building scientists with over 300 production builders to develop, test, and apply innovative, energy-efficient construction practices. The guide is available for download from the DOE Building America website www.buildingamerica.gov.

Building America Case Study: Field Trial of an Aerosol-Based Enclosure Sealing Technology, Clovis, California

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

This report presents the results from several demonstrations of a new method for sealing building envelope air leaks using an aerosol sealing process developed by the Western Cooling Efficiency Center at UC Davis. The process involves pressurizing a building while applying an aerosol sealant to the interior. As air escapes through leaks in the building envelope, the aerosol particles are transported to the leaks where they collect and form a seal that blocks the leak. Standard blower door technology is used to facilitate the building pressurization, which allows the installer to track the sealing progress during the installation and automaticallymore » verify the final building tightness. Each aerosol envelope sealing installation was performed after drywall was installed and taped, and the process did not appear to interrupt the construction schedule or interfere with other trades working in the homes. The labor needed to physically seal bulk air leaks in typical construction will not be replaced by this technology. However, this technology is capable of bringing the air leakage of a building that was built with standard construction techniques and HERS-verified sealing down to levels that would meet DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes program requirements. When a developer is striving to meet a tighter envelope leakage specification, this technology could greatly reduce the cost to achieve that goal by providing a simple and relatively low cost method for reducing the air leakage of a building envelope with little to no change in their common building practices.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

HADLEY, S.W.

This document was prepared at the request of the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Federal Energy Management Program (FEMP) under its Technical Guidance and Assistance and Project Financing Programs. The purpose was to provide an estimate of the national potential for combined heat and power (also known as CHP; cogeneration; or cooling, heating, and power) applications at federal facilities and the associated costs and benefits including energy and emission savings. The report provides a broad overview for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and other agencies on when and where CHP systems are most likely to serve the government's bestmore » interest. FEMP's mission is to reduce the cost to and environmental impact of the federal government by advancing energy efficiency and water conservation, promoting the use of renewable energy, and improving utility management decisions at federal sites. FEMP programs are driven by its customers: federal agency sites. FEMP monitors energy efficiency and renewable energy technology developments and mounts ''technology-specific'' programs to make technologies that are in strong demand by agencies more accessible. FEMP's role is often one of helping the federal government ''lead by example'' through the use of advanced energy efficiency/renewable energy (EERE) technologies in its own buildings and facilities. CHP was highlighted in the Bush Administration's National Energy Policy Report as a commercially available technology offering extraordinary benefits in terms of energy efficiencies and emission reductions. FEMP's criteria for emphasizing a technology are that it must be commercially available; be proven but underutilized; have a strong constituency and momentum; offer large energy savings and other benefits of interest to federal sites and FEMP mission; be in demand; and carry sufficient federal market potential. As discussed in the report, CHP meets all of these criteria. Executive Order 13123 directs federal facilities to use CHP when life-cycle costs indicate energy reduction goals will be met. FEMP can assist facilities to conduct this analysis. The model developed for this report estimates the magnitude of CHP that could be implemented under various performance and economic assumptions associated with different applications. This model may be useful for other energy technologies. It can be adapted to estimate the market potential in federal buildings for any energy system based on the cost and performance parameters that a user desires to assess. The model already incorporates a standard set of parameters based on available data for federal buildings including total building space, building type, energy use intensity, fuel costs, and the performance of many prime movers commonly used in CHP applications. These and other variables can be adjusted to meet user needs or updated in the future as new data become available.« less

Energy Transformation: Teaching Youth about Energy Efficiency while Meeting Science Essential Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kirby, Sarah D.; Chilcote, Amy G.

2014-01-01

This article describes the Energy Transformation 4-H school enrichment curriculum. The curriculum addresses energy efficiency and conservation while meeting sixth-grade science essential standards requirements. Through experiential learning, including building and testing a model home, youth learn the relationship between various technologies and…

Stennis Space Center observes 2009 Energy Awareness Day

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

2009-01-01

Stennis Space Center employees Maria Etheridge (l to r), Linda Sauland Maurice Prevost visit a Coast Electric Power Association display featuring energy-efficient light bulbs during 2009 Energy Awareness Day activities on Oct. 20. The exhibit was one of several energy-efficiency and energy-awareness displays on-site for employees to visit. Vendors included Mississippi Power Company, Coast Electric Power Association, Mississippi Development Authority - Energy Division,Jacobs FOSC Environmental, Southern Energy Technologies, and Siemens Building Technologies.

Stennis Space Center observes 2009 Energy Awareness Day

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-10-20

Stennis Space Center employees Maria Etheridge (l to r), Linda Sauland Maurice Prevost visit a Coast Electric Power Association display featuring energy-efficient light bulbs during 2009 Energy Awareness Day activities on Oct. 20. The exhibit was one of several energy-efficiency and energy-awareness displays on-site for employees to visit. Vendors included Mississippi Power Company, Coast Electric Power Association, Mississippi Development Authority - Energy Division,Jacobs FOSC Environmental, Southern Energy Technologies, and Siemens Building Technologies.

Final environmental assessment: Sacramento Energy Service Center

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

1994-03-01

The Sacramento Area Office (SAO) of the Western Area Power Administration (Western) needs to increase the security of operations, to eliminate overcrowding at the current leased location of the existing facilities, to provide for future growth, to improve efficiency, and to reduce operating costs. The proposed action is to construct an approximate 40,000-square foot building and adjacent parking lot with a Solar Powered Electric Vehicle Charging Station installed to promote use of energy efficient transportation. As funding becomes available and technology develops, additional innovative energy-efficient measures will be incorporated into the building. For example the proposed construction of the Solarmore » Powered Electric Vehicle Charging.« less

Management and Marketing. Guide to Standards and Implementation. Career & Technology Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Standards Branch.

This Alberta curriculum guide defines competencies that help students build daily living skills, investigate career options in management and marketing occupations, use technology in these fields effectively and efficiently, and prepare for entry into the workplace or related postsecondary programs. The first section provides a program rationale…

Tourism Studies. Guide to Standards and Implementation. Career & Technology Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Standards Branch.

This Alberta curriculum guide, focusing on tourism studies, defines competencies that: help students build daily living skills, investigate career options in the design and repair of motor vehicles, use technology in these fields effectively and efficiently, and prepare for entry into the workplace or related postsecondary programs. Section A…

Logistics. Guide to Standards and Implementation. Career & Technology Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Standards Branch.

This Alberta curriculum guide defines competencies that help students build daily living skills, investigate career options in logistics occupations, use technology in the logistics field effectively and efficiently, and prepare for entry into the workplace or related postsecondary programs. The first section provides a program rationale and…

Financial Management. Guide to Standards and Implementation. Career & Technology Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Standards Branch.

This Alberta curriculum guide defines competencies that help students build daily living skills, investigate career options in financial management, use technology in the financial management field effectively and efficiently, and prepare for entry into the workplace or related postsecondary programs. The first section provides a program rationale…

Cosmetology Studies. Guide to Standards and Implementation. Career & Technology Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Standards Branch.

This Alberta curriculum guide defines competencies that help students build daily living skills, investigate career options in cosmetology, use technology in the cosmetology field effectively and efficiently, and prepare for entry into the workplace or related postsecondary programs in the field. The first section provides a program rationale and…

Energy efficiency in new museum build: THEpUBLIC

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Battle, G.; Yuen, C. H. N.; Zanchetta, M.; D'Cruz, P.

2006-12-01

The project MUSEUMS, awarded the Thermie Grant from the European Commission, has applied and tested new and innovative technologies for optimizing energy efficiency and sustainability in nine retrofitted and new museum buildings in Europe. The project will significantly contribute to the acceptance of innovative and renewable technologies in public buildings by demonstrating that retrofitted and new museum buildings can fully meet architectural, functional, comfort, control and safety requirements as well as achieve total energy savings of over 35% and reduce CO2 emissions by over 50%. THEpUBLIC will be a stunning and modern flagship building containing six storeys, with a total area of 11,000Âm2 of galleries for exhibitions, digital art and hands-on displays. In addition, there will be workspaces, creative spaces, retail opportunities, restaurant facilities, public areas, conference rooms and other multi-function spaces. Initiated by Jubilee Arts, the THEpUBLIC, designed by Alsop Architects, will introduce and engage its 400,000 expected visitors in the principles of energy and the environment through a display of art, education, technology and entertainment in the centre of West Bromwich, Sandwell. It will serve as a catalyst for urban regeneration within Sandwell.Battle McCarthy's key environmental design solutions for THEpUBLIC include natural daylighting, mixed-mode ventilation system with operable windows, low energy and maintenance cost systems, potential for integrating renewable energy collection systems, borehole water systems for cooling and water supply, an intelligent facade system with external shading and natural ventilation and night cooling systems.

An IoT-Based Solution for Monitoring a Fleet of Educational Buildings Focusing on Energy Efficiency.

PubMed

Amaxilatis, Dimitrios; Akrivopoulos, Orestis; Mylonas, Georgios; Chatzigiannakis, Ioannis

2017-10-10

Raising awareness among young people and changing their behaviour and habits concerning energy usage is key to achieving sustained energy saving. Additionally, young people are very sensitive to environmental protection so raising awareness among children is much easier than with any other group of citizens. This work examines ways to create an innovative Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) ecosystem (including web-based, mobile, social and sensing elements) tailored specifically for school environments, taking into account both the users (faculty, staff, students, parents) and school buildings, thus motivating and supporting young citizens' behavioural change to achieve greater energy efficiency. A mixture of open-source IoT hardware and proprietary platforms on the infrastructure level, are currently being utilized for monitoring a fleet of 18 educational buildings across 3 countries, comprising over 700 IoT monitoring points. Hereon presented is the system's high-level architecture, as well as several aspects of its implementation, related to the application domain of educational building monitoring and energy efficiency. The system is developed based on open-source technologies and services in order to make it capable of providing open IT-infrastructure and support from different commercial hardware/sensor vendors as well as open-source solutions. The system presented can be used to develop and offer new app-based solutions that can be used either for educational purposes or for managing the energy efficiency of the building. The system is replicable and adaptable to settings that may be different than the scenarios envisioned here (e.g., targeting different climate zones), different IT infrastructures and can be easily extended to accommodate integration with other systems. The overall performance of the system is evaluated in real-world environment in terms of scalability, responsiveness and simplicity.

An IoT-Based Solution for Monitoring a Fleet of Educational Buildings Focusing on Energy Efficiency

PubMed Central

Akrivopoulos, Orestis

2017-01-01

Raising awareness among young people and changing their behaviour and habits concerning energy usage is key to achieving sustained energy saving. Additionally, young people are very sensitive to environmental protection so raising awareness among children is much easier than with any other group of citizens. This work examines ways to create an innovative Information & Communication Technologies (ICT) ecosystem (including web-based, mobile, social and sensing elements) tailored specifically for school environments, taking into account both the users (faculty, staff, students, parents) and school buildings, thus motivating and supporting young citizens’ behavioural change to achieve greater energy efficiency. A mixture of open-source IoT hardware and proprietary platforms on the infrastructure level, are currently being utilized for monitoring a fleet of 18 educational buildings across 3 countries, comprising over 700 IoT monitoring points. Hereon presented is the system’s high-level architecture, as well as several aspects of its implementation, related to the application domain of educational building monitoring and energy efficiency. The system is developed based on open-source technologies and services in order to make it capable of providing open IT-infrastructure and support from different commercial hardware/sensor vendors as well as open-source solutions. The system presented can be used to develop and offer new app-based solutions that can be used either for educational purposes or for managing the energy efficiency of the building. The system is replicable and adaptable to settings that may be different than the scenarios envisioned here (e.g., targeting different climate zones), different IT infrastructures and can be easily extended to accommodate integration with other systems. The overall performance of the system is evaluated in real-world environment in terms of scalability, responsiveness and simplicity. PMID:28994719

From Smart-Eco Building to High-Performance Architecture: Optimization of Energy Consumption in Architecture of Developing Countries

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mahdavinejad, M.; Bitaab, N.

2017-08-01

Search for high-performance architecture and dreams of future architecture resulted in attempts towards meeting energy efficient architecture and planning in different aspects. Recent trends as a mean to meet future legacy in architecture are based on the idea of innovative technologies for resource efficient buildings, performative design, bio-inspired technologies etc. while there are meaningful differences between architecture of developed and developing countries. Significance of issue might be understood when the emerging cities are found interested in Dubaization and other related booming development doctrines. This paper is to analyze the level of developing countries’ success to achieve smart-eco buildings’ goals and objectives. Emerging cities of West of Asia are selected as case studies of the paper. The results of the paper show that the concept of high-performance architecture and smart-eco buildings are different in developing countries in comparison with developed countries. The paper is to mention five essential issues in order to improve future architecture of developing countries: 1- Integrated Strategies for Energy Efficiency, 2- Contextual Solutions, 3- Embedded and Initial Energy Assessment, 4- Staff and Occupancy Wellbeing, 5- Life-Cycle Monitoring.

Building America Best Practices Series, Volume 6: High-Performance Home Technologies: Solar Thermal & Photovoltaic Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baechler, Michael C.; Gilbride, Theresa L.; Ruiz, Kathleen A.

This guide is was written by PNNL for the US Department of Energy's Building America program to provide information for residential production builders interested in building near zero energy homes. The guide provides indepth descriptions of various roof-top photovoltaic power generating systems for homes. The guide also provides extensive information on various designs of solar thermal water heating systems for homes. The guide also provides construction company owners and managers with an understanding of how solar technologies can be added to their homes in a way that is cost effective, practical, and marketable. Twelve case studies provide examples of productionmore » builders across the United States who are building energy-efficient homes with photovoltaic or solar water heating systems.« less

Turnkey Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning and Lighting Retrofit Solution Combining Energy Efficiency and Demand Response Benefits

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Doebber, Ian; Deru, Michael; Trenbath, Kim

NREL worked with the Bonneville Power Administration's Technology Innovation Office to demonstrate a turnkey, retrofit technology that combines demand response (DR) and energy efficiency (EE) benefits for HVAC and lighting in retail buildings. As a secondary benefit, we also controlled various plug loads and electric hot water heaters (EHWH). The technology demonstrated was Transformative Wave's eIQ Building Management System (BMS) automatically responding to DR signals. The BMS controlled the HVAC rooftop units (RTU) using the CATALYST retrofit solution also developed by Transformative Wave. The non-HVAC loads were controlled using both hardwired and ZigBee wireless communication. The wireless controllers, manufactured bymore » Autani, were used when the building's electrical layout was too disorganized to leverage less expensive hardwired control. The six demonstration locations are within the Seattle metro area. Based on the assets curtailed by the BMS at each location, we projected the DR resource. We were targeting a 1.7 W/ft2 shed for the summer Day-Ahead events and a 0.7 W/ft2 shed for the winter events. While summarized in Table ES-1, only one summer DR event was conducted at Casino #2.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Desroches, Louis-Benoit; Garbesi, Karina

It is well established that energy efficiency is most often the lowest cost approach to reducing national energy use and minimizing carbon emissions. National investments in energy efficiency to date have been highly cost-effective. The cumulative impacts (out to 2050) of residential energy efficiency standards are expected to have a benefit-to-cost ratio of 2.71:1. This project examined energy end-uses in the residential, commercial, and in some cases the industrial sectors. The scope is limited to appliances and equipment, and does not include building materials, building envelopes, and system designs. This scope is consistent with the scope of DOE's appliance standardsmore » program, although many products considered here are not currently subject to energy efficiency standards. How much energy could the United States save if the most efficient design options currently feasible were adopted universally? What design features could produce those savings? How would the savings from various technologies compare? With an eye toward identifying promising candidates and strategies for potential energy efficiency standards, the Max Tech and Beyond project aims to answer these questions. The analysis attempts to consolidate, in one document, the energy savings potential and design characteristics of best-on-market products, best-engineered products (i.e., hypothetical products produced using best-on-market components and technologies), and emerging technologies in research & development. As defined here, emerging technologies are fundamentally new and are as yet unproven in the market, although laboratory studies and/or emerging niche applications offer persuasive evidence of major energy-savings potential. The term 'max tech' is used to describe both best-engineered and emerging technologies (whichever appears to offer larger savings). Few best-on-market products currently qualify as max tech, since few apply all available best practices and components. The three primary analyses presented in this report are: Nevertheless, it is important to analyze best-on-market products, since data on truly max tech technologies are limited. (1) an analysis of the cross-cutting strategies most promising for reducing appliance and equipment energy use in the U.S.; (2) a macro-analysis of the U.S. energy-saving potential inherent in promising ultra-efficient appliance technologies; and (3) a product-level analysis of the energy-saving potential.« less

NREL Buildings Research Video

ScienceCinema

None

2017-12-09

Through research, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has developed many strategies and design techniques to ensure both commercial and residential buildings use as little energy as possible and also work well with the surroundings. Here you will find a video that introduces the work of NREL Buildings Research, highlights some of the facilities on the NREL campus, and demonstrates these efficient building strategies. Watch this video to see design highlights of the Science and Technology Facility on the NREL campus—the first Federal building to be LEED® Platinum certified. Additionally, the video demonstrates the energy-saving features of NRELs Thermal Test Facility.

Caring and professional practice settings: the impact of technology, change, and efficiency.

PubMed

Crow, G

2001-01-01

Technology, change, efficiency, and caring are not necessarily concepts that are used in the same sentence when describing motivational and professional practice settings. Caring within health care organizations can take many forms. One of the most significant and meaningful forms is through building networks for shared decision making and shared accountability. While caring can save the life of a patient and convey trust and commitment to patients, families, and staff, it can also save the life of your organization.

Machines that Manage.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kennedy, Mike

2003-01-01

Describes how facilities-management systems use technology to help schools and universities operate their buildings more efficiently, reduce energy consumption, manage inventory more accurately, keep track of supplies and maintenance schedules, and save money. (EV)

Building an efficient supply chain.

PubMed

Scalise, Dagmara

2005-08-01

Realizing at last that supply chain management can produce efficiencies and save costs, hospitals are beginning to adopt practices from other industries, such as the concept of extended supply chains, to improve product flow. They're also investing in enterprise planning resource software, radio frequency identification and other technologies, using quality data to drive standardization and streamlining processes.

Research utilization in the building industry: decision model and preliminary assessment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Watts, R.L.; Johnson, D.R.; Smith, S.A.

1985-10-01

The Research Utilization Program was conceived as a far-reaching means for managing the interactions of the private sector and the federal research sector as they deal with energy conservation in buildings. The program emphasizes a private-public partnership in planning a research agenda and in applying the results of ongoing and completed research. The results of this task support the hypothesis that the transfer of R and D results to the buildings industry can be accomplished more efficiently and quickly by a systematic approach to technology transfer. This systematic approach involves targeting decision makers, assessing research and information needs, properly formatingmore » information, and then transmitting the information through trusted channels. The purpose of this report is to introduce elements of a market-oriented knowledge base, which would be useful to the Building Systems Division, the Office of Buildings and Community Systems and their associated laboratories in managing a private-public research partnership on a rational systematic basis. This report presents conceptual models and data bases that can be used in formulating a technology transfer strategy and in planning technology transfer programs.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

M. Hoeschele, E. Weitzel

Although heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) have gained significant attention in recent years as a high efficiency electric water heating solution for single family homes, central HPWHs for commercial or multi-family applications are not as well documented in terms of measured performance and cost effectiveness. To evaluate this technology, the Alliance for Residential Building Innovation team monitored the performance of a 10.5 ton central HPWH installed on a student apartment building at the West Village Zero Net Energy Community in Davis, California. Monitoring data collected over a 16-month period were then used to validate a TRNSYS simulation model. The TRNSYSmore » model was then used to project performance in different climates using local electric rates. Results of the study indicate that after some initial commissioning issues, the HPWH operated reliably with an annual average efficiency of 2.12 (Coefficient of Performance). The observed efficiency was lower than the unit's rated efficiency, primarily due to the fact that the system rarely operated under steady-state conditions. Changes in the system configuration, storage tank sizing, and control settings would likely improve the observed field efficiency. Modeling results suggest significant energy savings relative to electric storage water heating systems (typical annual efficiencies around 0.90) providing for typical simple paybacks of six to ten years without any incentives. The economics versus gas water heating are currently much more challenging given the current low natural gas prices in much of the country. Increased market size for this technology would benefit cost effectiveness and spur greater technology innovation.« less

Energy and Mines. Guide to Standards and Implementation. Career & Technology Studies.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Alberta Dept. of Education, Edmonton. Curriculum Standards Branch.

This Alberta curriculum guide defines competencies that help students build daily living skills, investigate career options in energy and mines, use technology in the fields of energy and mining effectively and efficiently, and prepare for entry into the workplace or related postsecondary programs in the field. The first section provides a program…

Learners and Faculty Creative Partnerships through Building a Virtual Community: Their Experiences Toward Sharing Knowledge Online

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Kurubacak, Gulsun

2005-01-01

In the 21st century, there is a new paradigms shift from traditional distance education approaches to network -based elearning understandings in universities and colleges. Therefore, economy (cost effectiveness and efficiency), technology (communication technologies) and equity (gender, accessibility, minority, language, religion etc.) are vital…

Technology and Performance Analysis Tools | Energy Analysis | NREL

Science.gov Websites

optimize renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies for your project. Many of these tools can be the consumer or energy professional. Biomass Scenario Model (BSM) Determine which supply chain changes (BLCC) Analyze capital investments in buildings. Includes the Energy Escalation Rate Calculator 2.0-15

A Nation of Opportunity: Building America's 21st Century Workforce.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

National Alliance of Business, Inc., Washington, DC.

Advances in information technology (IT) are reshaping the U.S. labor market. The demand for workers who can read and understand complex material, think analytically, and use technology efficiently will continue to increase. Congress established the 21st Century Workforce Commission to assess current and future demand for IT workers and the…

Capacity Building for Research and Education in GIS/GPS Technology and Systems

DTIC Science & Technology

2015-05-20

In multi- sensor area Wireless Sensor Networking (WSN) fields will be explored. As a step forward the research to be conducted in WSN field is to...Agriculture Using Technology for Crops Scouting in Agriculture Application of Technology in Precision Agriculture Wireless Sensor Network (WSN) in...Cooperative Engagement Capability Range based algorithms for Wireless Sensor Network Self-configurable Wireless Sensor Network Energy Efficient Wireless

An overview of solar energy applications in buildings in Greece

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Papamanolis, Nikos

2016-09-01

This work classifies and describes the main fields of solar energy exploitation in buildings in Greece, a country with high solar energy capacities. The study focuses on systems and technologies that apply to residential and commercial buildings following the prevailing design and construction practices (conventional buildings) and investigates the effects of the architectural and constructional characteristics of these buildings on the respective applications. In addition, it examines relevant applications in other building categories and in buildings with increased ecological sensitivity in their design and construction (green buildings). Through its findings, the study seeks to improve the efficiency and broaden the scope of solar energy applications in buildings in Greece to the benefit of their energy and environmental performance.

Commercial Cargo Derivative Study of the Advanced Hybrid Wing Body Configuration with Over-Wing Engine Nacelles

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Hooker, John R.; Wick, Andrew T.; Hardin, Christopher J.

2017-01-01

LM has leveraged our partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and NASA on the advanced hybrid wing body (HWB) concept to develop a commercial freighter which addresses the NASA Advanced Air Transport Technology (AATT) Project goals for improved efficiency beyond 2025. The current Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Revolutionary Configurations for Energy Efficiency (RCEE) program established the HWB configuration and technologies needed for military transports to achieve aerodynamic and fuel efficiencies well beyond the commercial industry's most modern designs. This study builds upon that effort to develop a baseline commercial cargo aircraft and two HWB derivative commercial cargo aircraft to quanitify the benefit of the HWB and establish a technology roadmap for further development.

Performance of ultraviolet photocatalytic oxidation for indoor air cleaning applications.

PubMed

Hodgson, A T; Destaillats, H; Sullivan, D P; Fisk, W J

2007-08-01

Ultraviolet photocatalytic oxidation (UVPCO) systems for removal of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) from air are being considered for use in office buildings. Here, we report an experimental evaluation of a UVPCO device with tungsten oxide modified titanium dioxide (TiO2) as the photocatalyst. The device was challenged with complex VOC mixtures. One mixture contained 27 VOCs characteristic of office buildings and another comprised 10 VOCs emitted by cleaning products, in both cases at realistic concentrations (low ppb range). VOC conversion efficiencies varied widely, usually exceeded 20%, and were as high as approximately 80% at about 0.03 s residence time. Conversion efficiency generally diminished with increased airflow rate, and followed the order: alcohols and glycol ethers > aldehydes, ketones, and terpene hydrocarbons > aromatic and alkane hydrocarbons > halogenated aliphatic hydrocarbons. Conversion efficiencies correlated with the Henry's law constant more closely than with other physicochemical parameters. An empirical model based on the Henry's law constant and the gas-phase reaction rate with hydroxyl radical provided reasonable estimates of pseudo-first order photocatalytic reaction rates. Formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, acetone, formic acid and acetic acid were produced by the device due to incomplete mineralization of common VOCs. Formaldehyde outlet/inlet concentration ratios were in the range 1.9-7.2. Implementation of air cleaning technologies for both VOCs and particles in office buildings may improve indoor air quality, or enable indoor air quality levels to be maintained with reduced outdoor air supply and concomitant energy savings. One promising air cleaning technology is ultraviolet photocatalytic oxidation (UVPCO) air cleaning. For the prototype device evaluated here with realistic mixtures of VOCs, conversion efficiencies typically exceeded the minimum required to counteract predicted VOC concentration increases from a 50% reduction in ventilation. However, the device resulted in the net generation of formaldehyde and acetaldehyde from the partial oxidation of ubiquitous VOCs. Further development of the technology is needed to eliminate these hazardous air pollutants before such a UVPCO device can be deployed in buildings.

Positioning Your Library for Solar (and Financial) Gain. Improving Energy Efficiency, Lighting, and Ventilation with Primarily Passive Techniques

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shane, Jackie

2012-01-01

This article stresses the importance of building design above technology as a relatively inexpensive way to reduce energy costs for a library. Emphasis is placed on passive solar design for heat and daylighting, but also examines passive ventilation and cooling, green roofs, and building materials. Passive design is weighed against technologies…

NREL's Work for the U.S. Navy Illuminates Energy and Cost Savings | News

Science.gov Websites

load controls and whole-building energy efficiency retrofits as good investments for the Navy. " Program Director Steve Gorin said. Advanced power strips, a plug load control technology that cuts power and an office building with capacity for roughly 100 staff. While plug load savings depend on what can

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farrar, Sara; Rothgeb, Stacey; Polly, Ben

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building America Program enables the transformation of the U.S. housing industry to achieve energy savings through energy-efficient, high-performance homes with improved durability, comfort, and health for occupants. Building America bridges the gap between the development of emerging technologies and the adoption of codes and standards by engaging industry partners in applied research, development, and demonstration of high-performance solutions.

Better Buildings Alliance 2013 Annual Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2014-01-31

We are pleased to share with you a copy of the 2013 Annual Report. Inside, you’ll find significant program accomplishments, profiles on highlighted members, and plans for 2014. With your contributions, support, and leadership over the past 12 months, the program has reached significant milestones, including: Growing membership to over 200 members, to represent over 10 billion square feet of U.S. commercial building space and one-seventh of the market; Increasing participation in the 15 Solutions Teams by 75%; Developing 3 new high-efficiency technology specifications that if widely implemented, could save more than $5 billion in energy costs per year; Launchingmore » the Advanced RTU Campaign and Wireless Meter Challenge, and surpassing 100 million sq. ft. in the Lighting Energy Efficiency in Parking (LEEP) Campaign; Welcoming partners in new sectors, including K-12 schools and local governments; The program is a critical element of the Better Buildings Initiative, driving 20% energy savings in the building sector by 2020 through innovation, new technologies, and profiling leadership. Thank you for your ongoing participation, we are looking forward to working with you in the new year on your energy saving targets and advancing technical and market practices that promote energy savings at your organization.« less

10 CFR 431.303 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th..._standards/. Standards can be obtained from the sources listed below. (b) ASTM. American Society for Testing...

Research on the key technologies of 3D spatial data organization and management for virtual building environments

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gong, Jun; Zhu, Qing

2006-10-01

As the special case of VGE in the fields of AEC (architecture, engineering and construction), Virtual Building Environment (VBE) has been broadly concerned. Highly complex, large-scale 3d spatial data is main bottleneck of VBE applications, so 3d spatial data organization and management certainly becomes the core technology for VBE. This paper puts forward 3d spatial data model for VBE, and the performance to implement it is very high. Inherent storage method of CAD data makes data redundant, and doesn't concern efficient visualization, which is a practical bottleneck to integrate CAD model, so An Efficient Method to Integrate CAD Model Data is put forward. Moreover, Since the 3d spatial indices based on R-tree are usually limited by their weakness of low efficiency due to the severe overlap of sibling nodes and the uneven size of nodes, a new node-choosing algorithm of R-tree are proposed.

Commercial Building Energy Asset Rating Program -- Market Research

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McCabe, Molly J.; Wang, Na

2012-04-19

Under contract to Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, HaydenTanner, LLC conducted an in-depth analysis of the potential market value of a commercial building energy asset rating program for the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy. The market research objectives were to: (1) Evaluate market interest and need for a program and tool to offer asset rating and rapidly identify potential energy efficiency measures for the commercial building sector. (2) Identify key input variables and asset rating outputs that would facilitate increased investment in energy efficiency. (3) Assess best practices and lessons learned from existing nationalmore » and international energy rating programs. (4) Identify core messaging to motivate owners, investors, financiers, and others in the real estate sector to adopt a voluntary asset rating program and, as a consequence, deploy high-performance strategies and technologies across new and existing buildings. (5) Identify leverage factors and incentives that facilitate increased investment in these buildings. To meet these objectives, work consisted of a review of the relevant literature, examination of existing and emergent asset and operational rating systems, interviews with industry stakeholders, and an evaluation of the value implication of an asset label on asset valuation. This report documents the analysis methodology and findings, conclusion, and recommendations. Its intent is to support and inform the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy on the market need and potential value impacts of an asset labeling and diagnostic tool to encourage high-performance new buildings and building efficiency retrofit projects.« less

Smart Buildings and Demand Response

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kiliccote, Sila; Piette, Mary Ann; Ghatikar, Girish

2011-11-01

Advances in communications and control technology, the strengthening of the Internet, and the growing appreciation of the urgency to reduce demand side energy use are motivating the development of improvements in both energy efficiency and demand response (DR) systems in buildings. This paper provides a framework linking continuous energy management and continuous communications for automated demand response (Auto-DR) in various times scales. We provide a set of concepts for monitoring and controls linked to standards and procedures such as Open Automation Demand Response Communication Standards (OpenADR). Basic building energy science and control issues in this approach begin with key building components, systems, end-uses and whole building energy performance metrics. The paper presents a framework about when energy is used, levels of services by energy using systems, granularity of control, and speed of telemetry. DR, when defined as a discrete event, requires a different set of building service levels than daily operations. We provide examples of lessons from DR case studies and links to energy efficiency.

Strategies and Challenges for Energy Efficient Retrofitting: Study of the Empire State Building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

De, B.; Mukherjee, M.

2013-11-01

Operational and maintenance cost of existing buildings is escalating making it tough for both the owner and the tenants. Retrofitting them with state of the art technologies help them to keep pace with amended recent code provisions and thus extending the older building stocks one more chance to live responsively. Retrofitted iconic buildings can thus retain their status in commerce driven real estate sector. It helps in reducing green house gas emission as well. World's iconic skyscraper, the Empire State Building (ESB), has undergone an exemplary retrofit process since 2008 to reduce its energy demands. To achieve the goal of operational cost and energy consumption reduction, stiff challenges had taken care in a systematic manner to realize benefit throughout the entire lifespan of the ESB. Least disturbances to the tenant and on-site component handling strategies required precise planning. The present paper explores strategies and process adopted for retrofitting the ESB, and derived insightful guidelines towards operational cost savings and energy efficiency of existing buildings through retrofitting.

Energy efficiency to reduce residential electricity and natural gas use under climate change.

PubMed

Reyna, Janet L; Chester, Mikhail V

2017-05-15

Climate change could significantly affect consumer demand for energy in buildings, as changing temperatures may alter heating and cooling loads. Warming climates could also lead to the increased adoption and use of cooling technologies in buildings. We assess residential electricity and natural gas demand in Los Angeles, California under multiple climate change projections and investigate the potential for energy efficiency to offset increased demand. We calibrate residential energy use against metered data, accounting for differences in building materials and appliances. Under temperature increases, we find that without policy intervention, residential electricity demand could increase by as much as 41-87% between 2020 and 2060. However, aggressive policies aimed at upgrading heating/cooling systems and appliances could result in electricity use increases as low as 28%, potentially avoiding the installation of new generation capacity. We therefore recommend aggressive energy efficiency, in combination with low-carbon generation sources, to offset projected increases in residential energy demand.

Energy efficiency to reduce residential electricity and natural gas use under climate change

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Reyna, Janet L.; Chester, Mikhail V.

2017-05-01

Climate change could significantly affect consumer demand for energy in buildings, as changing temperatures may alter heating and cooling loads. Warming climates could also lead to the increased adoption and use of cooling technologies in buildings. We assess residential electricity and natural gas demand in Los Angeles, California under multiple climate change projections and investigate the potential for energy efficiency to offset increased demand. We calibrate residential energy use against metered data, accounting for differences in building materials and appliances. Under temperature increases, we find that without policy intervention, residential electricity demand could increase by as much as 41-87% between 2020 and 2060. However, aggressive policies aimed at upgrading heating/cooling systems and appliances could result in electricity use increases as low as 28%, potentially avoiding the installation of new generation capacity. We therefore recommend aggressive energy efficiency, in combination with low-carbon generation sources, to offset projected increases in residential energy demand.

Joint China-United States Report for Year 1 Insulation Materials and Systems Project Area Clean Energy Research Center Building Energy Efficiency (CERC-BEE)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Stovall, Therese K; Biswas, Kaushik; Song, Bo

In November of 2009, the presidents of China and the U.S. announced the establishment of the Clean Energy Research Center (CERC). This broad research effort is co-funded by both countries and involves a large number of research centers and universities in both countries. One part of this program is focused on improving the energy efficiency of buildings. One portion of the CERC-BEE was focused on building insulation systems. The research objective of this effort was to Identify and investigate candidate high performance fire resistant building insulation technologies that meet the goal of building code compliance for exterior wall applications inmore » green buildings in multiple climate zones. A Joint Work Plan was established between researchers at the China Academy of Building Research and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Efforts in the first year under this plan focused on information gathering. The objective of this research program is to reduce building energy use in China via improved building insulation technology. In cold regions in China, residents often use inefficient heating systems to provide a minimal comfort level within inefficient buildings. In warmer regions, air conditioning has not been commonly used. As living standards rise, energy consumption in these regions will increase dramatically unless significant improvements are made in building energy performance. Previous efforts that defined the current state of the built environment in China and in the U.S. will be used in this research. In countries around the world, building improvements have typically followed the implementation of more stringent building codes. There have been several changes in building codes in both the U.S. and China within the last few years. New U.S. building codes have increased the amount of wall insulation required in new buildings. New government statements from multiple agencies in China have recently changed the requirements for buildings in terms of energy efficiency and fire safety. A related issue is the degree to which new standards are adopted and enforced. In the U.S., standards are developed using a consensus process, and local government agencies are free to implement these standards or to ignore them. For example, some U.S. states are still using 2003 versions of the building efficiency standards. There is also a great variation in the degree to which the locally adopted standards are enforced in different U.S. cities and states. With a more central process in China, these issues are different, but possible impacts of variable enforcement efficacy may also exist. Therefore, current building codes in China will be compared to the current state of building fire-safety and energy-efficiency codes in the U.S. and areas for possible improvements in both countries will be explored. In particular, the focus of the applications in China will be on green buildings. The terminology of 'green buildings' has different meanings to different audiences. The U.S. research is interested in both new, green buildings, and on retrofitting existing inefficient buildings. An initial effort will be made to clarify the scope of the pertinent wall insulation systems for these applications.« less

Central Campus Construction Progress

NASA Image and Video Library

2016-10-18

The new headquarters building’s seven floors are clearly visible as construction continues in the industrial area at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The 200,000-square-foot facility will anchor the spaceport’s Central Campus and house about 500 NASA civil service and contractor employees. The building will be more energy efficient than the current Headquarters building and will feature the latest in office and administrative building technology to fulfill Kennedy's role as the premiere multi-user spaceport for NASA and, increasingly, commercial entities.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

The technology necessary to build net zero energy buildings (NZEBs) is ready and available today, however, building to net zero energy performance levels can be challenging. Energy efficiency measures, onsite energy generation resources, load matching and grid interaction, climatic factors, and local policies vary from location to location and require unique methods of constructing NZEBs. It is recommended that Components start looking into how to construct and operate NZEBs now as there is a learning curve to net zero construction and FY 2020 is just around the corner.

Peculiarities of non-autoclaved lime wall materials production using clays

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Volodchenko, A. A.; Lesovik, V. S.; Cherepanova, I. A.; Volodchenko, A. N.; Zagorodnjuk, L. H.; Elistratkin, M. Y.

2018-03-01

At present, the development and implementation of energy saving technologies for building materials production, which correspond to modern trends of «green» technologies, become ever more popular. One of the most widely spread wall materials today is a lime brick and stones. The primary raw goods used in production of such materials are quarziferous rocks. However, they have some disadvantages, including low strength index at the intermediate phase of their production, especially in case with a raw brick, which is an issue in the production of high-hollow goods due to low strength index of raw materials and the nonoptimal matrix structure. The conducted experiments confirmed the possibility to control structurization of building composites due to application of nonconventional argillous raw materials. Besides, the material and mineral composition of nonconventional clay rocks ensures the optimal microstructure thus providing for the production of efficient wall building materials via energy saving technology.

Building America Case Study: Pilot Demonstration of Phased Energy Efficiency Retrofits: Deep Retrofits, Central and South Florida

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

D. Parker, K. Sutherland, D. Chasar, J. Montemurno, B. Amos, J. Kono

2017-02-01

The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), in collaboration with Florida Power & Light (FPL), is pursuing a phased residential energy-efficiency retrofit program in Florida. Researchers are looking to establish the impacts of technologies of two retrofit packages -- shallow and deep -- on annual energy and peak energy reductions.

Building America Case Study: Pilot Demonstration of Phased Energy Efficiency Retrofits: Deep Retrofits, Central and South Florida

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2017-02-22

The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), in collaboration with Florida Power & Light (FPL), is pursuing a phased residential energy-efficiency retrofit program in Florida. Researchers are looking to establish the impacts of technologies of two retrofit packages -- shallow and deep -- on annual energy and peak energy reductions.

Correlations between Climate Change and the Modern European Construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gumińska, Anna

2017-10-01

The aim of the study was to analyze the links between climate change and the way modern cities are structured and responded to climate change. How do these changes affect building materials and technologies, or does climate change affect the type of technology and materials used? The most important results are the effects of analysing selected examples of a modern European building, the use of materials and technology, the adaptation of buildings to the changing climate. Selected examples of contemporary architecture from Germany, Italy and Denmark, Norway and Sweden. There are also examples in photographic documentation. The most important criteria affecting the objects are elements that shape the changing climate, as well as existing legal and technical requirements. The main conclusion was that modern urban space is adapted to the changing climate. Unprecedented climatic phenomena in this area: intense and sudden rain, snow, floods, strong winds, abundant sunshine, high temperature changes, greenhouse effect of the city - “island heat”, atmospheric pollution. Building materials and technologies contribute to the optimal conservation of natural resources, buildings are shaped in such a way as to ensure safety, resilience and environmental protection. However, there is still a need for continuous monitoring of climate change, criteria affecting the design and construction of urban and central facilities. Key words: energy efficiency, renewable energy, climate change, contemporary architecture.

The Case Study Technologies as the Means of Competency Building Approach Realization in Higher Education of Russia

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Abdrafikova, Albina R.; Konopatskaya, Ekaterina A.

2014-01-01

The problem of increasing education efficiency in Russian high school under the condition of well-organized educational process with using "Case-study" technology is considered in the article. The article is devoted to the methodology of case study, and especially its implementation in Kazan Federal University, the Institute of Philology…

High-Performance Home Technologies: Solar Thermal & Photovoltaic Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baechler, M.; Gilbride, T.; Ruiz, K.

This document is the sixth volume of the Building America Best Practices Series. It presents information that is useful throughout the United States for enhancing the energy efficiency practices in the specific climate zones that are presented in the first five Best Practices volumes. It provides an introduction to current photovoltaic and solar thermal building practices. Information about window selection and shading is included.

Buildings and community systems technology transfer support: Task 8, No. 1088

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

Information on items prepared for delivery by the contractor for the Industrial Energy Conservation Program are presented in this document. The information in the following brochures: Integrated Community Energy Systems (ICES); Energy Savings Through Automatic Thermostat Controls; Energy-Conserving Systems in Restaurants; Waste Heat Recovery: More Power from Fuels; and Fuel Cells: A New Kind of Power Plant is included. The Energy Efficiency Logo and 2 photographs are presented. A memo concerning ERDA energy data collection, dated November 4, 1976 and a letter about Goldmark Communications, Inc., dated August 16, 1976 are included. The Energy Efficiency Research pamphlet (EER) is reprinted.more » The following are also included: Working draft - Technology Transfer Section of Buildings Conservation Pad; Environmental Concerns/Industrial Growth - Speech to Industrial Council Workshop, Urban Land Institute, 1976 Fall Meeting, October 5, 1976; discussion on Liquid Nitrogen Freezing for Process Foods; and paper on Buildings and Community Systems Program Strategy. Information on high temperature recuperator systems; microwave/vacuum grain drying; Annual Cycle Energy Systems (ACES); Sambo's; Energy Outreach Program; and thermally activated heat pumps is also included. (MCW)« less

Review of optimization techniques of polygeneration systems for building applications

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Y, Rong A.; Y, Su; R, Lahdelma

2016-08-01

Polygeneration means simultaneous production of two or more energy products in a single integrated process. Polygeneration is an energy-efficient technology and plays an important role in transition into future low-carbon energy systems. It can find wide applications in utilities, different types of industrial sectors and building sectors. This paper mainly focus on polygeneration applications in building sectors. The scales of polygeneration systems in building sectors range from the micro-level for a single home building to the large- level for residential districts. Also the development of polygeneration microgrid is related to building applications. The paper aims at giving a comprehensive review for optimization techniques for designing, synthesizing and operating different types of polygeneration systems for building applications.

Multifamily Heat Pump Water Heater Evaluation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoeschele, M.; Weitzel, E.

2017-03-03

Although heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) have gained significant attention in recent years as a high efficiency electric water heating solution for single family homes, central HPWHs for commercial or multi-family applications are not as well documented in terms of measured performance and cost effectiveness. To evaluate this technology, the Alliance for Residential Building Innovation team monitored the performance of a 10.5 ton central HPWH installed on a student apartment building at the West Village Zero Net Energy Community in Davis, California. Monitoring data collected over a 16 month period were then used to validate a TRNSYS simulation model. Themore » TRNSYS model was then used to project performance in different climates using local electric rates. Results of the study indicate that after some initial commissioning issues, the HPWH operated reliably with an annual average efficiency of 2.12 (Coefficient of Performance). The observed efficiency was lower than the unit's rated efficiency, primarily due to the fact that the system rarely operated under steady-state conditions. Changes in the system configuration, storage tank sizing, and control settings would likely improve the observed field efficiency. Modeling results suggest significant energy savings relative to electric storage water heating systems (typical annual efficiencies around 0.90) providing for typical simple paybacks of six to ten years without any incentives. The economics versus gas water heating are currently much more challenging given the current low natural gas prices in much of the country. Increased market size for this technology would benefit cost effectiveness and spur greater technology innovation.« less

Multifamily Heat Pump Water Heater Evaluation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hoeschele, M.; Weitzel, E.

2017-03-01

Although heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) have gained significant attention in recent years as a high efficiency electric water heating solution for single family homes, central HPWHs for commercial or multi-family applications are not as well documented in terms of measured performance and cost effectiveness. To evaluate this technology, the Alliance for Residential Building Innovation team monitored the performance of a 10.5 ton central HPWH installed on a student apartment building at the West Village Zero Net Energy Community in Davis, California. Monitoring data collected over a 16 month period were then used to validate a TRNSYS simulation model. Themore » TRNSYS model was then used to project performance in different climates using local electric rates. Results of the study indicate that after some initial commissioning issues, the HPWH operated reliably with an annual average efficiency of 2.12 (Coefficient of Performance). The observed efficiency was lower than the unit's rated efficiency, primarily due to the fact that the system rarely operated under steady-state conditions. Changes in the system configuration, storage tank sizing, and control settings would likely improve the observed field efficiency. Modeling results suggest significant energy savings relative to electric storage water heating systems (typical annual efficiencies around 0.90) providing for typical simple paybacks of six to ten years without any incentives. The economics versus gas water heating are currently much more challenging given the current low natural gas prices in much of the country. Increased market size for this technology would benefit cost effectiveness and spur greater technology innovation.« less

Power efficient optical communications for space applications

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lesh, J. R.

1982-01-01

Optical communications technology promises substantial size, weight and power consumption savings for space to space high data rate communications over presently used microwave technology. These benefits are further increased by making the most efficient use of the available optical signal energy. This presentation will describe the progress to date on a project to design, build and demonstrate in the laboratory an optical communication system capable of conveying 2.5 bits of information per effective received photon. Such high power efficiencies will reduce the need for photon collection at the receiver and will greatly reduce the requirements for optical pointing accuracy, both at the transmitter as well as the receiver. A longer range program to demonstrate even higher photon efficiencies will also be described.

Yahoo! Compute Coop (YCC). A Next-Generation Passive Cooling Design for Data Centers

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Robison, AD; Page, Christina; Lytle, Bob

The purpose of the Yahoo! Compute Coop (YCC) project is to research, design, build and implement a greenfield "efficient data factory" and to specifically demonstrate that the YCC concept is feasible for large facilities housing tens of thousands of heat-producing computing servers. The project scope for the Yahoo! Compute Coop technology includes: - Analyzing and implementing ways in which to drastically decrease energy consumption and waste output. - Analyzing the laws of thermodynamics and implementing naturally occurring environmental effects in order to maximize the "free-cooling" for large data center facilities. "Free cooling" is the direct usage of outside air tomore » cool the servers vs. traditional "mechanical cooling" which is supplied by chillers or other Dx units. - Redesigning and simplifying building materials and methods. - Shortening and simplifying build-to-operate schedules while at the same time reducing initial build and operating costs. Selected for its favorable climate, the greenfield project site is located in Lockport, NY. Construction on the 9.0 MW critical load data center facility began in May 2009, with the fully operational facility deployed in September 2010. The relatively low initial build cost, compatibility with current server and network models, and the efficient use of power and water are all key features that make it a highly compatible and globally implementable design innovation for the data center industry. Yahoo! Compute Coop technology is designed to achieve 99.98% uptime availability. This integrated building design allows for free cooling 99% of the year via the building's unique shape and orientation, as well as server physical configuration.« less

When PV modules are becoming real building elements: White solar module, a revolution for BIPV (Presentation Recording)

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perret-Aebi, Laure-Emmanuelle; Escarré, Jordi; Li, Heng-Yu; Sansonnens, Laurent; Galliano, Federico; Cattaneo, Gianluca; Heinstein, Patrick; Nicolay, Sylvain; Bailat, Julien; Eberhard, Sébastien; Ballif, Christophe

2015-09-01

The use of photovoltaic (PV) is not anymore an option but a real need in the construction of nearly zero energy buildings. To date, the lack of PV products specifically designed for building integration, considering aesthetics and architectural aspects, is one important limiting factor allowing a massive deployment of PV in the built environment. Architects are continuously asking for new solutions to customize the colour of PV elements to better integrate them into the building skin. Among these colours, white is especially attractive as it is widely used in architecture for its elegance, versatility and fresh look. Until now, white solar modules were not considered to be an option and even never been though to be a technological possibility. Nonetheless, CSEM recently developed a new technology to make white solar modules a reality. Furthermore, the new Swiss company called Solaxess is now working on the industrialisation of this very innovative technology and the first products are expecting to be on the market at the end of 2015. The technology is based on the combination of two different elements: a solar cell able to convert solar infrared light into electricity and a selective filter which reflects and diffuse the whole visible spectrum. Any PV technology based on crystalline silicon can be used as they have a good response in the infrared. Approximately 55% of the current generated under standard test conditions comes from the infrared leading to conversion efficiencies above 11%. We will demonstrate, that thanks to this very innovative technology PV modules can become attractive and real active building elements and therefore meets the requirements of any future energy management through advanced building skins.

Energy Efficient Glazing for Adaptive Solar Control Fabricated with Photothermotropic Hydrogels Containing Graphene Oxide

PubMed Central

Kim, Dowan; Lee, Eunsu; Lee, Heon Sang; Yoon, Jinhwan

2015-01-01

Glazing for adaptive solar control is the most promising for energy efficient development, because the use of this technology in buildings can be expected to significantly impact energy use and efficiency by screening sunlight that enters a building in summer. To achieve autonomous adjustable transparency, we have developed photothermotropic material system by combining photothermal materials with thermotropic hydrogels. We found that graphene oxide dispersed within a hydrogel matrix effectively converts the photo energy of sunlight into thermal energy, providing the efficient means to trigger transparency of thermotropic hydrogels. Therefore, we could develop switchable glazing of novel photothermotropic mechanism that screen strong sunlight and heat radiation in response to the sunlight intensity, as well as the temperature. Furthermore, in this study, a prototype device was manufactured with developed materials and successfully operated in outdoor testing. PMID:25561372

Low Mass Printable Devices for Energy Capture, Storage, and Use

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frazier, Donald O.; Singer, Christopher E.; Rogers, Jan R.; Schramm, Harry F.; Fabisinski, Leo L.; Lowenthal, Mark; Ray, William J.; Fuller, Kirk A.

2010-01-01

The energy-efficient, environmentally friendly technology that will be presented is the result of a Space Act Agreement between NthDegree Technologies Worldwide, Inc., and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA's) Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). The work combines semiconductor and printing technologies to advance lightweight electronic and photonic devices having excellent potential for commercial and exploration applications. Device development involves three projects that relate to energy generation and consumption: (1) a low-mass efficient (low power, low heat emission) micro light-emitting diode (LED) area lighting device; (2) a low-mass omni-directional efficient photovoltaic (PV) device with significantly improved energy capture; and (3) a new approach to building super-capacitors. These three technologies, energy capture, storage, and usage (e.g., lighting), represent a systematic approach for building efficient local micro-grids that are commercially feasible; furthermore, these same technologies, appropriately replacing lighting with lightweight power generation, will be useful for enabling inner planetary missions using smaller launch vehicles and to facilitate surface operations during lunar and planetary surface missions. The PV device model is a two sphere, light trapped sheet approximately 2-mm thick. The model suggests a significant improvement over current thin film systems. For lighting applications, all three technology components are printable in-line by printing sequential layers on a standard screen or flexographic direct impact press using the three-dimensional printing technique (3DFM) patented by NthDegree. One primary contribution to this work in the near term by the MSFC is to test the robustness of prototype devices in the harsh environments that prevail in space and on the lunar surface. It is anticipated that this composite device, of which the lighting component has passed off-gassing testing, will function appropriately in such environments consistent with NASA s exploration missions. Advanced technologies such as this show promise for both space flight and terrestrial applications.

Highlighting High Performance: Michael E. Capuano Early Childhood Center; Somerville, Massachusetts

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

2006-03-01

This brochure describes the key high-performance building features of the Michael E. Capuano Early Childhood Center. The brochure was paid for by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative as part of their Green Schools Initiative. High-performance features described are daylighting and energy-efficient lighting, indoor air quality, solar and wind energy, building envelope, heating and cooling systems, water conservation, and acoustics. Energy cost savings are also discussed.

Building America Case Study: Apartment Compartmentalization with an Aerosol-Based Sealing Process - Queens, NY; Technology Solutions for New and Existing Homes, Energy Efficiency & Renewable Energy (EERE)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2015-07-01

Air sealing of building enclosures is a difficult and time-consuming process. Current methods in new construction require laborers to physically locate small and sometimes large holes in multiple assemblies and then manually seal each of them. The innovation demonstrated under this research study was the automated air sealing and compartmentalization of buildings through the use of an aerosolized sealant, developed by the Western Cooling Efficiency Center at University of California Davis.CARB sought to demonstrate this new technology application in a multifamily building in Queens, NY. The effectiveness of the sealing process was evaluated by three methods: air leakage testing ofmore » overall apartment before and after sealing, point-source testing of individual leaks, and pressure measurements in the walls of the target apartment during sealing. Aerosolized sealing was successful by several measures in this study. Many individual leaks that are labor-intensive to address separately were well sealed by the aerosol particles. In addition, many diffuse leaks that are difficult to identify and treat were also sealed. The aerosol-based sealing process resulted in an average reduction of 71% in air leakage across three apartments and an average apartment airtightness of 0.08 CFM50/SF of enclosure area.« less

Research and Energy Efficiency: Selected Success Stories

DOE R&D Accomplishments Database

Garland, P. W.; Garland, R. W.

1997-06-26

Energy use and energy technology play critical roles in the U.S. economy and modern society. The Department of Energy (DOE) conducts civilian energy research and development (R&D) programs for the purpose of identifying promising technologies that promote energy security, energy efficiency, and renewable energy use. DOE-sponsored research ranges from basic investigation of phenomena all the way through development of applied technology in partnership with industry. DOE`s research programs are conducted in support of national strategic energy objectives, however austere financial times have dictated that R&D programs be measured in terms of cost vs. benefit. In some cases it is difficult to measure the return on investment for the basic "curiosity-driven" research, however many applied technology development programs have resulted in measurable commercial successes. The DOE has published summaries of their most successful applied technology energy R&D programs. In this paper, we will discuss five examples from the Building Technologies area of the DOE Energy Efficiency program. Each story will describe the technology, discuss the level of federal funding, and discuss the returns in terms of energy savings, cost savings, or national economic impacts.

Technology Solutions for Existing Homes Overview: Quantifying the Financial Benefits of Multifamily Retrofits

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2016-04-01

In this project, the U.S. Department of Energy Building America team Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit (PARR) worked with Elevate Energy on three tasks: to conduct pre- and post-retrofit analysis on the income and expense data of 13 Chicago-area multifamily buildings, to compare Chicago income and expense data to two national samples, and to explore the ramifications that energy-efficiency retrofits have on nine Chicago-area neighborhoods. The project team collected building, energy, and income and expense data from multiple private and public sources.

Gas Engine-Driven Heat Pump with Desiccant Dehumidification

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Shen, Bo; Abu-Heiba, Ahmad

About 40% of total U.S. energy consumption was consumed in residential and commercial buildings. Improved air-conditioning technology has by far the greatest potential impact on the electric industry compared to any other technology that uses electricity. This paper describes the development of an innovative natural gas, propane, LNG or bio-gas IC engine-driven heat pump (GHP) with desiccant dehumidification (GHP/DD). This integrated system has higher overall efficiencies than conventional equipment for space cooling, addresses both new and existing commercial buildings, and more effectively controls humidity in humid areas. Waste heat is recovered from the GHP to provide energy for regenerating themore » desiccant wheel and to augment heating capacity and efficiency. By combining the two technologies, an overall source COP of greater that 1.5 (hot, humid case) can be achieved by utilizing waste heat from the engine to reduce the overall energy required to regenerate the desiccant. Moreover, system modeling results show that the sensible heat ratio (SHR- sensible heat ratio) can be lowered to less 60% in a dedicated outdoor air system application with hot, humid cases.« less

Dynamic modeling of potentially conflicting energy reduction strategies for residential structures in semi-arid climates.

PubMed

Hester, Nathan; Li, Ke; Schramski, John R; Crittenden, John

2012-04-30

Globally, residential energy consumption continues to rise due to a variety of trends such as increasing access to modern appliances, overall population growth, and the overall increase of electricity distribution. Currently, residential energy consumption accounts for approximately one-fifth of total U.S. energy consumption. This research analyzes the effectiveness of a range of energy-saving measures for residential houses in semi-arid climates. These energy-saving measures include: structural insulated panels (SIP) for exterior wall construction, daylight control, increased window area, efficient window glass suitable for the local weather, and several combinations of these. Our model determined that energy consumption is reduced by up to 6.1% when multiple energy savings technologies are combined. In addition, pre-construction technologies (structural insulated panels (SIPs), daylight control, and increased window area) provide roughly 4 times the energy savings when compared to post-construction technologies (window blinds and efficient window glass). The model also illuminated the importance variations in local climate and building configuration; highlighting the site-specific nature of this type of energy consumption quantification for policy and building code considerations. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

Engineering Strategies and Methods for Avoiding Air-Quality Externalities: Dispersion Modeling, Home Energy Conservation, and Scenario Planning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Knox, Andrew James

Energy conservation can improve air quality by reducing emissions from fuel combustion. The human health value retained through better air quality can then offset the cost of energy conservation. Through this thesis' innovative yet widely-accessible combination of air pollution dispersion modeling and atmospheric chemistry, it is estimated that the health value retained by avoiding emissions from Ontario's former coal-fired generating stations is 5.74/MWh (using an upper-bound value of 265,000 per year of life lost). This value is combined with energy modeling of homes in the first-ever assessment of the air-quality health benefits of low-energy buildings. It is shown that avoided health damages can equal 7% of additional construction costs of energy efficient buildings in Ontario. At 7%, health savings are a significant item in the cost analysis of efficient buildings. Looking to energy efficiency in the context of likely future low-resource natural gas scenarios, building efficient buildings today is shown to be more economically efficient than any building retrofit option. Considering future natural gas scarcity in the context of Ontario's Long-Term Energy Plan reveals that Ontario may be forced to return to coal-fired electricity. Projected coal use would result in externalities greater than $600 million/year; 80% more than air-quality externalities from Ontario's electricity in 1985. Radically aggressive investment in electricity conservation (75% reduction per capita by 2075) is one promising path forward that keeps air-quality externalities below 1985 levels. Non-health externalities are an additional concern, the quantification, and ultimately monetization, of which could be practical using emerging air pollution monitoring technologies. Energy, conservation, energy planning, and energy's externalities form a complex situation in which today's decisions are critical to a successful future. It is clear that reducing the demand for energy is essential and that there are economically efficient conservation opportunities, particularly in the building sector, being missed.

Barriers to Building Energy Efficiency (BEE) promotion: A transaction costs perspective

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Qian Kun, Queena

Worldwide, buildings account for a surprisingly high 40% of global energy consumption, and the resulting carbon footprint significantly exceeds that of all forms of transportation combined. Large and attractive opportunities exist to reduce buildings' energy use at lower costs and higher returns than in other sectors. This thesis analyzes the concerns of the market stakeholders, mainly real estate developers and end-users, in terms of transaction costs as they make decisions about investing in Building Energy Efficiency (BEE). It provides a detailed analysis of the current situation and future prospects for BEE adoption by the market's stakeholders. It delineates the market and lays out the economic and institutional barriers to the large-scale deployment of energy-efficient building techniques. The aim of this research is to investigate the barriers raised by transaction costs that hinder market stakeholders from investing in BEES. It explains interactions among stakeholders in general and in the specific case of Hong Kong as they consider transaction costs. It focuses on the influence of transaction costs on the decision-making of the stakeholders during the entire process of real estate development. The objectives are: 1) To establish an analytical framework for understanding the barriers to BEE investment with consideration of transaction costs; 2) To build a theoretical game model of decision making among the BEE market stakeholders; 3) To study the empirical data from questionnaire surveys of building designers and from focused interviews with real estate developers in Hong Kong; 4) To triangulate the study's empirical findings with those of the theoretical model and analytical framework. The study shows that a coherent institutional framework needs to be established to ensure that the design and implementation of BEE policies acknowledge the concerns of market stakeholders by taking transaction costs into consideration. Regulatory and incentive options should be integrated into BEE policies to minimize efficiency gaps and to realize a sizeable increase in the number of energy-efficient buildings in the next decades. Specifically, the analysis shows that a thorough understanding of the transaction costs borne by particular stakeholders could improve the energy efficiency of buildings, even without improvements in currently available technology.

Solar Power Satellite Development: Advances in Modularity and Mechanical Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belvin, W. Keith; Dorsey, John T.; Watson, Judith J.

2010-01-01

Space solar power satellites require innovative concepts in order to achieve economically and technically feasible designs. The mass and volume constraints of current and planned launch vehicles necessitate highly efficient structural systems be developed. In addition, modularity and in-space deployment will be enabling design attributes. This paper reviews the current challenges of launching and building very large space systems. A building block approach is proposed in order to achieve near-term solar power satellite risk reduction while promoting the necessary long-term technology advances. Promising mechanical systems technologies anticipated in the coming decades including modularity, material systems, structural concepts, and in-space operations are described

Double Wall Framing Technique An Example of High Performance, Sustainable Building Envelope Technology

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kosny, Dr. Jan; Asiz, Andi; Shrestha, Som S

2015-01-01

Double wall technologies utilizing wood framing have been well-known and used in North American buildings for decades. Most of double wall designs use only natural materials such as wood products, gypsum, and cellulose fiber insulation, being one of few building envelope technologies achieving high thermal performance without use of plastic foams or fiberglass. Today, after several material and structural design modifications, these technologies are considered as highly thermally efficient, sustainable option for new constructions and sometimes, for retrofit projects. Following earlier analysis performed for U.S. Department of Energy by Fraunhofer CSE, this paper discusses different ways to build double wallsmore » and to optimize their thermal performance to minimize the space conditioning energy consumption. Description of structural configuration alternatives and thermal performance analysis are presented as well. Laboratory tests to evaluate thermal properties of used insulation and whole wall system thermal performance are also discussed in this paper. Finally, the thermal loads generated in field conditions by double walls are discussed utilizing results from a joined project performed by Zero Energy Building Research Alliance and Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL), which made possible evaluation of the market viability of low-energy homes built in the Tennessee Valley. Experimental data recorded in two of the test houses built during this field study is presented in this work.« less

Green buildings in Malaysia towards greener environment: challenges for policy makers

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suhaida, M. S.; Tan, K. L.; Leong, Y. P.

2013-06-01

The launch of the National Green Technology Policy (NGTP) in 2009 is a manifesto of the government's seriousness in implementing "green" initiatives for the country. Specifically for buildings, the government promotes the application of renewable energy (RE) and energy efficiency (EE) and the application of green building index. With the introduction of Low Carbon Cities Framework, Green Pass, Green Neighbourhood, Green Building Index by various agencies and organisations in Malaysia, it is time to look back and see how all these tools could come together. This paper attempts to identify the challenges in harmonising the green initiatives for policy makers toward greener environment for sustainability.

Semi-transparent solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sun, J.; Jasieniak, J. J.

2017-03-01

Semi-transparent solar cells are a type of technology that combines the benefits of visible light transparency and light-to-electricity conversion. One of the biggest opportunities for such technologies is in their integration as windows and skylights within energy-sustainable buildings. Currently, such building integrated photovoltaics (BIPV) are dominated by crystalline silicon based modules; however, the opaque nature of silicon creates a unique opportunity for the adoption of emerging photovoltaic candidates that can be made truly semi-transparent. These include: amorphous silicon-, kesterite-, chalcopyrite-, CdTe-, dye-sensitized-, organic- and perovskite- based systems. For the most part, amorphous silicon has been the workhorse in the semi-transparent solar cell field owing to its established, low-temperature fabrication processes. Excitement around alternative classes, particularly perovskites and the inorganic candidates, has recently arisen because of the major efficiency gains exhibited by these technologies. Importantly, each of these presents unique opportunities and challenges within the context of BIPV. This topic review provides an overview into the broader benefits of semi-transparent solar cells as building-integrated features, as well as providing the current development status into all of the major types of semi-transparent solar cells technologies.

Energy Efficiency Potential in the U.S. Single-Family Housing Stock

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wilson, Eric J.; Christensen, Craig B.; Horowitz, Scott G.

Typical approaches for assessing energy efficiency potential in buildings use a limited number of prototypes, and therefore suffer from inadequate resolution when pass-fail cost-effectiveness tests are applied, which can significantly underestimate or overestimate the economic potential of energy efficiency technologies. This analysis applies a new approach to large-scale residential energy analysis, combining the use of large public and private data sources, statistical sampling, detailed building simulations, and high-performance computing to achieve unprecedented granularity - and therefore accuracy - in modeling the diversity of the single-family housing stock. The result is a comprehensive set of maps, tables, and figures showing themore » technical and economic potential of 50 plus residential energy efficiency upgrades and packages for each state. Policymakers, program designers, and manufacturers can use these results to identify upgrades with the highest potential for cost-effective savings in a particular state or region, as well as help identify customer segments for targeted marketing and deployment. The primary finding of this analysis is that there is significant technical and economic potential to save electricity and on-site fuel use in the single-family housing stock. However, the economic potential is very sensitive to the cost-effectiveness criteria used for analysis. Additionally, the savings of particular energy efficiency upgrades is situation-specific within the housing stock (depending on climate, building vintage, heating fuel type, building physical characteristics, etc.).« less

Energy efficiency to reduce residential electricity and natural gas use under climate change

PubMed Central

Reyna, Janet L.; Chester, Mikhail V.

2017-01-01

Climate change could significantly affect consumer demand for energy in buildings, as changing temperatures may alter heating and cooling loads. Warming climates could also lead to the increased adoption and use of cooling technologies in buildings. We assess residential electricity and natural gas demand in Los Angeles, California under multiple climate change projections and investigate the potential for energy efficiency to offset increased demand. We calibrate residential energy use against metered data, accounting for differences in building materials and appliances. Under temperature increases, we find that without policy intervention, residential electricity demand could increase by as much as 41–87% between 2020 and 2060. However, aggressive policies aimed at upgrading heating/cooling systems and appliances could result in electricity use increases as low as 28%, potentially avoiding the installation of new generation capacity. We therefore recommend aggressive energy efficiency, in combination with low-carbon generation sources, to offset projected increases in residential energy demand. PMID:28504255

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

Assessing the impact of energy efficiency technologies at a district or city scale is of great interest to local governments, real estate developers, utility companies, and policymakers. This paper describes a flexible framework that can be used to create and run district and city scale building energy simulations. The framework is built around the new OpenStudio City Database (CityDB). Building footprints, building height, building type, and other data can be imported from public records or other sources. Missing data can be inferred or assigned from a statistical sampling of other datasets. Once all required data is available, OpenStudio Measures aremore » used to create starting point energy models and to model energy efficiency measures for each building. Together this framework allows a user to pose several scenarios such as 'what if 30% of the commercial retail buildings added rooftop solar' or 'what if all elementary schools converted to ground source heat pumps' and then visualize the impacts at a district or city scale. This paper focuses on modeling existing building stock using public records. However, the framework is capable of supporting the evaluation of new construction, district systems, and the use of proprietary data sources.« less

Use of formwork systems in high-rise construction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kurakova, Oksana

2018-03-01

Erection of high quality buildings and structures within a reasonable time frame is the crucial factor for the competitiveness of any construction organization. The main material used in high-rise construction is insitu reinforced concrete. The technology of its use is directly related to the use of formwork systems. Formwork systems and formwork technologies basically determine the speed of construction and labor intensity of concreting operations. Therefore, it is also possible to achieve the goal of reducing the construction time and labor intensity of works performed by improving the technology of formwork systems use. Currently there are unresolved issues in the area of implementation of monolithic technology projects, and problems related to the selection of a formwork technology, high labor intensity of works, poor quality of materials and structures, etc. are the main ones. The article presents organizational and technological measures, by means of which introduction it is possible to shorten the duration of construction. A comparison of operations performed during formwork installation according to the conventional technology and taking into account the implemented organizational and technological measures is presented. The results of a comparative analysis of economic efficiency assessments are also presented on the example of a specific construction project before and after the implementation of the above mentioned measures. The study showed that introduction of the proposed organizational and technological model taking into account optimization of reinforcing and concreting works significantly improves the efficiency of a high-rise construction project. And further improvement of technologies for the use of insitu reinforced concrete is a promising direction in the construction of high-rise buildings.

Global scenarios of urban density and its impacts on building energy use through 2050.

PubMed

Güneralp, Burak; Zhou, Yuyu; Ürge-Vorsatz, Diana; Gupta, Mukesh; Yu, Sha; Patel, Pralit L; Fragkias, Michail; Li, Xiaoma; Seto, Karen C

2017-08-22

Although the scale of impending urbanization is well-acknowledged, we have a limited understanding of how urban forms will change and what their impact will be on building energy use. Using both top-down and bottom-up approaches and scenarios, we examine building energy use for heating and cooling. Globally, the energy use for heating and cooling by the middle of the century will be between 45 and 59 exajoules per year (corresponding to an increase of 7-40% since 2010). Most of this variability is due to the uncertainty in future urban densities of rapidly growing cities in Asia and particularly China. Dense urban development leads to less urban energy use overall. Waiting to retrofit the existing built environment until markets are ready in about 5 years to widely deploy the most advanced renovation technologies leads to more savings in building energy use. Potential for savings in energy use is greatest in China when coupled with efficiency gains. Advanced efficiency makes the least difference compared with the business-as-usual scenario in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa but significantly contributes to energy savings in North America and Europe. Systemic efforts that focus on both urban form, of which urban density is an indicator, and energy-efficient technologies, but that also account for potential co-benefits and trade-offs with human well-being can contribute to both local and global sustainability. Particularly in growing cities in the developing world, such efforts can improve the well-being of billions of urban residents and contribute to mitigating climate change by reducing energy use in urban areas.

Energy Efficiency Building Systems Regional Innovation Cluster Initiative

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Krebs, Martha

The Consortium for Building Energy Innovation (CBEI) was established through a Funding Opportunity Announcement led by the U.S. Department of Energy, under a cooperative agreement managed by the National Energy Technology Laboratory. CBEI is led by The Pennsylvania State University and is composed of partners from academia, the private sector, and economic development agencies. The Consortium has included as many as 24 different partners over the five years, but 14 have been core to the work over the five year cooperative agreement. CBEI primarily focused on developing energy efficiency solutions for the small and medium commercial building market, with amore » focus on buildings less than 50,000 square feet. This market has been underserved by the energy efficiency industry, which has focused on larger commercial buildings where the scale of an individual retrofit lends itself to the use of sophisticated modeling tools and more advanced solutions. Owners/operators and retrofit providers for larger buildings have a greater level of understanding of, and experience with different solutions. In contrast, smaller commercial building retrofits, like residential retrofits, often have owners with less knowledge about energy management and less time to learn about it. This market segment is also served by retrofit providers that are smaller and often focused on particular building systems, e.g. heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), lighting, roofing, or insulation. The size of a smaller commercial building retrofit does not lend itself, from a cost perspective, to the application of multiple, sophisticated design and modeling tools, which means that they are less likely to have integrated solutions.« less

The house of the future

ScienceCinema

None

2017-12-09

Learn what it will take to create tomorrow's net-zero energy home as scientists reveal the secrets of cool roofs, smart windows, and computer-driven energy control systems. The net-zero energy home: Scientists are working to make tomorrow's homes more than just energy efficient -- they want them to be zero energy. Iain Walker, a scientist in the Lab's Energy Performance of Buildings Group, will discuss what it takes to develop net-zero energy houses that generate as much energy as they use through highly aggressive energy efficiency and on-site renewable energy generation. Talking back to the grid: Imagine programming your house to use less energy if the electricity grid is full or price are high. Mary Ann Piette, deputy director of Berkeley Lab's building technology department and director of the Lab's Demand Response Research Center, will discuss how new technologies are enabling buildings to listen to the grid and automatically change their thermostat settings or lighting loads, among other demands, in response to fluctuating electricity prices. The networked (and energy efficient) house: In the future, your home's lights, climate control devices, computers, windows, and appliances could be controlled via a sophisticated digital network. If it's plugged in, it'll be connected. Bruce Nordman, an energy scientist in Berkeley Lab's Energy End-Use Forecasting group, will discuss how he and other scientists are working to ensure these networks help homeowners save energy.

The house of the future

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

Learn what it will take to create tomorrow's net-zero energy home as scientists reveal the secrets of cool roofs, smart windows, and computer-driven energy control systems. The net-zero energy home: Scientists are working to make tomorrow's homes more than just energy efficient -- they want them to be zero energy. Iain Walker, a scientist in the Lab's Energy Performance of Buildings Group, will discuss what it takes to develop net-zero energy houses that generate as much energy as they use through highly aggressive energy efficiency and on-site renewable energy generation. Talking back to the grid: Imagine programming your house tomore » use less energy if the electricity grid is full or price are high. Mary Ann Piette, deputy director of Berkeley Lab's building technology department and director of the Lab's Demand Response Research Center, will discuss how new technologies are enabling buildings to listen to the grid and automatically change their thermostat settings or lighting loads, among other demands, in response to fluctuating electricity prices. The networked (and energy efficient) house: In the future, your home's lights, climate control devices, computers, windows, and appliances could be controlled via a sophisticated digital network. If it's plugged in, it'll be connected. Bruce Nordman, an energy scientist in Berkeley Lab's Energy End-Use Forecasting group, will discuss how he and other scientists are working to ensure these networks help homeowners save energy.« less

Assessment of Wearable Sensor Technologies for Biosurveillance

DTIC Science & Technology

2014-11-01

used in the field. By building devices that leverage elements such as more efficient operating systems and lower power requirements, developers may...technology into the hands of nearly every citizen. Mid-term forecasts for this sector anticipate the development and approval of more precise medical...Batteries with different shapes Paper USB intelliPaper A “smart” paper business card bearing a detachable paper USB drive Deep Tissue Power

USING TIME VARIANT VOLTAGE TO CALCULATE ENERGY CONSUMPTION AND POWER USE OF BUILDING SYSTEMS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Makhmalbaf, Atefe; Augenbroe , Godfried

2015-12-09

Buildings are the main consumers of electricity across the world. However, in the research and studies related to building performance assessment, the focus has been on evaluating the energy efficiency of buildings whereas the instantaneous power efficiency has been overlooked as an important aspect of total energy consumption. As a result, we never developed adequate models that capture both thermal and electrical characteristics (e.g., voltage) of building systems to assess the impact of variations in the power system and emerging technologies of the smart grid on buildings energy and power performance and vice versa. This paper argues that the powermore » performance of buildings as a function of electrical parameters should be evaluated in addition to systems’ mechanical and thermal behavior. The main advantage of capturing electrical behavior of building load is to better understand instantaneous power consumption and more importantly to control it. Voltage is one of the electrical parameters that can be used to describe load. Hence, voltage dependent power models are constructed in this work and they are coupled with existing thermal energy models. Lack of models that describe electrical behavior of systems also adds to the uncertainty of energy consumption calculations carried out in building energy simulation tools such as EnergyPlus, a common building energy modeling and simulation tool. To integrate voltage-dependent power models with thermal models, the thermal cycle (operation mode) of each system was fed into the voltage-based electrical model. Energy consumption of systems used in this study were simulated using EnergyPlus. Simulated results were then compared with estimated and measured power data. The mean square error (MSE) between simulated, estimated, and measured values were calculated. Results indicate that estimated power has lower MSE when compared with measured data than simulated results. Results discussed in this paper will illustrate the significance of enhancing building energy models with electrical characteristics. This would support different studies such as those related to modernization of the power system that require micro scale building-grid interaction, evaluating building energy efficiency with power efficiency considerations, and also design and control decisions that rely on accuracy of building energy simulation results.« less

Low Mass Printable Devices for Energy Capture, Storage, and Use for Space Exploration Missions

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Frazier, Donald O.; Singer, Christopher E.; Ray, William J.; Fuller, Kirk A.

2010-01-01

The energy-efficient, environmentally friendly technology that will be presented is the result of a Space Act Agreement between -Technologies Worldwide, Inc., and the National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA s) Marshall Space Flight Center (MSFC). This work combines semiconductor and printing technologies to advance lightweight electronic and photonic devices having excellent potential for commercial and exploration applications, and is an example of industry and government cooperation that leads to novel inventions. Device development involves three energy generation and consumption projects: 1) a low mass efficient (low power, low heat emission) micro light-emitting diode (LED) area lighting device; 2) a low-mass omni-directional efficient photovoltaic (PV) device with significantly improved energy capture; and 3) a new approach to building supercapacitors. These three technologies - energy capture, storage, and usage (e.g., lighting) - represent a systematic approach for building efficient local micro-grids that are commercially feasible; furthermore, these same technologies will be useful for lightweight power generation that enables inner planetary missions using smaller launch vehicles and facilitates surface operations. The PV device model is a two-sphere, light-trapped sheet approximately 2-mm thick. The model suggests a significant improvement over current thin film systems. All three components may be printed in line by printing sequential layers on a standard screen or flexographic direct impact press using the threedimensional printing technique (3DFM) patented by NthDegree. MSFC is testing the robustness of prototype devices in the harsh space and lunar surface environments, and available results will be reported. Unlike many traditional light sources, this device does not contain toxic compounds, and the LED component has passed stringent off-gassing tests required for potential manifesting on spacecraft such as the International Space Station. Future exploration missions will benefit from "green" technology lighting devices such as this, which show great promise for both terrestrial use and space missions.

Energy saving technologies of the decentralized ventilation of buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mansurov, R. Sh; Rafalskaya, T. A.

2017-11-01

The growing aspiration to energy saving and efficiency of energy leads to necessity to build tight enough buildings. As a result of this the quantity of infiltration air appears insufficient for realization of necessary air exchange in. One of decisions of the given problem is development and application for ventilation of premises of the decentralized forced-air and exhaust systems (DFAES) with recuperative or regenerative heat-exchangers. For an estimation of efficiency of DFAES following basic parameters have been certain: factor of energy saving; factor of efficiency of energy; factor of a heat transfer; factor of an effective utilization of a surface of heat exchange. Were estimated temperature of forced air; actual speed of an air jet on an entrance in a served zone; actual noise level; the charge of external air. Tests of DFAES were spent in natural conditions at which DFAES influenced all set of factors both an external climate, and an internal microclimate of a premise, and also the arrangement on a wind side or behind wind side of a building, influence of surrounding building, fluctuation of temperature of external air is considered. Proceeding from results and the analysis of the lead researches recommendations have been developed for development and manufacture of new sample of DFAES.

Technology to Reduce Hypoglycemia

PubMed Central

Yeoh, Ester; Choudhary, Pratik

2015-01-01

Hypoglycemia is a major barrier toward achieving glycemic targets and is associated with significant morbidity (both psychological and physical) and mortality. This article reviews technological strategies, from simple to more advanced technologies, which may help prevent or mitigate exposure to hypoglycemia. More efficient insulin delivery systems, bolus advisor calculators, data downloads providing information on glucose trends, continuous glucose monitoring with alarms warning of hypoglycemia, predictive algorithms, and finally closed loop insulin delivery systems are reviewed. The building blocks to correct use and interpretation of this range of available technology require patient education and appropriate patient selection. PMID:25883167

Evaluating the Maturity of Cybersecurity Programs for Building Control Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Glantz, Clifford S.; Somasundaram, Sriram; Mylrea, Michael E.

The cyber-physical security threat to buildings is complex, non-linear, and rapidly evolving as operational and information technologies converge and connect buildings to cyberspace. Cyberattacks on buildings can exploit smart building controls and breach corporate networks, causing financial and reputational damage. This may result in the loss of sensitive building information or the disruption of, or damage to, the systems necessary for the safe and efficient operation of buildings. For the buildings and facility infrastructure, there is a need for a robust national cybersecurity strategy for buildings, guidance on the selection and implementation of appropriate cybersecurity controls for buildings, an approachmore » to evaluate the maturity and adequacy of the cybersecurity programs. To provide an approach for evaluating the maturity of the cybersecurity programs for building control systems, the US Department of Energy’s widely used Cybersecurity Capability and Maturity Model (C2M2) has been adapted into a building control systems version. The revised model, the Buildings-C2M2 (B-C2M2) provides maturity level indicators for cybersecurity programmatic domains. A “B-C2M2 Lite” version allows facility managers and building control system engineers, or information technology personnel to perform rapid self-assessments of their cybersecurity program. Both tools have been pilot tested on several facilities. This paper outlines the concept of a maturity model, describes the B-C2M2 tools, presents results and observations from the pilot assessments, and lays out plans for future work.« less

Research | NREL

Science.gov Websites

manufacturing, buildings efficiency, concentrating solar power, geothermal energy, transportation, water power Integration Facility Geothermal Energy Grid Modernization Hydrogen & Fuel Cells Integrated Energy Research Research Researching energy systems and technologies-and the science behind them-for a

Energy Performance Techniques and Technologies: Preserving Historic Homes – Volume 13

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

2011-02-01

Following Building America-sponsored research, this guide focuses on planning energy-efficient improvements for historic houses while preserving the home’s historic features, being aware of and adhering to regulations related to historic designations, and addressing health and safety issues.

Middle-Aged Thinking.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Nixon, Charles W.

1998-01-01

Examines renovation issues involving 30- and 40-year-old school facilities. Explores ways a school district can renovate old buildings to first-class cost-effective facilities while avoiding excessive transition costs. Discussions include installation of new technology and the resulting wiring demands, and developing more energy-efficient heating…

Technology to Reduce Hypoglycemia.

PubMed

Yeoh, Ester; Choudhary, Pratik

2015-07-01

Hypoglycemia is a major barrier toward achieving glycemic targets and is associated with significant morbidity (both psychological and physical) and mortality. This article reviews technological strategies, from simple to more advanced technologies, which may help prevent or mitigate exposure to hypoglycemia. More efficient insulin delivery systems, bolus advisor calculators, data downloads providing information on glucose trends, continuous glucose monitoring with alarms warning of hypoglycemia, predictive algorithms, and finally closed loop insulin delivery systems are reviewed. The building blocks to correct use and interpretation of this range of available technology require patient education and appropriate patient selection. © 2015 Diabetes Technology Society.

Usage of NASA's Near Real-Time Solar and Meteorological Data for Monitoring Building Energy Systems Using RETScreen International's Performance Analysis Module

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.; Charles, Robert W.; Chandler, William S.; Hoell, James M.; Westberg, David; Zhang, Taiping; Ziegler, Urban; Leng, Gregory J.; Meloche, Nathalie; Bourque, Kevin

2012-01-01

This paper describes building energy system production and usage monitoring using examples from the new RETScreen Performance Analysis Module, called RETScreen Plus. The module uses daily meteorological (i.e., temperature, humidity, wind and solar, etc.) over a period of time to derive a building system function that is used to monitor building performance. The new module can also be used to target building systems with enhanced technologies. If daily ambient meteorological and solar information are not available, these are obtained over the internet from NASA's near-term data products that provide global meteorological and solar information within 3-6 days of real-time. The accuracy of the NASA data are shown to be excellent for this purpose enabling RETScreen Plus to easily detect changes in the system function and efficiency. This is shown by several examples, one of which is a new building at the NASA Langley Research Center that uses solar panels to provide electrical energy for building energy and excess energy for other uses. The system shows steady performance within the uncertainties of the input data. The other example involves assessing the reduction in energy usage by an apartment building in Sweden before and after an energy efficiency upgrade. In this case, savings up to 16% are shown.

The design of a solar energy collection system to augment heating and cooling for a commercial office building

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Basford, R. C.

1977-01-01

Analytical studies supported by experimental testing indicate that solar energy can be utilized to heat and cool commercial buildings. In a 50,000 square foot one-story office building at the Langley Research Center, 15,000 square feet of solar collectors are designed to provide the energy required to supply 79 percent of the building heating needs and 52 percent of its cooling needs. The experience gained from the space program is providing the technology base for this project. Included are some of the analytical studies made to make the building design changes necessary to utilize solar energy, the basic solar collector design, collector efficiencies, and the integrated system design.

Building technolgies program. 1994 annual report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Selkowitz, S.E.

1995-04-01

The objective of the Building Technologies program is to assist the U.S. building industry in achieving substantial reductions in building sector energy use and associated greenhouse gas emissions while improving comfort, amenity, health, and productivity in the building sector. We have focused our past efforts on two major building systems, windows and lighting, and on the simulation tools needed by researchers and designers to integrate the full range of energy efficiency solutions into achievable, cost-effective design solutions for new and existing buildings. In addition, we are now taking more of an integrated systems and life cycle perspective to create cost-effectivemore » solutions for more energy efficient, comfortable, and productive work and living environments. More than 30% of all energy use in buildings is attributable to two sources: windows and lighting. Together they account for annual consumer energy expenditures of more than $50 billion. Each affects not only energy use by other major building systems, but also comfort and productivity-factors that influence building economics far more than does direct energy consumption alone. Windows play a unique role in the building envelope, physically separating the conditioned space from the world outside without sacrificing vital visual contact. Throughout every space in a building, lighting systems facilitate a variety of tasks associated with a wide range of visual requirements while defining the luminous qualities of the indoor environment. Window and lighting systems are thus essential components of any comprehensive building science program.« less

Lawrence Berkeley Laboratory/University of California lighting program overview

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berman, S.

1981-12-01

The objective of the Lighting Program is to assist and work in concert with the lighting community (composed of manufacturers, designers, and users) to achieve a more efficient lighting economy. To implement its objectives, the Lighting Program has been divided into three major categories: technical engineering, buildings applications, and human impacts (impacts on health and vision). The technical program aims to undertake research and development projects that are both long-range and high-risk and which the lighting industry has little interest in pursuing on its own, but from which significant benefits could accrue to both the public and the industry. Themore » building applications program studies the effects that introducing daylighting in commercial buildings has on lighting and cooling electrical energy requirements as well as on peak demand. This program also examines optimization strategies for integrating energy-efficient design, lighting hardware, daylighting, and overall building energy requirements. The impacts program examines relationships between the user and the physical lighting environment, in particular how new energy-efficient technologies relate to human productivity and health. These efforts are interdisciplinary, involving engineering, optometry, and medicine. The program facilities are described and the personnel in the program is identified.« less

Enabling Efficient, Responsive, and Resilient Buildings: Collaboration Between the United States and India

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Basu, Chandrayee; Ghatikar, Girish

The United States and India have among the largest economies in the world, and they continue to work together to address current and future challenges in reliable electricity supply. The acceleration to efficient, grid-responsive, resilient buildings represents a key energy security objective for federal and state agencies in both countries. The weaknesses in the Indian grid system were manifest in 2012, in the country’s worst blackout, which jeopardized the lives of half of India’s 1.2 billion people. While both countries are investing significantly in power sector reform, India, by virtue of its colossal growth rate in commercial energy intensity andmore » commercial floor space, is better placed than the United States to integrate and test state-of-art Smart Grid technologies in its future grid-responsive commercial buildings. This paper presents a roadmap of technical collaboration between the research organizations, and public-private stakeholders in both countries to accelerate the building-to-grid integration through pilot studies in India.« less

Health and productivity gains from better indoor environments and their relationship with building energy efficiency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Fisk, William J.

2000-04-01

Theoretical considerations and empirical data suggest that existing technologies and procedures can improve indoor environments in a manner that significantly increases productivity and health. Existing literature contains moderate to strong evidence that characteristics of buildings and indoor environments significantly influence rates of communicable respiratory illness, allergy and asthma symptoms, sick building symptoms, and worker performance. While there is considerable uncertainty in the estimates of the magnitudes of productivity gains that may be obtained by providing better indoor environments, the projected gains are very large. For the U.S., the estimated potential annual savings and productivity gains are $6 to $14 billionmore » from reduced respiratory disease, $2 to $4 billion from reduced allergies and asthma, $10 to $30 billion from reduced sick building syndrome symptoms, and $20 to $160 billion from direct improvements in worker performance that are unrelated to health. Productivity gains that are quantified and demonstrated could serve as a strong stimulus for energy efficiency measures that simultaneously improve the indoor environment.« less

Scoping Report: Advanced Technologies for Multi-Load Washers in Hospitality and Healthcare

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parker, Graham B.; Boyd, Brian K.; Petersen, Joseph M.

The purpose of this demonstration project is to quantify the energy savings and water efficiency potential of commercial laundry wastewater recycling systems and low-temperature detergent supply systems to help promote the adoption of these technologies in the commercial sector. This project will create a set of technical specifications for efficient multi-load laundry systems (both new and retrofit) tailored for specific applications and/or sectors (e.g., hospitality, health care). The specifications will be vetted with the appropriate Better Buildings Alliance (BBA) members (e.g., Commercial Real Estate Energy Alliance, Hospital Energy Alliance), finalized, published, and disseminated to enable widespread technology transfer in themore » industry and specifically among BBA partners.« less

Options for reducing carbon dioxide emissions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Rosenfeld, Arthur H.; Price, Lynn

1992-03-01

Improvements in energy efficiency can significantly reduce the annual growth in greenhouse gas emissions. Such improvements occur when energy intensity is reduced; no reduction in energy services is required. Using the concept of ``cost of conserved energy'' to develop conservation supply curves similar to resource supply curves, researchers consistently find that electricity and natural gas savings of nearly 50% of current consumption are possible for U.S. buildings. Such reductions in energy consumption directly reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. To capture these savings, we must continue to develop energy-efficient technologies and strategies. This paper describes three recent energy-efficient technologies that benefitted from energy conservation research and development (R&D) funding: high-frequency ballasts, compact fluorescent lamps, and low-emissivity windows. Other advanced technologies and strategies of spectrally selective windows, superwindows, electrochromic windows, advanced insulation, low-flow showerheads, improved recessed lamp fixtures, whitening surfaces and planting urban trees, daylighting, and thermal energy storage are also discussed.

Modeling of human movement monitoring using Bluetooth Low Energy technology.

PubMed

Mokhtari, G; Zhang, Q; Karunanithi, M

2015-01-01

Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) is a wireless communication technology which can be used to monitor human movements. In this monitoring system, a BLE signal scanner scans signal strength of BLE tags carried by people, to thus infer human movement patterns within its monitoring zone. However to the extent of our knowledge one main aspect of this monitoring system which has not yet been thoroughly investigated in literature is how to build a sound theoretical model, based on tunable BLE communication parameters such as scanning time interval and advertising time interval, to enable the study and design of effective and efficient movement monitoring systems. In this paper, we proposed and developed a statistical model based on Monte-Carlo simulation, which can be utilized to assess impacts of BLE technology parameters in terms of latency and efficiency, on a movement monitoring system, and can thus benefit a more efficient system design.

Hydraulic Control Method for Heating Systems of High-Rise Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Makarov, D.; Chernenkov, V.; Likhachev, I.

2017-11-01

The following article reflects the ideas of possibility to increase energy efficiency of heating systems in high-rise buildings. The article also includes the principle ways of high-rise building heating systems operation as well as traditional engineering decisions aimed at the elimination of the increased pressure effect in heaters. The main disadvantages of such decisions are also presented for the reader. Moreover, the article offers the way of operation for the above-mentioned systems together with the equipment that implements this operation. An economic impact from such energy-saving technology application has been also evaluated.

Residential Indoor Temperature Study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Booten, Chuck; Robertson, Joseph; Christensen, Dane

2017-04-07

In this study, we are adding to the body of knowledge around answering the question: What are good assumptions for HVAC set points in U.S. homes? We collected and analyzed indoor temperature data from US homes using funding from the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America (BA) program, due to the program's reliance on accurate energy simulation of homes. Simulations are used to set Building America goals, predict the impact of new building techniques and technologies, inform research objectives, evaluate home performance, optimize efficiency packages to meet savings goals, customize savings approaches to specific climate zones, and myriad other uses.

Evaluating hospital design from an operations management perspective.

PubMed

Vos, Leti; Groothuis, Siebren; van Merode, Godefridus G

2007-12-01

This paper describes an evaluation method for the assessment of hospital building design from the viewpoint of operations management to assure that the building design supports the efficient and effective operating of care processes now and in the future. The different steps of the method are illustrated by a case study. In the case study an experimental design is applied to assess the effect of used logistical concepts, patient mix and technologies. The study shows that the evaluation method provides a valuable tool for the assessment of both functionality and the ability to meet future developments in operational control of a building design.

Models of evaluating efficiency and risks on integration of cloud-base IT-services of the machine-building enterprise: a system approach

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Razumnikov, S.; Kurmanbay, A.

2016-04-01

The present paper suggests a system approach to evaluation of the effectiveness and risks resulted from the integration of cloud-based services in a machine-building enterprise. This approach makes it possible to estimate a set of enterprise IT applications and choose the applications to be migrated to the cloud with regard to specific business requirements, a technological strategy and willingness to risk.

3D Reconstruction of Irregular Buildings and Buddha Statues

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhang, K.; Li, M.-j.

2014-04-01

Three-dimensional laser scanning could acquire object's surface data quickly and accurately. However, the post-processing of point cloud is not perfect and could be improved. Based on the study of 3D laser scanning technology, this paper describes the details of solutions to modelling irregular ancient buildings and Buddha statues in Jinshan Temple, which aiming at data acquisition, modelling and texture mapping, etc. In order to modelling irregular ancient buildings effectively, the structure of each building is extracted manually by point cloud and the textures are mapped by the software of 3ds Max. The methods clearly combine 3D laser scanning technology with traditional modelling methods, and greatly improves the efficiency and accuracy of the ancient buildings restored. On the other hand, the main idea of modelling statues is regarded as modelling objects in reverse engineering. The digital model of statues obtained is not just vivid, but also accurate in the field of surveying and mapping. On this basis, a 3D scene of Jinshan Temple is reconstructed, which proves the validity of the solutions.

Phase Change Materials as a solution to improve energy efficiency in Portuguese residential buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Araújo, C.; Pinheiro, A.; Castro, M. F.; Bragança, L.

2017-10-01

The buildings sector contributes to 30% of annual greenhouse gas emissions and consumes about 40% of energy. However, this consumption can be reduced by between 30% and 80% through commercially available technologies. The consumption of energy in the dwellings is mostly associated with the heating and cooling of the interior environment. One solution to reduce these consumptions is the implementation of technologies and Phase Change Materials (PCMs) for Thermal Energy Storage (TES). So, the aim of this work is to analyse the advantages, in terms of decreasing energy consumption, associated with the application of PCMs in Portuguese residential buildings. For this, eight PCMs with different melting ranges were analysed. These materials were analysed through a dynamic simulation performed with EnergyPlus software. The results achieved, showed that the materials studied allow to reduce up to 13% of the heating needs and up to 92% of the cooling needs of a building located in the North of Portugal, at an altitude higher than 100m.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Walker, Iain; Regnier, Cindy

Science at the Theater: Berkeley Lab scientists reveal the latest research on how to reduce your carbon footprint at home, work, and when you shop. Learn how even small choices can have a big impact. Iain Walker's research focuses on optimizing the energy use and comfort of buildings. He's a staff scientist in the Energy Performance of Buildings Group, which is part of Berkeley Lab's Environmen...tal Energy Technologies Division. He's also executive editor of Home Energy Magazine. Cindy Regnier is a Project Manager in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division at Berkeley Lab. She has over 13 years of mechanical engineeringmore » design experience, with a focus on low-energy buildings. Her projects have included several LEED Platinum buildings and the design of a 200,000 sf carbon neutral, net-zero energy science museum in San Francisco. Eric Masanet is Acting Deputy Leader of the International Energy Studies Group at Berkeley Lab. His research focuses on life-cycle assessments and energy efficiency analysis. He holds a joint research appointment in the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Berkeley.« less

Modular Autonomous Systems Technology Framework: A Distributed Solution for System Monitoring and Control

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Badger, Julia M.; Claunch, Charles; Mathis, Frank

2017-01-01

The Modular Autonomous Systems Technology (MAST) framework is a tool for building distributed, hierarchical autonomous systems. Originally intended for the autonomous monitoring and control of spacecraft, this framework concept provides support for variable autonomy, assume-guarantee contracts, and efficient communication between subsystems and a centralized systems manager. MAST was developed at NASA's Johnson Space Center (JSC) and has been applied to an integrated spacecraft example scenario.

A Model for Sustainable Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit (BEER) Using Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) Mechanism for Hotel Buildings in China

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Xu, Pengpeng

Hotel building is one of the high-energy-consuming building types, and retrofitting hotel buildings is an untapped solution to help cut carbon emissions contributing towards sustainable development. Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) has been promulgated as a market mechanism for the delivery of energy efficiency projects. EPC mechanism has been introduced into China relatively recently, and it has not been implemented successfully in building energy efficiency retrofit projects. The aim of this research is to develop a model for achieving the sustainability of Building Energy Efficiency Retrofit (BEER) in hotel buildings under the Energy Performance Contracting (EPC) mechanism. The objectives include: • To identify a set of Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) for measuring the sustainability of BEER in hotel buildings; • To identify Critical Success Factors (CSFs) under EPC mechanism that have a strong correlation with sustainable BEER project; • To develop a model explaining the relationships between the CSFs and the sustainability performance of BEER in hotel building. Literature reviews revealed the essence of sustainable BEER and EPC, which help to develop a conceptual framework for analyzing sustainable BEER under EPC mechanism in hotel buildings. 11 potential KPIs for sustainable BEER and 28 success factors of EPC were selected based on the developed framework. A questionnaire survey was conducted to ascertain the importance of selected performance indicators and success factors. Fuzzy set theory was adopted in identifying the KPIs. Six KPIs were identified from the 11 selected performance indicators. Through a questionnaire survey, out of the 28 success factors, 21 Critical Success Factors (CSFs) were also indentified. Using the factor analysis technique, the 21 identified CSFs in this study were grouped into six clusters to help explain project success of sustainable BEER. Finally, AHP/ANP approach was used in this research to develop a model to examine the interrelationships among the identified CSFs, KPIs, and sustainable dimensions of BEER. The findings indicate that the success of sustainable BEER in hotel buildings under the EPC mechanism is mainly decided by project objectives control mechanism, available technology, organizing capacity of team leader, trust among partners, accurate M&V, and team workers' technical skills.

Engineering Synthetic Gene Circuits in Living Cells with CRISPR Technology.

PubMed

Jusiak, Barbara; Cleto, Sara; Perez-Piñera, Pablo; Lu, Timothy K

2016-07-01

One of the goals of synthetic biology is to build regulatory circuits that control cell behavior, for both basic research purposes and biomedical applications. The ability to build transcriptional regulatory devices depends on the availability of programmable, sequence-specific, and effective synthetic transcription factors (TFs). The prokaryotic clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeat (CRISPR) system, recently harnessed for transcriptional regulation in various heterologous host cells, offers unprecedented ease in designing synthetic TFs. We review how CRISPR can be used to build synthetic gene circuits and discuss recent advances in CRISPR-mediated gene regulation that offer the potential to build increasingly complex, programmable, and efficient gene circuits in the future. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ltd.

10 CFR 431.15 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... INDUSTRIAL EQUIPMENT Electric Motors Test Procedures, Materials Incorporated and Methods of Determining... of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, Sixth.... (1) IEC 60034-1 Edition 12.0 2010-02, (“IEC 60034-1”), Rotating Electrical Machines, Part 1: Rating...

Energy-Efficiency Retrofits in Small-Scale Multifamily Rental Housing: A Business Model

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

DeChambeau, Brian

The goal of this thesis to develop a real estate investment model that creates a financial incentive for property owners to perform energy efficiency retrofits in small multifamily rental housing in southern New England. The medium for this argument is a business plan that is backed by a review of the literature and input from industry experts. In addition to industry expertise, the research covers four main areas: the context of green building, efficient building technologies, precedent programs, and the Providence, RI real estate market for the business plan. The thesis concludes that the model proposed can improve the profitability of real estate investment in small multifamily rental properties, though the extent to which this is possible depends partially on utility-run incentive programs and the capital available to invest in retrofit measures.

Making Homes Part of the Climate Solution: Policy Options To Promote Energy Efficiency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Brown, Dr. Marilyn Ann; Chandler, Jess; Lapsa, Melissa Voss

In the area of energy efficiency, advanced technologies combined with best practices appear to afford not only large, but also cost-effective options to conserve energy and reduce greenhouse gas emissions (McKinsey & Company, 2007). In practice, however, the realization of this potential has often proven difficult. Progress appears to require large numbers of individuals to act knowledgeably, and each individual must often act with enabling assistance from others. Even when consumer education is effective and social norms are supportive, the actions of individuals and businesses can be impeded by a broad range of barriers, many of which are non-technical inmore » nature. Title XVI of the Energy Policy Act of 2005 included a mandate to examine barriers to progress and make recommendations in this regard. A detailed report on barriers as well as the National strategy for overcoming barriers met this requirement (Brown et al, 2008; CCCSTI, 2009). Following up on this mandate, the U.S. Climate Change Technology Program (CCTP) chose to focus next on the development of policy options to improve energy efficiency in residential buildings, with supporting analysis of pros and cons, informed in part by behavioral research. While this work is sponsored by CCTP, it has been undertaken in coordination with DOE's Building Technologies Program and Office of Electricity Delivery and Energy Reliability.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lindberg, James

The America Saves! Energizing Main Street Small Businesses project engaged the 1,200-member National Main Street Center (NMSC) network of downtown organizations and other local, regional, and national partners to test a methodology for sharing customized energy efficiency information with owners of commercial buildings smaller than 50,000 square feet. Led by the National Trust for Historic Preservation’s Preservation Green Lab, the project marshalled local staff and volunteers to gather voluntarily-disclosed energy use information from participating businesses. This information was analyzed using a remote auditing tool (validated by the National Renewable Energy Lab) to assess energy savings opportunities and design retrofit strategiesmore » targeting seven building types (food service and sales, attached mixed-use, strip mall, retail, office, lodging, and schools). The original project design contemplated extensive leveraging of the Green Button protocol for sharing annualized utility data at a district scale. Due the lack of adoption of Green Button, the project partners developed customized approaches to data collection in each of twelve pilot communities. The project team encountered considerable challenges in gathering standardized annual utility data from local partners. After overcoming these issues, the data was uploaded to a data storehouse. Over 450 properties were benchmarked and the remote auditing tool was tested using full building profiles and utility records for more than 100 commercial properties in three of the pilot communities. The audit tool demonstrated potential for quickly capturing, analyzing, and communicating energy efficiency opportunities in small commercial buildings. However, the project team found that the unique physical characteristics and use patterns (partial vacancy, periodic intensive uses) of small commercial buildings required more trouble-shooting and data correction than was anticipated. In addition, the project revealed that remote technology alone (such as audits) is not sufficient to convince most owners of commercial buildings or businesses to invest in energy efficiency. Additional, one-on-one personal communication is critical. A combination of technology and well-planned direct contact is likely to produce the highest rate of energy efficiency implementation in the small commercial building market sector. Note that only two of the three planned phases of this project were completed. As a result, research and testing were not fully implemented and thus all results and conclusions from the America Saves! Energizing Main Street Small Businesses project should be considered preliminary. In addition to the National Main Street Center, local organizations, and regional utilities, the America Saves! project partners included the National Renewable Energy Laboratory, Energy Center of Wisconsin (Seventh Wave), Lend Lease, Building Energy, and Energy RM.« less

Enhancing the NASA Prediction of Worldwide Energy Resource Web Data Delivery System with Geographic Information System (GIS) Capabilities

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Chandler, William S.; Stackhouse, Paul W., Jr.; Barnett, Audy J.; Hoell, James M.; Westberg, David J.; Ross, Amanda I.

2015-01-01

Renewable energy technologies are changing the face of the world's energy market. Currently, these technologies are being incorporated within existing structures to increase energy efficiency. Crucial to the success of the emerging renewable market is the availability of accurate, global solar radiation, and meteorology data. This poster traces the history of the development of an effort to distribute data parameters from NASA's research for use in the energy sector applications spanning from renewable energy to energy efficiency. These data may be useful to several renewable energy sectors: solar and wind power generation, agricultural crop modeling, and sustainable buildings.

Education & Collection Facility GSHP Demonstration Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Joplin, Jeff

The Denver Museum of Nature & Science (DMNS) designed and implemented an innovative ground source heat pump (GSHP) system for heating and cooling its new Education and Collection Facility (ECF) building addition. The project goal was to successfully design and install an open-loop GSHP system that utilized water circulating within an underground municipal recycled (non-potable) water system as the heat sink/source as a demonstration project. The expected results were to significantly reduce traditional GSHP installation costs while increasing system efficiency, reduce building energy consumption, require significantly less area and capital to install, and be economically implemented wherever access to amore » recycled water system is available. The project added to the understanding of GSHP technology by implementing the first GSHP system in the United States utilizing a municipal recycled water system as a heat sink/source. The use of this fluid through a GSHP system has not been previously documented. This use application presents a new opportunity for local municipalities to develop and expand the use of underground municipal recycled (non-potable) water systems. The installation costs for this type of technology in the building structure would be a cost savings over traditional GSHP costs, provided the local municipal infrastructure was developed. Additionally, the GSHP system functions as a viable method of heat sink/source as the thermal characteristics of the fluid are generally consistent throughout the year and are efficiently exchanged through the GSHP system and its components. The use of the recycled water system reduces the area required for bore or loop fields; therefore, presenting an application for building structures that have little to no available land use or access. This GSHP application demonstrates the viability of underground municipal recycled (non-potable) water systems as technically achievable, environmentally supportive, and an efficient system.« less

Global scenarios of urban density and its impacts on building energy use through 2050

PubMed Central

Güneralp, Burak; Zhou, Yuyu; Ürge-Vorsatz, Diana; Gupta, Mukesh; Yu, Sha; Patel, Pralit L.; Fragkias, Michail; Li, Xiaoma; Seto, Karen C.

2017-01-01

Although the scale of impending urbanization is well-acknowledged, we have a limited understanding of how urban forms will change and what their impact will be on building energy use. Using both top-down and bottom-up approaches and scenarios, we examine building energy use for heating and cooling. Globally, the energy use for heating and cooling by the middle of the century will be between 45 and 59 exajoules per year (corresponding to an increase of 7–40% since 2010). Most of this variability is due to the uncertainty in future urban densities of rapidly growing cities in Asia and particularly China. Dense urban development leads to less urban energy use overall. Waiting to retrofit the existing built environment until markets are ready in about 5 years to widely deploy the most advanced renovation technologies leads to more savings in building energy use. Potential for savings in energy use is greatest in China when coupled with efficiency gains. Advanced efficiency makes the least difference compared with the business-as-usual scenario in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa but significantly contributes to energy savings in North America and Europe. Systemic efforts that focus on both urban form, of which urban density is an indicator, and energy-efficient technologies, but that also account for potential co-benefits and trade-offs with human well-being can contribute to both local and global sustainability. Particularly in growing cities in the developing world, such efforts can improve the well-being of billions of urban residents and contribute to mitigating climate change by reducing energy use in urban areas. PMID:28069957

BIM applied in historical building documentation and refurbishing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cheng, H.-M.; Yang, W.-B.; Yen, Y.-N.

2015-08-01

Historical building conservation raises two important issues which are documentation and refurbishing. For the recording and documentation, we already have developed 3d laser scanner and such photogrammetry technology those represent a freeze object of virtual reality by digital documentation. On the other hand, the refurbished engineering of historic building is a challenge for conservation heritage which are not only reconstructing the damage part but also restoring tangible cultural heritage. 3D digital cultural heritage models has become a topic of great interest in recent years. One reason for this is the more widespread use of laser scanning and photogrammetry for recording cultural heritage sites. These technologies have made it possible to efficiently and accurately record complex structures remotely that would not have been possible with previous survey methods. In addition to these developments, digital information systems are evolving for the presentation, analysis and archival of heritage documentation.

The Future of Air Conditioning for Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goetzler, William; Guernsey, Matt; Young, Jim

BTO works with researchers and industry to develop and deploy technologies that can substantially reduce energy consumption and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in residential and commercial buildings. Air conditioning systems in buildings contribute to GHG emissions both directly through refrigerant emissions, as well as indirectly through fossil fuel combustion for power generation. BTO promotes pre-competitive research and development on next-generation HVAC technologies that support the phase down of hydrofluorocarbon (HFC) production and consumption, as well as cost-effective energy efficiency improvements. DOE provides, with this report, a fact-based vision for the future of A/C use around the world. DOE intends formore » this vision to reflect a broad and balanced aggregation of perspectives. DOE brings together this content in an effort to support dialogue within the international community and help keep key facts and objectives at the forefront among the many important discussions.« less

Demonstration of improved vehicle fuel efficiency through innovative tire design, materials, and weight reduction technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Donley, Tim

2014-12-31

Cooper completed an investigation into new tire technology using a novel approach to develop and demonstrate a new class of fuel efficient tires using innovative materials technology and tire design concepts. The objective of this work was to develop a new class of fuel efficient tires, focused on the “replacement market” that would improve overall passenger vehicle fuel efficiency by 3% while lowering the overall tire weight by 20%. A further goal of this project was to accomplish the objectives while maintaining the traction and wear performance of the control tire. This program was designed to build on what hasmore » already been accomplished in the tire industry for rolling resistance based on the knowledge and general principles developed over the past decades. Cooper’s CS4 (Figure #1) premium broadline tire was chosen as the control tire for this program. For Cooper to achieve the goals of this project, the development of multiple technologies was necessary. Six technologies were chosen that are not currently being used in the tire industry at any significant level, but that showed excellent prospects in preliminary research. This development was divided into two phases. Phase I investigated six different technologies as individual components. Phase II then took a holistic approach by combining all the technologies that showed positive results during phase one development.« less

Geothermal Energy: Tapping the Potential

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Johnson, Bill

2008-01-01

Ground source geothermal energy enables one to tap into the earth's stored renewable energy for heating and cooling facilities. Proper application of ground-source geothermal technology can have a dramatic impact on the efficiency and financial performance of building energy utilization (30%+). At the same time, using this alternative energy…

75 FR 24824 - Energy Efficiency Program for Consumer Products: Public Meeting and Availability of the Framework...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-06

... Availability of the Framework Document for Commercial Refrigeration Equipment AGENCY: Office of Energy... data collection process to consider amended energy conservation standards for commercial refrigeration... Energy, Building Technologies Program, Mailstop EE-2J, Framework Document for Commercial Refrigeration...

Distributed Learning Metadata Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

McClelland, Marilyn

2004-01-01

Significant economies can be achieved in distributed learning systems architected with a focus on interoperability and reuse. The key building blocks of an efficient distributed learning architecture are the use of standards and XML technologies. The goal of plug and play capability among various components of a distributed learning system…

10 CFR 429.4 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW...) ANSI/AHAM DW-1-1992, American National Standard, Household Electric Dishwashers, approved February 6, 1992, IBR approved for § 429.19. (2) ANSI/AHAM DW-1-2010, Household Electric Dishwashers, (ANSI...

10 CFR 429.4 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW...) ANSI/AHAM DW-1-1992, American National Standard, Household Electric Dishwashers, approved February 6, 1992, IBR approved for § 429.19. (2) ANSI/AHAM DW-1-2010, Household Electric Dishwashers, (ANSI...

Energy Innovation Hubs: A Home for Scientific Collaboration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chu, Steven

Secretary Chu will host a live, streaming Q&A session with the directors of the Energy Innovation Hubs on Tuesday, March 6, at 2:15 p.m. EST. The directors will be available for questions regarding their teams' work and the future of American energy. Ask your questions in the comments below, or submit them on Facebook, Twitter (@energy), or send an e-mail to newmedia@hq.doe.gov, prior or during the live event. Dr. Hank Foley is the director of the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy-Efficient Buildings, which is pioneering new data intensive techniques for designing and operating energy efficient buildings, including advanced computermore » modeling. Dr. Douglas Kothe is the director of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, which uses powerful supercomputers to create "virtual" reactors that will help improve the safety and performance of both existing and new nuclear reactors. Dr. Nathan Lewis is the director of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, which focuses on how to produce fuels from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. The Energy Innovation Hubs are major integrated research centers, with researchers from many different institutions and technical backgrounds. Each hub is focused on a specific high priority goal, rapidly accelerating scientific discoveries and shortening the path from laboratory innovation to technological development and commercial deployment of critical energy technologies. Ask your questions in the comments below, or submit them on Facebook, Twitter (@energy), or send an e-mail to newmedia@energy.gov, prior or during the live event. The Energy Innovation Hubs are major integrated research centers, with researchers from many different institutions and technical backgrounds. Each Hub is focused on a specific high priority goal, rapidly accelerating scientific discoveries and shortening the path from laboratory innovation to technological development and commercial deployment of critical energy technologies. Dr. Hank Holey is the director of the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy-Efficient Buildings, which is pioneering new data intensive techniques for designing and operating energy efficient buildings, including advanced computer modeling. Dr. Douglas Kothe is the director of the Modeling and Simulation for Nuclear Reactors Hub, which uses powerful supercomputers to create "virtual" reactors that will help improve the safety and performance of both existing and new nuclear reactors. Dr. Nathan Lewis is the director of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis Hub, which focuses on how to produce biofuels from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.« less

Energy Innovation Hubs: A Home for Scientific Collaboration

ScienceCinema

Chu, Steven

2017-12-11

Secretary Chu will host a live, streaming Q&A session with the directors of the Energy Innovation Hubs on Tuesday, March 6, at 2:15 p.m. EST. The directors will be available for questions regarding their teams' work and the future of American energy. Ask your questions in the comments below, or submit them on Facebook, Twitter (@energy), or send an e-mail to newmedia@hq.doe.gov, prior or during the live event. Dr. Hank Foley is the director of the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy-Efficient Buildings, which is pioneering new data intensive techniques for designing and operating energy efficient buildings, including advanced computer modeling. Dr. Douglas Kothe is the director of the Consortium for Advanced Simulation of Light Water Reactors, which uses powerful supercomputers to create "virtual" reactors that will help improve the safety and performance of both existing and new nuclear reactors. Dr. Nathan Lewis is the director of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis, which focuses on how to produce fuels from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide. The Energy Innovation Hubs are major integrated research centers, with researchers from many different institutions and technical backgrounds. Each hub is focused on a specific high priority goal, rapidly accelerating scientific discoveries and shortening the path from laboratory innovation to technological development and commercial deployment of critical energy technologies. Ask your questions in the comments below, or submit them on Facebook, Twitter (@energy), or send an e-mail to newmedia@energy.gov, prior or during the live event. The Energy Innovation Hubs are major integrated research centers, with researchers from many different institutions and technical backgrounds. Each Hub is focused on a specific high priority goal, rapidly accelerating scientific discoveries and shortening the path from laboratory innovation to technological development and commercial deployment of critical energy technologies. Dr. Hank Holey is the director of the Greater Philadelphia Innovation Cluster for Energy-Efficient Buildings, which is pioneering new data intensive techniques for designing and operating energy efficient buildings, including advanced computer modeling. Dr. Douglas Kothe is the director of the Modeling and Simulation for Nuclear Reactors Hub, which uses powerful supercomputers to create "virtual" reactors that will help improve the safety and performance of both existing and new nuclear reactors. Dr. Nathan Lewis is the director of the Joint Center for Artificial Photosynthesis Hub, which focuses on how to produce biofuels from sunlight, water, and carbon dioxide.

Measures to reduce construction time of high-rise buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kolchedantsev, Leonid; Adamtsevich, Aleksey; Stupakova, Olga; Drozdov, Alexander

2018-03-01

The organizational and technological solutions for high-rise buildings construction efficiency increase are considered, primarily - decrease of typical floor construction time and improvement of bearing structures concrete quality. The essence of offered technology is: a concrete mixing station and a polygon mainly for load-bearing wall panels with starter bars casting are located on the building site; for reinforced concrete components manufacturing and butt joints grouting the warmed-up concrete mixtures are used. The results of researches and elaborations carried out by the SPSUACE in area of a preliminary warming-up of concrete mixtures are presented. The possibility and feasibility of their usage in high-rise buildings and of excess height buildings construction including cast-in-place and precast execution are shown. The essence of heat-vibro treating of concrete mixture is revealed as a kind of prior electroresistive curing, and the achieved results are: accelerated concrete strength gain, power inputs decrease, concrete quality improvement. It is shown that the location of a concrete mixing station on the building site enables to broaden possibilities of the "thermos" method use and to avoid concrete mixtures warming up in medium-mass structures erection (columns, girders) during the high-rise buildings construction. It is experimentally proved that the splice between precast elements encased with warmed-up concrete mixture is equal with conjugated elements in strength.

Design and optimization of zero-energy-consumption based solar energy residential building systems

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zheng, D. L.; Yu, L. J.; Tan, H. W.

2017-11-01

Energy consumption of residential buildings has grown fast in recent years, thus raising a challenge on zero energy residential building (ZERB) systems, which aim at substantially reducing energy consumption of residential buildings. Thus, how to facilitate ZERB has become a hot but difficult topic. In the paper, we put forward the overall design principle of ZERB based on analysis of the systems’ energy demand. In particular, the architecture for both schematic design and passive technology is optimized and both energy simulation analysis and energy balancing analysis are implemented, followed by committing the selection of high-efficiency appliance and renewable energy sources for ZERB residential building. In addition, Chinese classical residential building has been investigated in the proposed case, in which several critical aspects such as building optimization, passive design, PV panel and HVAC system integrated with solar water heater, Phase change materials, natural ventilation, etc., have been taken into consideration.

Energy efficient engine: High pressure turbine uncooled rig technology report

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Gardner, W. B.

1979-01-01

Results obtained from testing five performance builds (three vane cascades and two rotating rigs of the Energy Efficient Engine uncooled rig have established the uncooled aerodynamic efficiency of the high-pressure turbine at 91.1 percent. This efficiency level was attained by increasing the rim speed and annulus area (AN(2)), and by increasing the turbine reaction level. The increase in AN(2) resulted in a performance improvement of 1.15 percent. At the design point pressure ratio, the increased reaction level rig demonstrated an efficiency of 91.1 percent. The results of this program have verified the aerodynamic design assumptions established for the Energy Efficient Engine high-pressure turbine component.

Effectiveness of E-Learning for Students Vocational High School Building Engineering Program

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Soeparno; Muslim, Supari

2018-04-01

Implementation of vocational learning in accordance with the 2013 curriculum must meet the criteria, one of which is learning to be consistent with advances in technology and information. Technology-based learning in vocational commonly referred to as E-Learning, online (in the network) and WBL (Web-Based Learning). Facts on the ground indicate that based learning technology and information on Vocational High School of Building Engineering is still not going well. The purpose of this research is to know: advantages and disadvantages of learning with E-Learning, conformity of learning with E-Learning with characteristics of students on Vocational High School of Building Engineering and effective learning method based on E-Learning for students on Vocational High School of Building Engineering. Research done by literature method, get the following conclusion as follow: the advantages of E-Learning is learning can be done anywhere and anytime, efficient in accessing materials and tasks, ease of communication and discussion; while the shortage is the need for additional costs for good internet access and lack of social interaction between teachers and students. E-learning is appropriate to basic knowledge competencies, and not appropriate at the level of advanced competencies and skills. Effective E-Learning Based Learning Method on Vocational High School of Building Engineering is a Blended method that is a mix between conventional method and e-learning.

Shuttle Ground Operations Efficiencies/Technologies Study (SGOE/T). Volume 5: Technical Information Sheets (TIS)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Scholz, A. L.; Hart, M. T.; Lowry, D. J.

1987-01-01

The Technology Information Sheet was assembled in database format during Phase I. This document was designed to provide a repository for information pertaining to 144 Operations and Maintenance Instructions (OMI) controlled operations in the Orbiter Processing Facility (OPF), Vehicle Assembly Building (VAB), and PAD. It provides a way to accumulate information about required crew sizes, operations task time duration (serial and/or parallel), special Ground Support Equipment (GSE). required, and identification of a potential application of existing technology or the need for the development of a new technolgoy item.

Phased Retrofits in Existing Homes in Florida Phase I: Shallow and Deep Retrofits

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

D. Parker; Sutherland, K.; Chasar, D.

2016-02-01

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building America program, in collaboration with Florida Power and Light (FPL), conducted a phased residential energy-efficiency retrofit program. This research sought to establish impacts on annual energy and peak energy reductions from the technologies applied at two levels of retrofit - shallow and deep, with savings levels approaching the Building America program goals of reducing whole-house energy use by 40%. Under the Phased Deep Retrofit (PDR) project, we have installed phased, energy-efficiency retrofits in a sample of 56 existing, all-electric homes. End-use savings and economic evaluation results from the phased measure packages and singlemore » measures are summarized in this report.« less

10 CFR 430.3 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2010 CFR

2010-01-01

.... Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th... Standard for Fluorescent Lamps-Instant-start and Cold-Cathode Types-Dimensional and Electrical...-1995 (“ANSI C78.20”), American National Standard for electric lamps—A, G, PS, and Similar Shapes with...

78 FR 72077 - Energy Efficiency Program for Industrial Equipment: Final Determination Classifying UL...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2013-12-02

... Verification Services Inc. as a Nationally Recognized Certification Program for Small Electric Motors AGENCY... FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Mr. Lucas Adin, U.S. Department of Energy, Building Technologies Office, Mail... conservation requirements for, among other things, electric motors and small electric motors, including test...

10 CFR 435.3 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2014 CFR

2014-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2014-01-01 2014-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 435.3 Section 435.3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR NEW FEDERAL LOW-RISE... Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, Sixth Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 20024...

10 CFR 435.3 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2013-01-01 2013-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 435.3 Section 435.3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR NEW FEDERAL LOW-RISE... Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, Sixth Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 20024...

10 CFR 435.3 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2012 CFR

2012-01-01

... 10 Energy 3 2012-01-01 2012-01-01 false Materials incorporated by reference. 435.3 Section 435.3 Energy DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY ENERGY CONSERVATION ENERGY EFFICIENCY STANDARDS FOR NEW FEDERAL LOW-RISE... Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, Sixth Floor, 950 L'Enfant Plaza, SW., Washington, DC 20024...

Convergent Aeronautics Solutions (CAS) Showcase Presentation on Mission Adaptive Digital Composite Aerostructure Technologies (MADCAT)

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Swei, Sean; Cheung, Kenneth

2016-01-01

This project is to develop a novel aerostructure concept that takes advantage of emerging digital composite materials and manufacturing methods to build high stiffness-to-density ratio, ultra-light structures that can provide mission adaptive and aerodynamically efficient future N+3N+4 air vehicles.

Eric Kozubal | NREL

Science.gov Websites

researches new methods and technologies for energy-efficient air conditioning systems. He has tested more -6155 Eric joined NREL in 2002 and is a member of the Commercial Buildings Research Group. Eric recommendations. He uses tools such as CAD, Matlab, Engineer Equation Solver, Excel, and statistical software to

Planning the Library Media Center Facility for the 1990s and Beyond.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Texas Education Agency, Austin.

This manual presents recommendations for incorporating present and future technological changes into workable, efficient, pleasant school library media facilities in two major sections: Planning the Facility and Activity Areas. The first section addresses the planning process (appointing the building committee, evaluating the library media…

Rooms with a View

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Hourihan, Peter; Berry, Millard, III

2006-01-01

When well-designed and integrated into a campus living or learning space, an atrium can function as the heart and spirit of a building, connecting interior rooms and public spaces with the outside environment. However, schools and universities should seek technological and HVAC solutions that maximize energy efficiency. This article discusses how…

Using Minimum Energy in Ireland's Schools

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Dolan, John

2007-01-01

Since 1998, the Department of Education and Science has been using a process of design, awareness, research and technology known as DART to develop energy efficiency in educational buildings. Currently all primary schools built in accordance with the Department's primary schools technical guidance documents are capable of being up to 2.3 times…

10 CFR 431.323 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2011 CFR

2011-01-01

... of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor... National Standard for electric lamps: Single-Ended Metal Halide Lamps, approved May 5, 2004, IBR approved... (“NFPA 70”), National Electrical Code 2002 Edition, IBR approved for § 431.326; (2) [Reserved] (e) UL...

10 CFR 431.323 - Materials incorporated by reference.

Code of Federal Regulations, 2013 CFR

2013-01-01

... of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Program, 6th Floor... National Standard for electric lamps: Single-Ended Metal Halide Lamps, approved May 5, 2004, IBR approved... (“NFPA 70”), National Electrical Code 2002 Edition, IBR approved for § 431.326; (2) [Reserved] (e) UL...

Energy Demands and Efficiency Strategies in Data Center Buildings

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Shehabi, Arman

2009-01-01

Information technology (IT) is becoming increasingly pervasive throughout society as more data is digitally processed, stored, and transferred. The infrastructure that supports IT activity is growing accordingly, and data center energy demands have increased by nearly a factor of four over the past decade. This dissertation investigates how…

Building Efficient Wireless Infrastructures for Pervasive Computing Environments

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Sheng, Bo

2010-01-01

Pervasive computing is an emerging concept that thoroughly brings computing devices and the consequent technology into people's daily life and activities. Most of these computing devices are very small, sometimes even "invisible", and often embedded into the objects surrounding people. In addition, these devices usually are not isolated, but…

Automated Measurement and Verification and Innovative Occupancy Detection Technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Price, Phillip; Bruce, Nordman; Piette, Mary Ann

In support of DOE’s sensors and controls research, the goal of this project is to move toward integrated building to grid systems by building on previous work to develop and demonstrate a set of load characterization measurement and evaluation tools that are envisioned to be part of a suite of applications for transactive efficient buildings, built upon data-driven load characterization and prediction models. This will include the ability to include occupancy data in the models, plus data collection and archival methods to include different types of occupancy data with existing networks and a taxonomy for naming these data within amore » Volttron agent platform.« less

Big data analytics in the building industry

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Berger, Michael A.; Mathew, Paul A.; Walter, Travis

Catalyzed by recent market, technology, and policy trends, energy data collection in the building industry is becoming more widespread. This wealth of information allows more data-driven decision-making by designers, commissioning agents, facilities staff, and energy service providers during the course of building design, operation and retrofit. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Performance Database (BPD) has taken advantage of this wealth of building asset- and energy-related data by collecting, cleansing, and standardizing data from across the U.S. on over 870,00 buildings, and is designed to support building benchmarking, energy efficiency project design, and buildings-related policy development with real-world data. Here,more » this article explores the promises and perils energy professionals are faced with when leveraging such tools, presenting example analyses for commercial and residential buildings, highlighting potential issues, and discussing solutions and best practices that will enable designers, operators and commissioning agents to make the most of ‘big data’ resources such as the BPD.« less

Big data analytics in the building industry

DOE PAGES

Berger, Michael A.; Mathew, Paul A.; Walter, Travis

2016-07-01

Catalyzed by recent market, technology, and policy trends, energy data collection in the building industry is becoming more widespread. This wealth of information allows more data-driven decision-making by designers, commissioning agents, facilities staff, and energy service providers during the course of building design, operation and retrofit. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Building Performance Database (BPD) has taken advantage of this wealth of building asset- and energy-related data by collecting, cleansing, and standardizing data from across the U.S. on over 870,00 buildings, and is designed to support building benchmarking, energy efficiency project design, and buildings-related policy development with real-world data. Here,more » this article explores the promises and perils energy professionals are faced with when leveraging such tools, presenting example analyses for commercial and residential buildings, highlighting potential issues, and discussing solutions and best practices that will enable designers, operators and commissioning agents to make the most of ‘big data’ resources such as the BPD.« less

Initial Business Case Analysis of Two Integrated Heat Pump HVAC Systems for Near-Zero-Energy Homes

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baxter, Van D

2006-11-01

The long range strategic goal of the Department of Energy's Building Technologies (DOE/BT) Program is to create, by 2020, technologies and design approaches that enable the construction of net-zero energy homes at low incremental cost (DOE/BT 2005). A net zero energy home (NZEH) is a residential building with greatly reduced needs for energy through efficiency gains, with the balance of energy needs supplied by renewable technologies. While initially focused on new construction, these technologies and design approaches are intended to have application to buildings constructed before 2020 as well resulting in substantial reduction in energy use for all building typesmore » and ages. DOE/BT's Emerging Technologies (ET) team is working to support this strategic goal by identifying and developing advanced heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and water heating (HVAC/WH) technology options applicable to NZEHs. Although the energy efficiency of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment has increased substantially in recent years, new approaches are needed to continue this trend. Dramatic efficiency improvements are necessary to enable progress toward the NZEH goals, and will require a radical rethinking of opportunities to improve system performance. The large reductions in HVAC energy consumption necessary to support the NZEH goals require a systems-oriented analysis approach that characterizes each element of energy consumption, identifies alternatives, and determines the most cost-effective combination of options. In particular, HVAC equipment must be developed that addresses the range of special needs of NZEH applications in the areas of reduced HVAC and water heating energy use, humidity control, ventilation, uniform comfort, and ease of zoning. In FY05 ORNL conducted an initial Stage 1 (Applied Research) scoping assessment of HVAC/WH systems options for future NZEHs to help DOE/BT identify and prioritize alternative approaches for further development. Eleven system concepts with central air distribution ducting and nine multi-zone systems were selected and their annual and peak demand performance estimated for five locations: Atlanta (mixed-humid), Houston (hot-humid), Phoenix (hot-dry), San Francisco (marine), and Chicago (cold). Performance was estimated by simulating the systems using the TRNSYS simulation engine (Solar Energy Laboratory et al. 2006) in two 1800-ft{sup 2} houses--a Building America (BA) benchmark house and a prototype NZEH taken from BEopt results at the take-off (or crossover) point (i.e., a house incorporating those design features such that further progress towards ZEH is through the addition of photovoltaic power sources, as determined by current BEopt analyses conducted by NREL). Results were summarized in a project report, 'HVAC Equipment Design options for Near-Zero-Energy Homes--A Stage 2 Scoping Assessment,' ORNL/TM-2005/194 (Baxter 2005). The 2005 study report describes the HVAC options considered, the ranking criteria used, and the system rankings by priority. Table 1 summarizes the energy savings potential of the highest scoring options from the 2005 study for all five locations.« less

A High-Granularity Approach to Modeling Energy Consumption and Savings Potential in the U.S. Residential Building Stock

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

Building simulations are increasingly used in various applications related to energy efficient buildings. For individual buildings, applications include: design of new buildings, prediction of retrofit savings, ratings, performance path code compliance and qualification for incentives. Beyond individual building applications, larger scale applications (across the stock of buildings at various scales: national, regional and state) include: codes and standards development, utility program design, regional/state planning, and technology assessments. For these sorts of applications, a set of representative buildings are typically simulated to predict performance of the entire population of buildings. Focusing on the U.S. single-family residential building stock, this paper willmore » describe how multiple data sources for building characteristics are combined into a highly-granular database that preserves the important interdependencies of the characteristics. We will present the sampling technique used to generate a representative set of thousands (up to hundreds of thousands) of building models. We will also present results of detailed calibrations against building stock consumption data.« less

Application of an access technology delivery protocol to two children with cerebral palsy.

PubMed

Mumford, Leslie; Chau, Tom

2015-07-14

This study further delineates the merits and limitations of the Access Technology Delivery Protocol (ATDP) through its application to two children with severe disabilities. We conducted mixed methods case studies to demonstrate the ATDP with two children with no reliable means of access to an external device. Evaluations of response efficiency, satisfaction, goal attainment, technology use and participation were made after 8 and 16 weeks of training with custom access technologies. After 16 weeks, one child's switch offered improved response efficiency, high teacher satisfaction and increased participation. The other child's switch resulted in improved satisfaction and switch effectiveness but lower overall efficiency. The latter child was no longer using his switch by the end of the study. These contrasting findings indicate that changes to any contextual factors that may impact the user's switch performance should mandate a reassessment of the access pathway. Secondly, it is important to ensure that individuals who will be responsible for switch training be identified at the outset and engaged throughout the ATDP. Finally, the ATDP should continue to be tested with individuals with severe disabilities to build an evidence base for the delivery of response efficient access solutions. Implications for Rehabilitation A data-driven, comprehensive access technology delivery protocol for children with complex communication needs could help to mitigate technology abandonment. Successful adoption of an access technology requires personalized design, training of the technology user, the teaching staff, the caregivers and other communication partners, and integration with functional activities.

Recent developments in terahertz sensing technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Shur, Michael

2016-05-01

Terahertz technology has found numerous applications for the detection of biological and chemical hazardous agents, medical diagnostics, detection of explosives, providing security in buildings, airports, and other public spaces, shortrange covert communications (in the THz and sub-THz windows), and applications in radio astronomy and space research. The expansion of these applications will depend on the development of efficient electronic terahertz sources and sensitive low-noise terahertz detectors. Schottky diode frequency multipliers have emerged as a viable THz source technology reaching a few THz. High speed three terminal electronic devices (FETs and HBTs) have entered the THz range (with cutoff frequencies and maximum frequencies of operation above 1 THz). A new approach called plasma wave electronics recently demonstrated an efficient terahertz detection in GaAs-based and GaN-based HEMTs and in Si MOS, SOI, FINFETs and in FET arrays. This progress in THz electronic technology has promise for a significant expansion of THz applications.

Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings through Context-Aware Social Computing.

PubMed

García, Óscar; Alonso, Ricardo S; Prieto, Javier; Corchado, Juan M

2017-04-11

The challenge of promoting behavioral changes in users that leads to energy savings in public buildings has become a complex task requiring the involvement of multiple technologies. Wireless sensor networks have a great potential for the development of tools, such as serious games, that encourage acquiring good energy and healthy habits among users in the workplace. This paper presents the development of a serious game using CAFCLA, a framework that allows for integrating multiple technologies, which provide both context-awareness and social computing. Game development has shown that the data provided by sensor networks encourage users to reduce energy consumption in their workplace and that social interactions and competitiveness allow for accelerating the achievement of good results and behavioral changes that favor energy savings.

VOLTTRON™: Tech-to-Market Best-Practices Guide for Small- and Medium-Sized Commercial Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Cort, Katherine A.; Haack, Jereme N.; Katipamula, Srinivas

VOLTTRON™ is an open-source distributed control and sensing platform developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy. It was developed to be used by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to support transactive controls research and deployment activities. VOLTTRON is designed to be an overarching integration platform that could be used to bring together vendors, users, and developers and enable rapid application development and testing. The platform is designed to support modern control strategies, including the use of agent- and transaction-based controls. It also is designed to support the management of a wide rangemore » of applications, including heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning systems; electric vehicles; and distributed-energy and whole-building loads. This report was completed as part of the Building Technologies Office’s Technology-to-Market Initiative for VOLTTRON’s Market Validation and Business Case Development efforts. The report provides technology-to-market guidance and best practices related to VOLTTRON platform deployments and commercialization activities for use by entities serving small- and medium-sized commercial buildings. The report characterizes the platform ecosystem within the small- and medium-sized commercial building market and articulates the value proposition of VOLTTRON for three core participants in this ecosystem: 1) platform owners/adopters, 2) app developers, and 3) end-users. The report also identifies key market drivers and opportunities for open platform deployments in the small- and medium-sized commercial building market. Possible pathways to the market are described—laboratory testing to market adoption to commercialization. We also identify and address various technical and market barriers that could hinder deployment of VOLTTRON. Finally, we provide “best practice” tech-to-market guidance for building energy-related deployment efforts serving small- and medium-sized commercial buildings.« less

Methods and systems for integrating fluid dispensing technology with stereolithography

DOEpatents

Medina, Francisco; Wicker, Ryan; Palmer, Jeremy A.; Davis, Don W.; Chavez, Bart D.; Gallegos, Phillip L.

2010-02-09

An integrated system and method of integrating fluid dispensing technologies (e.g., direct-write (DW)) with rapid prototyping (RP) technologies (e.g., stereolithography (SL)) without part registration comprising: an SL apparatus and a fluid dispensing apparatus further comprising a translation mechanism adapted to translate the fluid dispensing apparatus along the Z-, Y- and Z-axes. The fluid dispensing apparatus comprises: a pressurized fluid container; a valve mechanism adapted to control the flow of fluid from the pressurized fluid container; and a dispensing nozzle adapted to deposit the fluid in a desired location. To aid in calibration, the integrated system includes a laser sensor and a mechanical switch. The method further comprises building a second part layer on top of the fluid deposits and optionally accommodating multi-layered circuitry by incorporating a connector trace. Thus, the present invention is capable of efficiently building single and multi-material SL fabricated parts embedded with complex three-dimensional circuitry using DW.

High-performance commercial building systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Selkowitz, Stephen

2003-10-01

This report summarizes key technical accomplishments resulting from the three year PIER-funded R&D program, ''High Performance Commercial Building Systems'' (HPCBS). The program targets the commercial building sector in California, an end-use sector that accounts for about one-third of all California electricity consumption and an even larger fraction of peak demand, at a cost of over $10B/year. Commercial buildings also have a major impact on occupant health, comfort and productivity. Building design and operations practices that influence energy use are deeply engrained in a fragmented, risk-averse industry that is slow to change. Although California's aggressive standards efforts have resulted in newmore » buildings designed to use less energy than those constructed 20 years ago, the actual savings realized are still well below technical and economic potentials. The broad goal of this program is to develop and deploy a set of energy-saving technologies, strategies, and techniques, and improve processes for designing, commissioning, and operating commercial buildings, while improving health, comfort, and performance of occupants, all in a manner consistent with sound economic investment practices. Results are to be broadly applicable to the commercial sector for different building sizes and types, e.g. offices and schools, for different classes of ownership, both public and private, and for owner-occupied as well as speculative buildings. The program aims to facilitate significant electricity use savings in the California commercial sector by 2015, while assuring that these savings are affordable and promote high quality indoor environments. The five linked technical program elements contain 14 projects with 41 distinct R&D tasks. Collectively they form a comprehensive Research, Development, and Demonstration (RD&D) program with the potential to capture large savings in the commercial building sector, providing significant economic benefits to building owners and health and performance benefits to occupants. At the same time this program can strengthen the growing energy efficiency industry in California by providing new jobs and growth opportunities for companies providing the technology, systems, software, design, and building services to the commercial sector. The broad objectives across all five program elements were: (1) To develop and deploy an integrated set of tools and techniques to support the design and operation of energy-efficient commercial buildings; (2) To develop open software specifications for a building data model that will support the interoperability of these tools throughout the building life-cycle; (3) To create new technology options (hardware and controls) for substantially reducing controllable lighting, envelope, and cooling loads in buildings; (4) To create and implement a new generation of diagnostic techniques so that commissioning and efficient building operations can be accomplished reliably and cost effectively and provide sustained energy savings; (5) To enhance the health, comfort and performance of building occupants. (6) To provide the information technology infrastructure for owners to minimize their energy costs and manage their energy information in a manner that creates added value for their buildings as the commercial sector transitions to an era of deregulated utility markets, distributed generation, and changing business practices. Our ultimate goal is for our R&D effort to have measurable market impact. This requires that the research tasks be carried out with a variety of connections to key market actors or trends so that they are recognized as relevant and useful and can be adopted by expected users. While some of this activity is directly integrated into our research tasks, the handoff from ''market-connected R&D'' to ''field deployment'' is still an art as well as a science and in many areas requires resources and a timeframe well beyond the scope of this PIER research program. The TAGs, PAC and other industry partners have assisted directly in this effort by reviewing and critiquing work to date, and by partnering in activities that advance results toward market impacts. The goals, objectives and key accomplishments of each technical program element and projects are described in the sections that follow. For each project we then summarize the Task Approach, the Outcomes of each task, and our Conclusions and Recommendations. We also provide a list and short summary of each significant research product e.g. report, prototype, software, standard, etc.« less

Characteristics and Performance of Existing Load Disaggregation Technologies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mayhorn, Ebony T.; Sullivan, Greg P.; Butner, Ryan S.

2015-04-10

Non-intrusive load monitoring (NILM) or non-intrusive appliance load monitoring (NIALM) is an analytic approach to disaggregate building loads based on a single metering point. This advanced load monitoring and disaggregation technique has the potential to provide an alternative solution to high-priced traditional sub-metering and enable innovative approaches for energy conservation, energy efficiency, and demand response. However, since the inception of the concept in the 1980’s, evaluations of these technologies have focused on reporting performance accuracy without investigating sources of inaccuracies or fully understanding and articulating the meaning of the metrics used to quantify performance. As a result, the market for,more » as well as, advances in these technologies have been slowly maturing.To improve the market for these NILM technologies, there has to be confidence that the deployment will lead to benefits. In reality, every end-user and application that this technology may enable does not require the highest levels of performance accuracy to produce benefits. Also, there are other important characteristics that need to be considered, which may affect the appeal of NILM products to certain market targets (i.e. residential and commercial building consumers) and the suitability for particular applications. These characteristics include the following: 1) ease of use, the level of expertise/bandwidth required to properly use the product; 2) ease of installation, the level of expertise required to install along with hardware needs that impact product cost; and 3) ability to inform decisions and actions, whether the energy outputs received by end-users (e.g. third party applications, residential users, building operators, etc.) empower decisions and actions to be taken at time frames required for certain applications. Therefore, stakeholders, researchers, and other interested parties should be kept abreast of the evolving capabilities, uses, and characteristics of NILM that make them attractive for certain building environments and different classes of end-users. The intent of this report is to raise awareness of trending NILM approaches. Additionally, three existing technologies were acquired and evaluated using the Residential Building Stock Assessment (RBSA) owner-occupied test bed operated by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) to understand performance accuracy of current NILM products under realistic conditions. Based on this field study experience, the characteristics exhibited by the NILM products included in the assessment are also discussed in this report in terms of ease of use, ease of installation, ability to inform decisions and actions. Results of the analysis performed to investigate the accuracy of the participating NILM products in estimating energy use of individual appliances are also presented.« less

Renewable energy technologies and its adaptation in an urban environment

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Thampi, K. Ravindranathan; Byrne, Owen; Surolia, Praveen K.

2014-01-01

This general article is based on the inaugural talk delivered at the opening of OMTAT 2013 conference. It notes that the integration of renewable energy sources into living and transport sectors presents a daunting task, still. In spite of the fact that the earth and its atmosphere continually receive 1.7 × 1017 watts of radiation from the sun, in the portfolio of sustainable and environment friendly energy options, which is about 16% of the world's energy consumption and mostly met by biomass, only a paltry 0.04% is accredited to solar. First and second generation solar cells offer mature technologies for applications. The most important difficulty with regards to integration with structures is not only the additional cost, but also the lack of sufficient knowledge in managing the available energy smartly and efficiently. The incorporation of PV as a part of building fabric greatly reduces the overall costs compared with retrofitting. BIPV (Building Integrated photovoltaic) is a critical technology for establishing aesthetically pleasing solar structures. Infusing PV and building elements is greatly simplified with some of the second generation thin film technologies now manufactured as flexible panels. The same holds true for 3rd generation technologies under development such as, and dye- and quantum dot- sensitized solar cells. Additionally, these technologies offer transparent or translucent solar cells for incorporation into windows and skylights. This review deals with the present state of solar cell technologies suitable for BIPV and the status of BIPV applications and its future prospects.

Evaluation on Thermal Behavior of a Green Roof Retrofit System Installed on Experimental Building in Composite Climate of Roorkee, India

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Kumar, Ashok; Deoliya, Rajesh; Chani, P. S.

2015-12-01

Green roofs not only provide cooling by shading, but also by transpiration of water through the stomata. However, the evidence for green roofs providing significant air cooling remains limited. No literature investigates the thermal performance of prefab brick panel roofing technology with green roof. Hence, the aim of this research is to investigate the thermal behavior of an experimental room, built at CSIR-Central Building Research Institute (CBRI) campus, Roorkee, India using such roofing technology during May 2013. The study also explores the feasibility of green roof with grass carpets that require minimum irrigation, to assess the expected indoor thermal comfort improvements by doing real-time experimental studies. The results show that the proposed green roof system is suitable for reducing the energy demand for space cooling during hot summer, without worsening the winter energy performance. The cost of proposed retrofit system is about Rs. 1075 per m2. Therefore, green roofs can be used efficiently in retrofitting existing buildings in India to improve the micro-climate on building roofs and roof insulation, where the additional load carrying capacity of buildings is about 100-130 kg/m2.

Green buildings for Egypt: a call for an integrated policy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bampou, P.

2017-11-01

As global warming is on the threshold of each country worldwide, Middle East and North African (MENA) region has already adopted energy efficiency (EE) policies on several consuming sectors. The present paper valuates the impact of temperature increase in the residential building sector of Egypt that is the most integrated example of the 7 out of the 20 MENA countries that have started their green efforts upon building environment. Furthermore, as it is based on a literature research upon socio-economic characteristics, existing building stock, existing legal and institutional framework, it elaborates a quantitative evaluation of Egypt's energy-saving potential, outlining basic constraints upon energy conservation, in order for Egypt to be able to handle the high energy needs due to its warm climate. Last but not least, the paper proposes a policy pathway for the implementation of green building codes and concludes with the best available technologies to promote EE in the Egyptian building sector.

Wind Movement Comparison Between Student Dormitory 2 and 3 ITERA and The Correlation Toward its Indoor Thermal Comfort

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Perdana Khidmat, Rendy; Donny Koerniawan, M.; Suhendri

2018-05-01

Student dormitory is a semi-private building that designated to occupies large number of habitats. This type of building mostly designated in simple type of vertical housing. In the context of utilization, dormitory surely requires indoor thermal comfort yet in the same way it requires the energy efficiency as well. Building in a tropical climate country is expected to be adequate to adopt a potention from its surrounding in order to switch air conditioner and gain efficiency in energy consume. One of its key factors is wind. This paper tries to describe and investigate wind movement that works on two different type of student dormitory in Sumatera Institute of Technology. The distinct difference between two blocks is one of the tower block utilizes void meanwhile the other are not. This research is conducted by using Computational Fluid Dynamic (CFD) based software. This study is expected to provide an overview of the wind movement and its effect on air temperature and its correlation to the indoor thermal comfort in both buildings.

BEopt-CA (Ex) -- A Tool for Optimal Integration of EE/DR/ES+PV in Existing California Homes. Cooperative Research and Development Final Report, CRADA Number CRD-11-429

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Christensen, Craig

Opportunities for combining energy efficiency, demand response, and energy storage with PV are often missed, because the required knowledge and expertise for these different technologies exist in separate organizations or individuals. Furthermore, there is a lack of quantitative tools to optimize energy efficiency, demand response and energy storage with PV, especially for existing buildings. Our goal is to develop a modeling tool, BEopt-CA (Ex), with capabilities to facilitate identification and implementation of a balanced integration of energy efficiency (EE), demand response (DR), and energy storage (ES) with photovoltaics (PV) within the residential retrofit market. To achieve this goal, we willmore » adapt and extend an existing tool -- BEopt -- that is designed to identify optimal combinations of efficiency and PV in new home designs. In addition, we will develop multifamily residential modeling capabilities for use in California, to facilitate integration of distributed solar power into the grid in order to maximize its value to California ratepayers. The project is follow-on research that leverages previous California Solar Initiative RD&D investment in the BEopt software. BEopt facilitates finding the least cost combination of energy efficiency and renewables to support integrated DSM (iDSM) and Zero Net Energy (ZNE) in California residential buildings. However, BEopt is currently focused on modeling single-family houses and does not include satisfactory capabilities for modeling multifamily homes. The project brings BEopt's existing modeling and optimization capabilities to multifamily buildings, including duplexes, triplexes, townhouses, flats, and low-rise apartment buildings.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hardin, Dave; Stephan, Eric G.; Wang, Weimin

Through its Building Technologies Office (BTO), the United States Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (DOE-EERE) is sponsoring an effort to advance interoperability for the integration of intelligent buildings equipment and automation systems, understanding the importance of integration frameworks and product ecosystems to this cause. This is important to BTO’s mission to enhance energy efficiency and save energy for economic and environmental purposes. For connected buildings ecosystems of products and services from various manufacturers to flourish, the ICT aspects of the equipment need to integrate and operate simply and reliably. Within the concepts of interoperability liemore » the specification, development, and certification of equipment with standards-based interfaces that connect and work. Beyond this, a healthy community of stakeholders that contribute to and use interoperability work products must be developed. On May 1, 2014, the DOE convened a technical meeting to take stock of the current state of interoperability of connected equipment and systems in buildings. Several insights from that meeting helped facilitate a draft description of the landscape of interoperability for connected buildings, which focuses mainly on small and medium commercial buildings. This document revises the February 2015 landscape document to address reviewer comments, incorporate important insights from the Buildings Interoperability Vision technical meeting, and capture thoughts from that meeting about the topics to be addressed in a buildings interoperability vision. In particular, greater attention is paid to the state of information modeling in buildings and the great potential for near-term benefits in this area from progress and community alignment.« less

Methods and analysis of factors impact on the efficiency of the photovoltaic generation

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tianze, Li; Xia, Zhang; Chuan, Jiang; Luan, Hou

2011-02-01

First of all, the thesis elaborates two important breakthroughs which happened In the field of the application of solar energy in the 1950s.The 21st century the development of solar photovoltaic power generation will have the following characteristics: the continued high growth of industrial development, the significantly reducing cost of the solar cell, the large-scale high-tech development of photovoltaic industries, the breakthroughs of the film battery technology, the rapid development of solar PV buildings integration and combined to the grids. The paper makes principles of solar cells the theoretical analysis. On the basis, we study the conversion efficiency of solar cells, find the factors impact on the efficiency of the photovoltaic generation, solve solar cell conversion efficiency of technical problems through the development of new technology, and open up new ways to improve the solar cell conversion efficiency. Finally, the paper connecting with the practice establishes policies and legislation to the use of encourage renewable energy, development strategy, basic applied research etc.

Putting Carbon in its Place: What You Can Do (LBNL Science at the Theater)

ScienceCinema

Walker, Iain; Regnier, Cindy [LBNL, Environmental Energy Technologies Division; Miller, Jeff; Masanet, Eric

2018-06-28

Science at the Theater: Berkeley Lab scientists reveal the latest research on how to reduce your carbon footprint at home, work, and when you shop. Learn how even small choices can have a big impact. Iain Walker's research focuses on optimizing the energy use and comfort of buildings. He's a staff scientist in the Energy Performance of Buildings Group, which is part of Berkeley Lab's Environmen...tal Energy Technologies Division. He's also executive editor of Home Energy Magazine. Cindy Regnier is a Project Manager in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division at Berkeley Lab. She has over 13 years of mechanical engineering design experience, with a focus on low-energy buildings. Her projects have included several LEED Platinum buildings and the design of a 200,000 sf carbon neutral, net-zero energy science museum in San Francisco. Eric Masanet is Acting Deputy Leader of the International Energy Studies Group at Berkeley Lab. His research focuses on life-cycle assessments and energy efficiency analysis. He holds a joint research appointment in the Institute of Transportation Studies at UC Berkeley.

Sustainability Trends Reflected in the Architecture of the European Examples

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gumińska, Anna

2017-10-01

In modern architecture, one of the leading trends are striving to obtain the most economical energy-efficient building. Eco-development focuses on contemporary use, inter alia, the technological and material solutions that meet the conditions in most of the existing laws by using renewable energy sources. These findings apply primarily to new objects. Old, historical already existing superstructure is treated in a manner less demanding adaptation to environmental conditions, mainly on the behaviour of the aesthetic. This can be disadvantageous for these properties due to increased operating costs, and thus the loss of attractiveness. At work, an attempt was made on the basis of the analysis of the literature and documentation shoot made “in situ” possible use of latest technological developments to both the renewal of the historical buildings of the central areas of European cities through the renovation of an existing building or the emergence of subsidiary buildings while preserving the cultural values, aesthetic or symbolic objects, the environment. Analyzed examples show possibilities of adapting new and upgraded properties both to your power requirements, green and to the context of the existing built environment and cultural heritage.

Quantifying the benefits of a building retrofit using an integrated system approach: A case study

DOE PAGES

Regnier, Cynthia; Sun, Kaiyu; Hong, Tianzhen; ...

2017-11-11

Building retrofits provide a large opportunity to significantly reduce energy consumption in the buildings sector. Traditional building retrofits focus on equipment upgrades, often at the end of equipment life or failure, and result in replacement with marginally improved similar technology and limited energy savings. The Integrated System (IS) retrofit approach enables much greater energy savings by leveraging interactive effects between end use systems, enabling downsized or lower energy technologies. This work presents a case study in Hawaii quantifying the benefits of an IS retrofit approach compared to two traditional retrofit approaches: a Standard Practice of upgrading equipment to meet minimummore » code requirements, and an Improved Practice of upgrading equipment to a higher efficiency. The IS approach showed an energy savings of 84% over existing building energy use, much higher than the traditional approaches of 13% and 33%. The IS retrofit also demonstrated the greatest energy cost savings potential. While the degree of savings realized from the IS approach will vary by building and climate, these findings indicate that savings on the order of 50% and greater are not possible without an IS approach. It is therefore recommended that the IS approach be universally adopted to achieve deep energy savings.« less

Quantifying the benefits of a building retrofit using an integrated system approach: A case study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Regnier, Cynthia; Sun, Kaiyu; Hong, Tianzhen

Building retrofits provide a large opportunity to significantly reduce energy consumption in the buildings sector. Traditional building retrofits focus on equipment upgrades, often at the end of equipment life or failure, and result in replacement with marginally improved similar technology and limited energy savings. The Integrated System (IS) retrofit approach enables much greater energy savings by leveraging interactive effects between end use systems, enabling downsized or lower energy technologies. This work presents a case study in Hawaii quantifying the benefits of an IS retrofit approach compared to two traditional retrofit approaches: a Standard Practice of upgrading equipment to meet minimummore » code requirements, and an Improved Practice of upgrading equipment to a higher efficiency. The IS approach showed an energy savings of 84% over existing building energy use, much higher than the traditional approaches of 13% and 33%. The IS retrofit also demonstrated the greatest energy cost savings potential. While the degree of savings realized from the IS approach will vary by building and climate, these findings indicate that savings on the order of 50% and greater are not possible without an IS approach. It is therefore recommended that the IS approach be universally adopted to achieve deep energy savings.« less

Hurdling barriers through market uncertainty: Case studies ininnovative technology adoption

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Payne, Christopher T.; Radspieler Jr., Anthony; Payne, Jack

The crisis atmosphere surrounding electricity availability in California during the summer of 2001 produced two distinct phenomena in commercial energy consumption decision-making: desires to guarantee energy availability while blackouts were still widely anticipated, and desires to avoid or mitigate significant price increases when higher commercial electricity tariffs took effect. The climate of increased consideration of these factors seems to have led, in some cases, to greater willingness on the part of business decision-makers to consider highly innovative technologies. This paper examines three case studies of innovative technology adoption: retrofit of time-and-temperature signs on an office building; installation of fuel cellsmore » to supply power, heating, and cooling to the same building; and installation of a gas-fired heat pump at a microbrewery. We examine the decision process that led to adoption of these technologies. In each case, specific constraints had made more conventional energy-efficient technologies inapplicable. We examine how these barriers to technology adoption developed over time, how the California energy decision-making climate combined with the characteristics of these innovative technologies to overcome the barriers, and what the implications of hurdling these barriers are for future energy decisions within the firms.« less

Oak Ridge National Laboratory Annual Progress Report for the Electric Drive Technologies Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ozpineci, Burak

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced in May 2011 a new cooperative research effort comprising DOE, the US Council for Automotive Research (composed of automakers Ford Motor Company, General Motors Company, and Chrysler Group), Tesla Motors, and representatives of the electric utility and petroleum industries. Known as U.S. DRIVE (Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability), it represents DOE’s commitment to developing public–private partnerships to fund high-risk–high-reward research into advanced automotive technologies. The new partnership replaces and builds upon the partnership known as FreedomCAR (derived from “Freedom” and “Cooperative Automotive Research”) that ran from 2002 throughmore » 2010 and the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles initiative that ran from 1993 through 2001. Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL’s) Electric Drive Technologies (EDT) subprogram within the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) provides support and guidance for many cutting-edge automotive technologies now under development. Research is focused on developing revolutionary new power electronics (PE), electric motor (EM), and traction drive system (TDS) technologies that will leapfrog current on-the-road technologies, leading to lower cost and better efficiency in transforming battery energy to useful work. The research and development (R&D) is also aimed at achieving a greater understanding of and improvements in the way the various new components of tomorrow’s automobiles will function as a unified system to improve fuel efficiency through research in more efficient TDSs. In supporting the development of advanced vehicle propulsion systems, the EDT subprogram fosters the development of technologies that will significantly improve efficiency, costs, and fuel economy« less

Field Evaluation of the Performance of the RTU Challenge Unit: Daikin Rebel

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Katipamula, Srinivas; Wang, W.; Ngo, Hung

2017-05-31

Packaged rooftop air-conditioning units (RTUs) are used in 44% (2.5 million) of all commercial buildings, serving over 57% (46 billion square feet) of the commercial building floor space in the United States (EIA 2012). The primary energy consumption associated with RTUs is over 2.2 quads annually. Therefore, even a small improvement in efficiency or part-load operation of these units can lead to significant reductions in energy use and carbon emissions. Starting in 2011, the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Building Technologies Office funded a series of projects related to RTUs. Some projects were intended to improve the operating efficiency ofmore » the existing RTUs, while others were focused on improving the operating efficiency of new units. This report documents the field-testing and comparison of the seasonal efficiency of a state-of-art RTU Challenge unit and a standard unit. Section II provides the background for the work. Section III describes the measurement and verification plan for the field tests. Section IV describes the measurement and verification evaluation plan. The results are described in Section V. The lessons learned and recommendations for future work are presented in Section VI. A list of references is provided in Section VII.« less

Small- and Medium-Sized Commercial Building Monitoring and Controls Needs: A Scoping Study

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Katipamula, Srinivas; Underhill, Ronald M.; Goddard, James K.

2012-10-31

Buildings consume over 40% of the total energy consumption in the U.S. A significant portion of the energy consumed in buildings is wasted because of the lack of controls or the inability to use existing building automation systems (BASs) properly. Much of the waste occurs because of our inability to manage and controls buildings efficiently. Over 90% of the buildings are either small-size (<5,000 sf) or medium-size (between 5,000 sf and 50,000 sf); these buildings currently do not use BASs to monitor and control their building systems from a central location. According to Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), aboutmore » 10% of the buildings in the U.S. use BASs or central controls to manage their building system operations. Buildings that use BASs are typically large (>100,000 sf). Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) were asked by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Building Technologies Program (BTP) to identify monitoring and control needs for small- and medium-sized commercial buildings and recommend possible solutions. This study documents the needs and solutions for small- and medium-sized buildings.« less

RM12-2703 Advanced Rooftop Unit Control Retrofit Kit Field Demonstration: Hawaii and Guam Energy Improvement Technology Demonstration Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Doebber, I.; Dean, J.; Dominick, J.

2014-03-01

As part of its overall strategy to meet its energy goals, the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) partnered with U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) to rapidly demonstrate and deploy cost-effective renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. This was one of several demonstrations of new and underutilized commercial energy efficiency technologies. The consistent year-round demand for air conditioning and dehumidification in Hawaii provides an advantageous demonstration location for advanced rooftop control (ARC) retrofit kits to packaged rooftop units (RTUs). This report summarizes the field demonstration of ARCs installed on nine RTUs serving a 70,000-ft 2 exchangemore » store (large retail) and two RTUs, each serving small office buildings located on Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam (JBPHH).« less

Development of Medical Technology for Contingency Response to Marrow Toxic Agents

DTIC Science & Technology

1. Contingency Preparedness: Collect information from transplant centers, build awareness of the Transplant Center Contingency Planning Committee and...Matched Donors: Increase operational efficiencies that accelerate the search process and increase patient access are key to preparedness in a contingency ...Transplantation: Create a platform that facilitates multicenter collaboration and data management.

Tool to Prioritize Energy Efficiency Investments

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Farese, P.; Gelman, R.; Hendron, R.

2012-08-01

To provide analytic support of the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of the Building Technology Program (BTP), NREL developed a Microsoft Excel-based tool to provide an open and objective comparison of the hundreds of investment opportunities available to BTP. This tool uses established methodologies to evaluate the energy savings and cost of those savings.

Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Evaluations | Hydrogen and Fuel Cells | NREL

Science.gov Websites

Electric Vehicle Evaluations Fuel Cell Electric Vehicle Evaluations NREL's technology validation include commercial FCEVs for the first time. Current fuel cell electric vehicle evaluations build on the seven-year FCEV Learning Demonstration and focus on fuel cell stack durability and efficiency, vehicle

FY 2009 National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Annual Report: A Year of Energy Transformation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Not Available

2010-01-01

This FY2009 Annual Report surveys the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's (NREL) accomplishments in renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development, commercialization and deployment of technologies, and strategic energy analysis. It offers NREL's vision and progress in building a clean, sustainable research campus and reports on community involvement.

New NREL Research Facility Slashes Energy Use by 66 Percent

Science.gov Websites

Thermal Test Facility, which serves as a showcase of energy-saving features and the home of NREL's cutting technologies now being developed at the Thermal Test Facility will help us reach this goal." The facility energy-efficient building design, NREL's Thermal Test Facility houses sophisticated equipment for

Steam-assisted gravity drainage technology enhancement

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Durkin, S.; Menshikova, I.

2018-05-01

A hydrodynamic model of a region of Yaregskoye heavy oilfield was build. The results of the simulation have shown that injection capacity along the wellbore of a horizontal well is not uniform. It is determined by the geological heterogeneity of the formation. Therefore, there is importance of enhancing SAGD technology for Yaregskoye oilfield. A new technology was created. The efficiency of the technology is proved by numerical modelling. Horizontal injector and two-wellhead production wells penetrate the formation. Horizontal sections of the wells are located one above the other in the payzone. Wells are divided into two sections. Those sections work simultaneously and independently of one another. This technology allows to increase oil recovery of the oilfield.

Reducing Demand through Efficiency and Services: Impacts and Opportunities in Buildings Sector (Carbon Cycle 2.0)

ScienceCinema

Piette, Mary Ann

2018-05-03

Mary Ann Piette, Deputy of LBNL's Building Technologies Department and Director of the Demand Response Research Center, speaks at the Carbon Cycle 2.0 kick-off symposium Feb. 2, 2010. We emit more carbon into the atmosphere than natural processes are able to remove - an imbalance with negative consequences. Carbon Cycle 2.0 is a Berkeley Lab initiative to provide the science needed to restore this balance by integrating the Labs diverse research activities and delivering creative solutions toward a carbon-neutral energy future.

Reducing Demand through Efficiency and Services: Impacts and Opportunities in Buildings Sector (Carbon Cycle 2.0)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Piette, Mary Ann

Mary Ann Piette, Deputy of LBNL's Building Technologies Department and Director of the Demand Response Research Center, speaks at the Carbon Cycle 2.0 kick-off symposium Feb. 2, 2010. We emit more carbon into the atmosphere than natural processes are able to remove - an imbalance with negative consequences. Carbon Cycle 2.0 is a Berkeley Lab initiative to provide the science needed to restore this balance by integrating the Labs diverse research activities and delivering creative solutions toward a carbon-neutral energy future.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tucker, R.A.

This paper reports that properly applied, light sources and lighting systems not only enhance a building's attractiveness and usability, they also create a secure environment. An effectively lighted area can minimize pedestrian hazards and auto accidents. Good security lighting also eliminates the darkness that vandals, thieves, and felons thrive on. Unfortunately, lighting quality has sometimes been sacrificed for the sake of energy efficiency, and resulting savings offset by poor aesthetics and user dissatisfaction. However, trade-offs in quality and efficiency are not necessary, thanks to recent developments in light source technology.

Building America Case Study: Pilot Demonstration of Phased Energy Efficiency Retrofits: Shallow Retrofit Results, Central and South Florida

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

2017-02-22

The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), in collaboration with Florida Power & Light (FPL), is pursuing a phased residential energy-efficiency retrofit program in Florida. Researchers are looking to establish the impacts of technologies of two retrofit packages -- shallow and deep -- on annual energy and peak energy reductions. Sixty homes have been instrumented to record total house power and detailed energy end-use data on all appliances as well as household interior temperature and relative humidity conditions.

Building America Case Study: Pilot Demonstration of Phased Energy Efficiency Retrofits: Shallow Retrofit Results, Central and South Florida

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

D. Parker, K. Sutherland, D. Chasar, J. Montemurno, B. Amos, J. Kono

2017-02-01

The Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), in collaboration with Florida Power & Light (FPL), is pursuing a phased residential energy-efficiency retrofit program in Florida. Researchers are looking to establish the impacts of technologies of two retrofit packages -- shallow and deep -- on annual energy and peak energy reductions. Sixty homes have been instrumented to record total house power and detailed energy end-use data on all appliances as well as household interior temperature and relative humidity conditions.

Efficient Solutions for New Homes Case Study: Savannah Gardens

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

2016-03-15

The Savannah Housing Department is leading sustainable and affordable housing development in Georgia. It partnered with Southface Energy Institute, a member of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Partnership for Home Innovation Building America research team, to seek cost-effective solutions for increasing the energy efficiency of the Savannah Housing Department’s standard single-family home plans in the Savannah Gardens Community. Based on engineering, cost, and constructability analyses, the combined research team chose to pilot two technologies to evaluate efficiency and comfort impacts for homeowners: a heat-pump water heater in an encapsulated attic and an insulated exterior wall sheathing.

ViennaNGS: A toolbox for building efficient next- generation sequencing analysis pipelines

PubMed Central

Wolfinger, Michael T.; Fallmann, Jörg; Eggenhofer, Florian; Amman, Fabian

2015-01-01

Recent achievements in next-generation sequencing (NGS) technologies lead to a high demand for reuseable software components to easily compile customized analysis workflows for big genomics data. We present ViennaNGS, an integrated collection of Perl modules focused on building efficient pipelines for NGS data processing. It comes with functionality for extracting and converting features from common NGS file formats, computation and evaluation of read mapping statistics, as well as normalization of RNA abundance. Moreover, ViennaNGS provides software components for identification and characterization of splice junctions from RNA-seq data, parsing and condensing sequence motif data, automated construction of Assembly and Track Hubs for the UCSC genome browser, as well as wrapper routines for a set of commonly used NGS command line tools. PMID:26236465

Technology change and energy consumption: A comparison of residential subdivisions

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nieves, L. A.; Nieves, A. L.

The energy savings in residential buildings likely to result from implementation of the building energy performance standards (BEPS) were assessed. The goals were to: compare energy use in new homes designed to meet or exceed BEPS levels of energy efficiency with that in similar but older homes designed to meet conventional building codes, and to survey the home owners regarding their energy conservation attitudes and behaviors and to ascertain the degree to which conservation attitudes and behaviors are related to residential energy use. The consumer demand theory which provides the framework for the empirical analysis is presented. The sample residences are described and the data collection method discussed. The definition and measurement of major variables are presented.

Energy Efficiency in Public Buildings through Context-Aware Social Computing

PubMed Central

García, Óscar; Alonso, Ricardo S.; Prieto, Javier; Corchado, Juan M.

2017-01-01

The challenge of promoting behavioral changes in users that leads to energy savings in public buildings has become a complex task requiring the involvement of multiple technologies. Wireless sensor networks have a great potential for the development of tools, such as serious games, that encourage acquiring good energy and healthy habits among users in the workplace. This paper presents the development of a serious game using CAFCLA, a framework that allows for integrating multiple technologies, which provide both context-awareness and social computing. Game development has shown that the data provided by sensor networks encourage users to reduce energy consumption in their workplace and that social interactions and competitiveness allow for accelerating the achievement of good results and behavioral changes that favor energy savings. PMID:28398237

Application of 3D laser scanning technology in historical building preservation: a case study of a Chinese temple

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chang, Yu Min; Lu, Nien Hua; Wu, Tsung Chiang

2005-06-01

This study applies 3D Laser scanning technology to develop a high-precision measuring system for digital survey of historical building. It outperformed other methods in obtaining abundant high-precision measuring points and computing data instantly. In this study, the Pei-tien Temple, a Chinese Taoism temple in southern Taiwan famous for its highly intricate architecture and more than 300-year history, was adopted as the target to proof the high accuracy and efficiency of this system. By using French made MENSI GS-100 Laser Scanner, numerous measuring points were precisely plotted to present the plane map, vertical map and 3D map of the property. Accuracies of 0.1-1 mm in the digital data have consistently been achieved for the historical heritage measurement.

Building the Knowledge Base to Support the Automatic Animation Generation of Chinese Traditional Architecture

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Gongjin; Bai, Weijing; Yin, Meifang; Zhang, Songmao

We present a practice of applying the Semantic Web technologies in the domain of Chinese traditional architecture. A knowledge base consisting of one ontology and four rule bases is built to support the automatic generation of animations that demonstrate the construction of various Chinese timber structures based on the user's input. Different Semantic Web formalisms are used, e.g., OWL DL, SWRL and Jess, to capture the domain knowledge, including the wooden components needed for a given building, construction sequence, and the 3D size and position of every piece of wood. Our experience in exploiting the current Semantic Web technologies in real-world application systems indicates their prominent advantages (such as the reasoning facilities and modeling tools) as well as the limitations (such as low efficiency).

Environmental effects of information and communications technologies.

PubMed

Williams, Eric

2011-11-16

The digital revolution affects the environment on several levels. Most directly, information and communications technology (ICT) has environmental impacts through the manufacturing, operation and disposal of devices and network equipment, but it also provides ways to mitigate energy use, for example through smart buildings and teleworking. At a broader system level, ICTs influence economic growth and bring about technological and societal change. Managing the direct impacts of ICTs is more complex than just producing efficient devices, owing to the energetically expensive manufacturing process, and the increasing proliferation of devices needs to be taken into account. © 2011 Macmillan Publishers Limited. All rights reserved

Energy Efficient Community Development in California: Chula Vista Research Project

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Gas Technology Institute

2009-03-31

In 2007, the U.S. Department of Energy joined the California Energy Commission in funding a project to begin to examine the technical, economic and institutional (policy and regulatory) aspects of energy-efficient community development. That research project was known as the Chula Vista Research Project for the host California community that co-sponsored the initiative. The researches proved that the strategic integration of the selected and economically viable buildings energy efficiency (EE) measures, photovoltaics (PV), distributed generation (DG), and district cooling can produce significant reductions in aggregate energy consumption, peak demand and emissions, compared to the developer/builder's proposed baseline approach. However, themore » central power plant emission reductions achieved through use of the EE-DG option would increase local air emissions. The electric and natural gas utility infrastructure impacts associated with the use of the EE and EE-PV options were deemed relatively insignificant while use of the EE-DG option would result in a significant reduction of necessary electric distribution facilities to serve a large-scale development project. The results of the Chula Vista project are detailed in three separate documents: (1) Energy-Efficient Community Development in California; Chula Vista Research Project report contains a detailed description of the research effort and findings. This includes the methodologies, and tools used and the analysis of the efficiency, economic and emissions impacts of alternative energy technology and community design options for two development sites. Research topics covered included: (a) Energy supply, demand, and control technologies and related strategies for structures; (b) Application of locally available renewable energy resources including solar thermal and PV technology and on-site power generation with heat recovery; (c) Integration of local energy resources into district energy systems and existing energy utility networks; (d) Alternative land-use design and development options and their impact on energy efficiency and urban runoff, emissions and the heat island effect; and (e) Alternative transportation and mobility options and their impact on local emissions. (2) Creating Energy-Efficient Communities in California: A Reference Guide to Barriers, Solutions and Resources report provides the results of an effort to identify the most innovative existing and emerging public policy, incentive and market mechanisms that encourage investment in advanced energy technologies and enabling community design options in the State of California and the nation. The report evaluates each of these mechanisms in light of the preceding research and concludes with a set of recommended mechanisms designed for consideration by relevant California State agencies, development and finance industry associations, and municipal governments. (3) Creating Energy-Efficient Communities in California: A Technical Reference Guide to Building and Site Design report contains a set of selected commercially viable energy technology and community design options for high-efficiency, low-impact community development in California. It includes a summary of the research findings referenced above and recommendations for energy technology applications and energy-efficient development strategies for residential, commercial and institutional structures and supporting municipal infrastructure for planned communities. The document also identifies design options, technology applications and development strategies that are applicable to urban infill projects.« less

Assessing Energy Efficiency Opportunities in US Industrial and Commercial Building Motor Systems

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Rao, Prakash; Sheaffer, Paul; McKane, Aimee

2015-09-01

In 2002, the United States Department of Energy (USDOE) published an energy efficiency assessment of U.S. industrial sector motor systems titled United States Industrial Electric Motor Systems Market Opportunities Assessment. The assessment advanced motor system efficiency by providing a greater understanding of the energy consumption, use characteristics, and energy efficiency improvement potential of industrial sector motor systems in the U.S. Since 2002, regulations such as Minimum Energy Performance Standards, cost reductions for motor system components such as variable frequency drives, system-integrated motor-driven equipment, and awareness programs for motor system energy efficiency have changed the landscape of U.S. motor system energymore » consumption. To capture the new landscape, the USDOE has initiated a three-year Motor System Market Assessment (MSMA), led by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL). The MSMA will assess the energy consumption, operational and maintenance characteristics, and efficiency improvement opportunity of U.S. industrial sector and commercial building motor systems. As part of the MSMA, a significant effort is currently underway to conduct field assessments of motor systems from a sample of facilities representative of U.S. commercial and industrial motor system energy consumption. The Field Assessment Plan used for these assessments builds on recent LBNL research presented at EEMODS 2011 and EEMODS 2013 using methods for characterizing and determining regional motor system energy efficiency opportunities. This paper provides an update on the development and progress of the MSMA, focusing on the Field Assessment Plan and the framework for assessing the global supply chain for emerging motors and drive technologies.« less

Embedding technology into inter-professional best practices in home safety evaluation.

PubMed

Burns, Suzanne Perea; Pickens, Noralyn Davel

2017-08-01

To explore inter-professional home evaluators' perspectives and needs for building useful and acceptable decision-support tools for the field of home modifications. Twenty semi-structured interviews were conducted with a range of home modification professionals from different regions of the United States. The interview transcripts were analyzed with a qualitative, descriptive, perspective approach. Technology supports current best practice and has potential to inform decision making through features that could enhance home evaluation processes, quality, efficiency and inter-professional communication. Technological advances with app design have created numerous opportunities for the field of home modifications. Integrating technology and inter-professional best practices will improve home safety evaluation and intervention development to meet client-centred and societal needs. Implications for rehabilitation Understanding home evaluators technology needs for home safety evaluations contributes to the development of app-based assessments. Integrating inter-professional perspectives of best practice and technological needs in an app for home assessments improves processes. Novice and expert home evaluators would benefit from decision support systems embedded in app-based assessments. Adoption of app-based assessment would improve efficiency while remaining client-centred.

Novel Material Integration for Reliable and Energy-Efficient NEM Relay Technology

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, I.-Ru

Energy-efficient switching devices have become ever more important with the emergence of ubiquitous computing. NEM relays are promising to complement CMOS transistors as circuit building blocks for future ultra-low-power information processing, and as such have recently attracted significant attention from the semiconductor industry and researchers. Relay technology potentially can overcome the energy efficiency limit for conventional CMOS technology due to several key characteristics, including zero OFF-state leakage, abrupt switching behavior, and potentially very low active energy consumption. However, two key issues must be addressed for relay technology to reach its full potential: surface oxide formation at the contacting surfaces leading to increased ON-state resistance after switching, and high switching voltages due to strain gradient present within the relay structure. This dissertation advances NEM relay technology by investigating solutions to both of these pressing issues. Ruthenium, whose native oxide is conductive, is proposed as the contacting material to improve relay ON-state resistance stability. Ruthenium-contact relays are fabricated after overcoming several process integration challenges, and show superior ON-state resistance stability in electrical measurements and extended device lifetime. The relay structural film is optimized via stress matching among all layers within the structure, to provide lower strain gradient (below 10E-3/microm -1) and hence lower switching voltage. These advancements in relay technology, along with the integration of a metallic interconnect layer, enable complex relay-based circuit demonstration. In addition to the experimental efforts, this dissertation theoretically analyzes the energy efficiency limit of a NEM switch, which is generally believed to be limited by the surface adhesion energy. New compact (<1 microm2 footprint), low-voltage (<0.1 V) switch designs are proposed to overcome this limit. The results pave a pathway to scaled energy-efficient electronic device technology.

Using EMIS to Identify Top Opportunities for Commercial Building Efficiency

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lin, Guanjing; Singla, Rupam; Granderson, Jessica

Energy Management and Information Systems (EMIS) comprise a broad family of tools and services to manage commercial building energy use. These technologies offer a mix of capabilities to store, display, and analyze energy use and system data, and in some cases, provide control. EMIS technologies enable 10–20 percent site energy savings in best practice implementations. Energy Information System (EIS) and Fault Detection and Diagnosis (FDD) systems are two key technologies in the EMIS family. Energy Information Systems are broadly defined as the web-based software, data acquisition hardware, and communication systems used to analyze and display building energy performance. At amore » minimum, an EIS provides daily, hourly or sub-hourly interval meter data at the whole-building level, with graphical and analytical capability. Fault Detection and Diagnosis systems automatically identify heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) system or equipment-level performances issues, and in some cases are able to isolate the root causes of the problem. They use computer algorithms to continuously analyze system-level operational data to detect faults and diagnose their causes. Many FDD tools integrate the trend log data from a Building Automation System (BAS) but otherwise are stand-alone software packages; other types of FDD tools are implemented as “on-board” equipment-embedded diagnostics. (This document focuses on the former.) Analysis approaches adopted in FDD technologies span a variety of techniques from rule-based methods to process history-based approaches. FDD tools automate investigations that can be conducted via manual data inspection by someone with expert knowledge, thereby expanding accessibility and breath of analysis opportunity, and also reducing complexity.« less

The potential for distributed generation in Japanese prototype buildings: A DER-CAM analysis of policy, tariff design, building energy use, and technology development (English Version)

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Nan; Marnay, Chris; Firestone, Ryan

The August 2003 blackout of the northeastern U.S. and CANADA caused great economic losses and inconvenience to New York City and other affected areas. The blackout was a warning to the rest of the world that the ability of conventional power systems to meet growing electricity demand is questionable. Failure of large power systems can lead to serious emergencies. Introduction of on-site generation, renewable energy such as solar and wind power and the effective utilization of exhaust heat is needed, to meet the growing energy demands of the residential and commercial sectors. Additional benefit can be achieved by integrating thesemore » distributed technologies into distributed energy resource (DER) systems. This work demonstrates a method for choosing and designing economically optimal DER systems. An additional purpose of this research is to establish a database of energy tariffs, DER technology cost and performance characteristics, and building energy consumption for Japan. This research builds on prior DER studies at the Ernest Orlando Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and with their associates in the Consortium for Electric Reliability Technology Solutions (CERTS) and operation, including the development of the microgrid concept, and the DER selection optimization program, the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM). DER-CAM is a tool designed to find the optimal combination of installed equipment and an idealized operating schedule to minimize a site's energy bills, given performance and cost data on available DER technologies, utility tariffs, and site electrical and thermal loads over a test period, usually an historic year. Since hourly electric and thermal energy data are rarely available, they are typically developed by building simulation for each of six end use loads used to model the building: electric-only loads, space heating, space cooling, refrigeration, water heating, and natural-gas-only loads. DER-CAM provides a global optimization, albeit idealized, that shows how the necessary useful energy loads can be provided for at minimum cost by selection and operation of on-site generation, heat recovery, cooling, and efficiency improvements. This study examines five prototype commercial buildings and uses DER-CAM to select the economically optimal DER system for each. The five building types are office, hospital, hotel, retail, and sports facility. Each building type was considered for both 5,000 and 10,000 square meter floor sizes. The energy consumption of these building types is based on building energy simulation and published literature. Based on the optimization results, energy conservation and the emissions reduction were also evaluated. Furthermore, a comparison study between Japan and the U.S. has been conducted covering the policy, technology and the utility tariffs effects on DER systems installations. This study begins with an examination of existing DER research. Building energy loads were then generated through simulation (DOE-2) and scaled to match available load data in the literature. Energy tariffs in Japan and the U.S. were then compared: electricity prices did not differ significantly, while commercial gas prices in Japan are much higher than in the U.S. For smaller DER systems, the installation costs in Japan are more than twice those in the U.S., but this difference becomes smaller with larger systems. In Japan, DER systems are eligible for a 1/3 rebate of installation costs, while subsidies in the U.S. vary significantly by region and application. For 10,000 m{sup 2} buildings, significant decreases in fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and energy costs were seen in the economically optimal results. This was most noticeable in the sports facility, followed the hospital and hotel. This research demonstrates that office buildings can benefit from CHP, in contrast to popular opinion. For hospitals and sports facilities, the use of waste heat is particularly effective for water and space heating. For the other building types, waste heat is most effectively used for both heating and cooling. The same examination was done for the 5,000 m{sup 2} buildings. Although CHP installation capacity is smaller and the payback periods are longer, economic, fuel efficiency, and environmental benefits are still seen. While these benefits remain even when subsidies are removed, the increased installation costs lead to lower levels of installation capacity and thus benefit.« less

Microstructural Analysis of Ti-6Al-4V Components Made by Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Coleman, Rashadd L.

Electron Beam Additive Manufacturing (EBAM) is a relatively new additive manufacturing (AM) technology that uses a high-energy electron beam to melt and fuse powders to build full-density parts in a layer by layer fashion. EBAM can fabricate metallic components, particularly, of complex shapes, in an efficient and cost-effective manner compared to conventional manufacturing means. EBAM is an enabling technology for rapid manufacturing (RM) of metallic components, and thus, can efficiently integrate the design and manufacturing of aerospace components. However, EBAM for aerospace-related applications remain limited because the effect of the EBAM process on part characteristics is not fully understood. In this study, various techniques including microhardness, optical microscopy (OM), X-ray diffraction (XRD), Scanning Electron Microscopy (SEM), and electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) were used to characterize Ti-6Al-4V components processed using EBAM. The results were compared to Ti-6Al-4V components processed using conventional techniques. In this study it is shown that EBAM built Ti-64 components have increased hardness, elastic modulus, and yield strength compared to wrought Ti-6Al-4V. Further, it is also shown in this study that the horizontal build EBAM Ti-6Al-4V has increased hardness, elastic modulus, and yield strength compared to vertical build EBAM due to a preferential growth of the beta phase.

Desktop supercomputer: what can it do?

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bogdanov, A.; Degtyarev, A.; Korkhov, V.

2017-12-01

The paper addresses the issues of solving complex problems that require using supercomputers or multiprocessor clusters available for most researchers nowadays. Efficient distribution of high performance computing resources according to actual application needs has been a major research topic since high-performance computing (HPC) technologies became widely introduced. At the same time, comfortable and transparent access to these resources was a key user requirement. In this paper we discuss approaches to build a virtual private supercomputer available at user's desktop: a virtual computing environment tailored specifically for a target user with a particular target application. We describe and evaluate possibilities to create the virtual supercomputer based on light-weight virtualization technologies, and analyze the efficiency of our approach compared to traditional methods of HPC resource management.

The role of hydrogen as a future solution to energetic and environmental problems for residential buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Badea, G.; Felseghi, R. A.; Aşchilean, I.; Rǎboacǎ, S. M.; Şoimoşan, T.

2017-12-01

The concept of sustainable development aims to meet the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. In achieving the desideratum "low-carbon energy system", in the domain of energy production, the use of innovative low-carbon technologies providing maximum efficiency and minimum pollution is required. Such technology is the fuel cell; as these will be developed, it will become a reality to obtain the energy based on hydrogen. Thus, hydrogen produced by electrolysis of water using different forms of renewable resources becomes a secure and sustainable energy alternative. In this context, in the present paper, a comparative study of two different hybrid power generation systems for residential building placed in Cluj-Napoca was made. In these energy systems have been integrated renewable energies (photovoltaic panels and wind turbine), backup and storage system based on hydrogen (fuel cell, electrolyser and hydrogen storage tank), and, respectively, backup and storage system based on traditional technologies (diesel generator and battery). The software iHOGA was used to simulate the operating performance of the two hybrid systems. The aim of this study was to compare energy, environmental and economic performances of these two systems and to define possible future scenarios of competitiveness between traditional and new innovative technologies. After analyzing and comparing the results of simulations, it can be concluded that the fuel cells technology along with hydrogen, integrated in a hybrid system, may be the key to energy production systems with high energy efficiency, making possible an increased capitalization of renewable energy which have a low environmental impact.

From the Paper to the Tablet: On the Design of an AR-Based Tool for the Inspection of Pre-Fab Buildings. Preliminary Results of the SIRAE Project.

PubMed

Portalés, Cristina; Casas, Sergio; Gimeno, Jesús; Fernández, Marcos; Poza, Montse

2018-04-19

Energy-efficient Buildings (EeB) are demanded in today’s constructions, fulfilling the requirements for green cities. Pre-fab buildings, which are modularly fully-built in factories, are a good example of this. Although this kind of building is quite new, the in situ inspection is documented using traditional tools, mainly based on paper annotations. Thus, the inspection process is not taking advantage of new technologies. In this paper, we present the preliminary results of the SIRAE project that aims to provide an Augmented Reality (AR) tool that can seamlessly aid in the regular processes of pre-fab building inspections to detect and eliminate the possible existing quality and energy efficiency deviations. In this regards, we show a description of the current inspection process and how an interactive tool can be designed and adapted to it. Our first results show the design and implementation of our tool, which is highly interactive and involves AR visualizations and 3D data-gathering, allowing the inspectors to quickly manage it without altering the way the inspection process is done. First trials on a real environment show that the tool is promising for massive inspection processes.

From the Paper to the Tablet: On the Design of an AR-Based Tool for the Inspection of Pre-Fab Buildings. Preliminary Results of the SIRAE Project

PubMed Central

Fernández, Marcos; Poza, Montse

2018-01-01

Energy-efficient Buildings (EeB) are demanded in today’s constructions, fulfilling the requirements for green cities. Pre-fab buildings, which are modularly fully-built in factories, are a good example of this. Although this kind of building is quite new, the in situ inspection is documented using traditional tools, mainly based on paper annotations. Thus, the inspection process is not taking advantage of new technologies. In this paper, we present the preliminary results of the SIRAE project that aims to provide an Augmented Reality (AR) tool that can seamlessly aid in the regular processes of pre-fab building inspections to detect and eliminate the possible existing quality and energy efficiency deviations. In this regards, we show a description of the current inspection process and how an interactive tool can be designed and adapted to it. Our first results show the design and implementation of our tool, which is highly interactive and involves AR visualizations and 3D data-gathering, allowing the inspectors to quickly manage it without altering the way the inspection process is done. First trials on a real environment show that the tool is promising for massive inspection processes. PMID:29671799

Can the Faculty Development Door Swing Both Ways? Science and Clinical Teaching in the 1990s.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Tedesco, Lisa A.

1988-01-01

The relationship between clinical teaching and research in the basic sciences is discussed. The same energy expended to enhance clinical research will also efficiently build new curricula; ease the strains associated with assigning a priority to teaching or research; and serve to further science, teaching, and technology transfer. (MLW)

75 FR 29933 - Energy Efficiency and Sustainable Design Standards for New Federal Buildings

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-05-28

... guidance, discount rates, and energy price projections are determined annually by FEMP and the Energy... Technology Handbook 135: ``Energy Price Indices and Discount Factors for Life-Cycle Cost Analysis.'' FEMP... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY 10 CFR Parts 433 and 435 [Docket No. EE-RM/STD-02-112] RIN 1904-AC13 Energy...

Enterprise networks. Strategies for integrated delivery systems.

PubMed

Siwicki, B

1997-02-01

More integrated delivery systems are making progress toward building computer networks that link all their care delivery sites so they can efficiently and economically coordinate care. A growing number of these systems are turning to intranets--private computer networks that use Internet-derived protocols and technologies--to move information that's essential to managing scare health care resources.

International Students Take Up the Model Solar Car Challenge.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wellington, Paul

2000-01-01

Introduces an event in which two school teams from Argentina and Vietnam joined those from each Australian state in a race of model cars powered by the sun that provides a challenging and exciting approach for students to apply their scientific and technological knowledge to design and build the most efficient vehicles possible to gain hands-on…

Investigation of ERP Teaching and Practitioner Experiences Related to ISO 9000 Core Standards

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

Wiggins, Charles

2010-01-01

Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) systems have greatly enhanced the efficiency and continuity of the business process and the flow of information technology in order to support organizations. ERP was intended to be used as a tool for manufacturing in an effort to build a more cohesive customer relationship. Lately many "Fortune" 500 companies…

Wireless sensor and actuator networks for lighting energy efficiency and user satisfaction

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wen, Yao-Jung

Buildings consume more than one third of the primary energy generated in the U.S., and lighting alone accounts for approximately 30% of the energy usage in commercial buildings. As the largest electricity consumer of all building electrical systems, lighting harbors the greatest potential for energy savings in the commercial sector. Fifty percent of current energy consumption could be reduced with energy-efficient lighting management strategies. While commercial products do exist, they are poorly received due to exorbitant retrofitting cost and unsatisfactory performance. As a result, most commercial buildings, especially legacy buildings, have not taken advantage of the opportunity to generate savings from lighting. The emergence of wireless sensor and actuator network (WSAN) technologies presents an alternative that circumvents costly rewiring and promises better performance than existing commercial lighting systems. The goal of this dissertation research is to develop a framework for wireless-networked lighting systems with increased cost effectiveness, energy efficiency, and user satisfaction. This research is realized through both theoretical developments and implementations. The theoretical research aims at developing techniques for harnessing WSAN technologies to lighting hardware and control strategies. Leveraging redundancy, a sensor validation and fusion algorithm is developed for extracting pertinent lighting information from the disturbance-prone desktop-mounted photosensors. An adaptive sensing strategy optimizes the timing of data acquisition and power-hungry wireless transmission of sensory feedback in real-time lighting control. Exploiting the individual addressability of wireless-enabled luminaires, a lighting optimization algorithm is developed to create the optimal lighting that minimizes energy usage while satisfying occupants' diverse lighting preferences. The wireless-networked lighting system was implemented and tested in a number of real-life settings. A human subject study conducted in a private office concluded that the research system was competitive with the commercial lighting system with much fewer retrofitting requirements. The system implemented in a shared-space office realized a self-configuring mesh network with wireless photosensors and light actuators, and demonstrated a 50% energy savings and increased performance when harvesting daylight through windows is possible. The cost analysis revealed a reasonable payback period after the system is optimized for commercialization and confirms the marketing feasibility.

Efficient utilization of graphics technology for space animation

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Panos, Gregory Peter

1989-01-01

Efficient utilization of computer graphics technology has become a major investment in the work of aerospace engineers and mission designers. These new tools are having a significant impact in the development and analysis of complex tasks and procedures which must be prepared prior to actual space flight. Design and implementation of useful methods in applying these tools has evolved into a complex interaction of hardware, software, network, video and various user interfaces. Because few people can understand every aspect of this broad mix of technology, many specialists are required to build, train, maintain and adapt these tools to changing user needs. Researchers have set out to create systems where an engineering designer can easily work to achieve goals with a minimum of technological distraction. This was accomplished with high-performance flight simulation visual systems and supercomputer computational horsepower. Control throughout the creative process is judiciously applied while maintaining generality and ease of use to accommodate a wide variety of engineering needs.

Novel concepts for low-cost and high-efficient thin film solar cells

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Gómez, D.; Menéndez, A.; Sánchez, P.; Martínez, A.; Andrés, L. J.; Menéndez, M. F.; Campos, N.; García, A.; Sánchez, B.

2011-09-01

This work presents the activities carried out at ITMA Materials Technology related to the building integration of thin film (TF) photovoltaics (PV). Three different approaches have been developed in order to achieve high efficient solar cells at low manufacturing costs: (i) a new route for manufacturing monolithical silicon based thin film solar cells on building materials, (ii) the use of metallic nanoparticles for light trapping (plasmonic effects and light scattering) and (iii) the luminescent sol-gel coating on glass for solar concentration. In the first case, amorphous silicon modules (single junction) have been successfully manufactured at lab scale on steel and commercial ceramic substrates with efficiencies of 5.4% and 4.0%, respectively. Promising initial attempts have been also made in ethylene tetrafluoroethylene (ETFE), a polymer with high potential in textile architecture. In a similar way, the development of nanotechnology based coatings (metallic nanoparticles and luminescent materials) represent the most innovative part of the work and some preliminary results are showed.

Simplified Perovskite Solar Cell with 4.1% Efficiency Employing Inorganic CsPbBr3 as Light Absorber.

PubMed

Duan, Jialong; Zhao, Yuanyuan; He, Benlin; Tang, Qunwei

2018-05-01

Perovskite solar cells with cost-effectiveness, high power conversion efficiency, and improved stability are promising solutions to the energy crisis and environmental pollution. However, a wide-bandgap inorganic-semiconductor electron-transporting layer such as TiO 2 can harvest ultraviolet light to photodegrade perovskite halides, and the high cost of a state-of-the-art hole-transporting layer is an economic burden for commercialization. Here, the building of a simplified cesium lead bromide (CsPbBr 3 ) perovskite solar cell with fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO)/CsPbBr 3 /carbon architecture by a multistep solution-processed deposition technology is demonstrated, achieving an efficiency as high as 4.1% and improved stability upon interfacial modification by graphene quantum dots and CsPbBrI 2 quantum dots. This work provides new opportunities of building next-generation solar cells with significantly simplified processes and reduced production costs. © 2018 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.

Broad Overview of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy Opportunities for Department of Defense Installations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Anderson, E.; Antkowiak, M.; Butt, R.

The Strategic Environmental Research and Developmental Program (SERDP)/Environmental Security Technology Certification Program (ESTCP) is the Department of Defense?s (DOD) environmental science and technology program focusing on issues related to environment and energy for the military services. The SERDP/ESTCP Office requested that the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) provide technical assistance with strategic planning by evaluating the potential for several types of renewable energy technologies at DOD installations. NREL was tasked to provide technical expertise and strategic advice for the feasibility of geothermal resources, waste-to-energy technology, photovoltaics (PV), wind, microgrids, and building system technologies on military installations. This technical report ismore » the deliverable for these tasks.« less

Energy management study: A proposed case of government building

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Tahir, Mohamad Zamhari; Nawi, Mohd Nasrun Mohd; Baharum, Mohd Faizal

Align with the current needs of the sustainable and green technology in Malaysian construction industry, this research is conducted to seek and identify opportunities to better manage energy use including the process of understand when, where, and how energy is used in a building. The purpose of this research is to provide a best practice guideline as a practical tool to assist construction industry in Malaysia to improve the energy efficiency of the office building during the post-production by reviewing the current practice of the building operation and maintenance in order to optimum the usage and reduce the amount ofmore » energy input into the building. Therefore, this paper will review the concept of maintenance management, current issue in energy management, and on how the research process will be conducted. There are several process involves and focuses on technical and management techniques such as energy metering, tracing, harvesting, and auditing based on the case study that will be accomplish soon. Accordingly, a case study is appropriate to be selected as a strategic research approach in which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence for the data collection process. A Government office building will be selected as an appropriate case study for this research. In the end of this research, it will recommend a strategic approach or model in a specific guideline for enabling energy-efficient operation and maintenance in the office building.« less

Energy management study: A proposed case of government building

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tahir, Mohamad Zamhari; Nawi, Mohd Nasrun Mohd; Baharum, Mohd Faizal

2015-05-01

Align with the current needs of the sustainable and green technology in Malaysian construction industry, this research is conducted to seek and identify opportunities to better manage energy use including the process of understand when, where, and how energy is used in a building. The purpose of this research is to provide a best practice guideline as a practical tool to assist construction industry in Malaysia to improve the energy efficiency of the office building during the post-production by reviewing the current practice of the building operation and maintenance in order to optimum the usage and reduce the amount of energy input into the building. Therefore, this paper will review the concept of maintenance management, current issue in energy management, and on how the research process will be conducted. There are several process involves and focuses on technical and management techniques such as energy metering, tracing, harvesting, and auditing based on the case study that will be accomplish soon. Accordingly, a case study is appropriate to be selected as a strategic research approach in which involves an empirical investigation of a particular contemporary phenomenon within its real life context using multiple sources of evidence for the data collection process. A Government office building will be selected as an appropriate case study for this research. In the end of this research, it will recommend a strategic approach or model in a specific guideline for enabling energy-efficient operation and maintenance in the office building.

User-Oriented Modeling Tools for Advanced Hybrid and Climate-Appropriate Rooftop Air Conditioners

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Woolley, Jonathan; Univ. of California, Davis, CA; Modera, Mark

Hybrid unitary air conditioning systems offer a pathway to substantially reduce energy use and peak electrical demand for cooling, heating, and ventilation in commercial buildings. Hybrid air conditioners incorporate multiple subsystems that are carefully orchestrated to provide climate- and application-specific efficiency advantages. There are a multitude of hybrid system architectures, but common subsystems include: heat recovery ventilation, indirect evaporative cooling, desiccant dehumidification, variable speed fans, modulating dampers, and multi-stage or variable-speed vapor compression cooling. Categorically, hybrid systems can operate in numerous discrete modes. For example: indirect evaporative cooling may operate for periods when the subsystem provides adequate sensible cooling, thenmore » vapor compression cooling will be included when more cooling or dehumidification is necessary. Laboratory assessments, field studies, and simulations have demonstrated that hybrid unitary air conditioners could reduce energy use for cooling and ventilation by 30-90% depending on climate and application. Heretofore, it has been challenging - if not impossible - for practitioners to model hybrid air conditioners as part of building energy simulations; and the limitation has severely obstructed broader adoption of technologies in this class. In this project, we developed a new feature for EnergyPlus that enables modeling hybrid unitary air conditioning equipment for building energy simulations. This is a significant advancement for both theory and practice, and confers public benefit by enabling practitioners to evaluate this compelling efficiency technology as a part of building energy simulations. The feature is a black-box model that requires extensive performance data for each hybrid unitary product. In parallel, we also developed new features for the Technology Performance Exchange to enable manufacturers to submit performance data in a standard format that can be used with the hybrid unitary model in EnergyPlus. Additionally, through this project we expanded university educational resources, and university- manufacturing industry collaborations in the field of energy efficiency technology. Over two years, we involved 20 undergraduate students in ambitious research projects focused on modeling complex multi-mode mechanical systems, supported three mechanical engineering bachelor theses, established undergraduate apprenticeships with multiple industry partners, and involved those partners in the process of design, validation, and debugging for the new EnergyPlus feature. The EnergyPlus feature is described and discussed in an academic article, as well as in an engineering reference, and input/output reference documentation for EnergyPlus. The Technology Performance Exchange features are live and publicly accessible, our manufacturer partners are primed to submit initial product information and performance data to the exchange, and the EnergyPlus feature is scheduled for public release in Spring 2018 as a part of EnergyPlus v8.9.« less

As- built inventory of the office building with the use of terrestrial laser scanning

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Przyborski, Marek; Tysiąc, Paweł

2018-01-01

Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) is an efficient tool for building inventories. Based on the red- laser beam technology it is possible to provide the high accuracy data with complete spatial information about a scanned object. In this article, authors present the solution of use a TLS in as-built inventory of the office building. Based on the provided data, it is possible to evaluate the correctness of built details of a building and provide information for further construction works, for example an area needed for Styrofoam installation. The biggest problem in this research is that an error which equals over 1cm could generate costs, which could be a problem to cover by a constructor. Based on a complicated place of the construction works (centre of a city) it was a challenge to maintain the accuracy.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hong, Tianzhen; Yan, Da; D'Oca, Simona

Occupant behavior has significant impacts on building energy performance and occupant comfort. However, occupant behavior is not well understood and is often oversimplified in the building life cycle, due to its stochastic, diverse, complex, and interdisciplinary nature. The use of simplified methods or tools to quantify the impacts of occupant behavior in building performance simulations significantly contributes to performance gaps between simulated models and actual building energy consumption. Therefore, it is crucial to understand occupant behavior in a comprehensive way, integrating qualitative approaches and data- and model-driven quantitative approaches, and employing appropriate tools to guide the design and operation ofmore » low-energy residential and commercial buildings that integrate technological and human dimensions. This paper presents ten questions, highlighting some of the most important issues regarding concepts, applications, and methodologies in occupant behavior research. The proposed questions and answers aim to provide insights into occupant behavior for current and future researchers, designers, and policy makers, and most importantly, to inspire innovative research and applications to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy use in buildings.« less

Efficient Risk Determination of Risk of Road Blocking by Means of MMS and Data of Buildings and Their Surrounding

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Nose, Kazuhito; Hatake, Shuhei

2016-06-01

Massive earthquake named "Tonankai Massive earthquake" is predicted to occur in the near future and is feared to cause severe damage in Kinki District . "Hanshin-Awaji Massive Earthquake" in 1995 destroyed most of the buildings constructed before 1981 and not complying with the latest earthquake resistance standards. Collapsed buildings blocked roads, obstructed evacuation, rescue and firefighting operations and inflicted further damages.To alleviate the damages, it is important to predict the points where collapsed buildings are likely block the roads and to take precautions in advance. But big cities have an expanse of urban areas with densely-distributed buildings, and it requires time and cost to check each and every building whether or not it will block the road. In order to reduce blocked roads when a disaster strikes, we made a study and confirmed that the risk of road blocking can be determined easily by means of the latest technologies of survey and geographical information.

Biorefineries for the production of top building block chemicals and their derivatives.

PubMed

Choi, Sol; Song, Chan Woo; Shin, Jae Ho; Lee, Sang Yup

2015-03-01

Due to the growing concerns on the climate change and sustainability on petrochemical resources, DOE selected and announced the bio-based top 12 building blocks and discussed the needs for developing biorefinery technologies to replace the current petroleum based industry in 2004. Over the last 10 years after its announcement, many studies have been performed for the development of efficient technologies for the bio-based production of these chemicals and derivatives. Now, ten chemicals among these top 12 chemicals, excluding the l-aspartic acid and 3-hydroxybutyrolactone, have already been commercialized or are close to commercialization. In this paper, we review the current status of biorefinery development for the production of these platform chemicals and their derivatives. In addition, current technological advances on industrial strain development for the production of platform chemicals using micro-organisms will be covered in detail with case studies on succinic acid and 3-hydroxypropionic acid as examples. Copyright © 2015 International Metabolic Engineering Society. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Building-in-Briefcase: A Rapidly-Deployable Environmental Sensor Suite for the Smart Building.

PubMed

Weekly, Kevin; Jin, Ming; Zou, Han; Hsu, Christopher; Soyza, Chris; Bayen, Alexandre; Spanos, Costas

2018-04-29

A building’s environment has profound influence on occupant comfort and health. Continuous monitoring of building occupancy and environment is essential to fault detection, intelligent control, and building commissioning. Though many solutions for environmental measuring based on wireless sensor networks exist, they are not easily accessible to households and building owners who may lack time or technical expertise needed to set up a system and get quick and detailed overview of environmental conditions. Building-in-Briefcase (BiB) is a portable sensor network platform that is trivially easy to deploy in any building environment. Once the sensors are distributed, the environmental data is collected and communicated to the BiB router via the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and WiFi technology, which then forwards the data to the central database securely over the internet through a 3G radio. The user, with minimal effort, can access the aggregated data and visualize the trends in real time on the BiB web portal. Paramount to the adoption and continued operation of an indoor sensing platform is battery lifetime. This design has achieved a multi-year lifespan by careful selection of components, an efficient binary communications protocol and data compression. Our BiB sensor is capable of collecting a rich set of environmental parameters, and is expandable to measure others, such as CO 2 . This paper describes the power characteristics of BiB sensors and their occupancy estimation and activity recognition functionality. We have demonstrated large-scale deployment of BiB throughout Singapore. Our vision is that, by monitoring thousands of buildings through BiB, it would provide ample research opportunities and opportunities to identify ways to improve the building environment and energy efficiency.

Impact of the FY 2009 Building Technologies Program on United States Employment and Earned Income

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Livingston, Olga V.; Scott, Michael J.; Hostick, Donna J.

2008-06-17

The Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) is interested in assessing the potential economic impacts of its portfolio of subprograms on national employment and income. A special purpose input-output model called ImSET is used in this study of 14 Building Technologies Program subprograms in the EERE final FY 2009 budget request to the Office of Management and Budget in February 2008. Energy savings, investments, and impacts on U.S. national employment and earned income are reported by subprogram for selected years to the year 2025. Energy savings and investments from these subprograms have the potentialmore » of creating a total of 258,000 jobs and about $3.7 billion in earned income (2007$) by the year 2025.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

Frost-protected shallow foundations (FPSFs) offer a proven technology designed to substantially lower construction costs in colder climates, enhancing housing affordability for families in many parts of the United States. This document provides step-by-step procedures to assist building professionals in designing and laying a slab- on-grade FPSF. FPSFs save money over conventional designs by requiring less excavation to construct a frost-proof foundation. It is specially insulated along its perimeter to raise the temperature of the surrounding ground and decrease frost penetration, thus allowing for the construction of a substantially shallower foundation. The FPSF is considered standard practice for homes in Scandinavia,more » where 40 years of field testing has proven it to be economical to construct, durable, and energy efficient. HUD strongly encourages wide spread adoption of FPSF technology in the United States and its incorporation into major model building codes.« less

Top 10 Steps to Business Success

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Arnold, Gianna

2013-03-01

What does it really take to build a successful technology based company? This fast paced and interactive discussion will highlite potential missteps as well as actions that increase the likelihood of success. Topics under consideration will include: how to begin, creating an organizational structure, creating a plan, selecting a name, financing, allocating resources as efficiently as possible, building a team, protecting intangible assets, strategic alliances, obtaining revenue and transitioning from startup to growth. The primary goal of this presentation is to help you identify value-creating practices as well as wasteful practices, while providing the general nuts and bolts required to move forward.

New Whole-House Solutions Case Study: A Production Builder's Passive House - Denver, Colorado

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

None

Brookfield Home’s first project is in a community called Midtown in Denver, Colorado, in which the builder took on the challenge of increased energy efficiency by creating a Passive House (PH)-certified model home. Brookfield worked with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America research team IBACOS to create the home, evaluate advanced building technologies, and use the home as a marketing tool for potential homebuyers. Brookfield also worked with KGA studio architects to create a new floor plan that would be constructed to the PH standard as an upgrade option.

Demand Response Resource Quantification with Detailed Building Energy Models

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Hale, Elaine; Horsey, Henry; Merket, Noel

Demand response is a broad suite of technologies that enables changes in electrical load operations in support of power system reliability and efficiency. Although demand response is not a new concept, there is new appetite for comprehensively evaluating its technical potential in the context of renewable energy integration. The complexity of demand response makes this task difficult -- we present new methods for capturing the heterogeneity of potential responses from buildings, their time-varying nature, and metrics such as thermal comfort that help quantify likely acceptability of specific demand response actions. Computed with an automated software framework, the methods are scalable.

Perspectives: parity--prelude to a fifth cycle of reform.

PubMed

Goldman, Howard H

2002-09-01

Based on 2000 Carl Taube Lecture at the NIMH Mental Health Economics Meeting. This perspective article examines the relationship between a policy of parity in financing mental health services and the future of reform in service delivery. Applying theories of static and dynamic efficiency to an understanding of parity and the evolution of mental health services, drawing upon Burton Weisbrod s concept of the health care quadrilemma . Each of four cycles of reform in mental health services have contended with issues of static and dynamic efficiency. Each cycle was associated with static efficiency in the management and financing of services, and each was associated with a set of new treatment technologies intended to improve dynamic efficiency. Each reform proved ultimately unsuccessful primarily because of the failure of the treatment technologies to prevent future patient chronicity or to achieve sustained recovery. Recent advances in treatment technology and management of care can permit an unprecedented level of efficiency consistent with a policy of improved access to mainstream health and social welfare resources, including insurance coverage. This policy of so-called financing parity can improve current mental health service delivery, but it may also portend a future fifth cycle of reform. If new technologies continue to advance as full technologies - simple to deliver and producing true recovery - and mainstream resources are made available, then the specialty mental health services may contract dramatically in favor of effective care and treatment of mental illness in primary care and other mainstream settings. Predicting the future of health care is speculative, but it may be easier using the Weisbrod formulation to understand the process of mental health reform. Over-reliance on administrative techniques for building static efficiency and false optimism about dynamic efficiency from new technology have stymied previous reforms. All the same, a fifth cycle of reform could succeed, if the right conditions are met and mainstream resources are available.

Practical Study on HVAC Control Technology Based on the Learning Function and Optimum Multiple Objective Processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ueda, Haruka; Dazai, Ryota; Kaseda, Chosei; Ikaga, Toshiharu; Kato, Akihiro

Demand among large office buildings for the energy-saving benefits of the HVAC (Heating, Ventilating and Air-Conditioning) System are increasing as more and more people become concerned with global environmental issues. However, immoderate measures taken in the interest of energy conservation may encroach on the thermal comfort and productivity level of office workers. Building management should satisfy both indoor thermal comfort and energy conservation while adapting to the many regulatory, social, climate, and other changes that occur during the lifespan of the building. This paper demonstrates how optimal control of the HVAC system, based on data modeling and the multi-objective optimal method, achieves an efficient equilibrium between thermal comfort and energy conservation.

Direct Current as an Integrating Platform for ZNE Buildings with EVs and Storage: DC Direct Systems – A Bridge to a Low Carbon Future?

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Johnson, Karl; Vossos, Vagelis; Kloss, Margarita

2016-09-01

Cost effective zero net energy (ZNE) schemes exist for many types of residential and commercial buildings. Yet, today’s alternating current (AC) based ZNE designs may be as much as 10% to 20% less efficient, more costly, and more complicated than a design based on direct current (DC) technologies. An increasing number of research organizations and manufacturers are just starting the process of developing products and conducting research and development (R&D) efforts. These early R&D efforts indicate that the use of DC technologies may deliver many energy and non-energy benefits relative to AC-based typologies. DC ZNE schemes may provide for anmore » ideal integrating platform for natively DC-based onsite generation, storage, electric vehicle (EV) charging and end-use loads. Emerging empirical data suggest that DC end-use appliances are more efficient, simpler, more durable, and lower cost. DC technologies appear to provide ratepayers a lower cost pathway to achieve resilient ZNE buildings, and simultaneously yield a plethora of benefits. This paper draws from the current research effort entitled "Direct Current as an Integrating and Enabling Platform," co-led by the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL), the California Institute for Energy and the Environment (CIEE), the Electric Power Research Institute (EPRI) and funded under the California Energy Commission’s Energy Program Investment Charge (CEC EPIC). The first phase of this EPIC research is focused on assembling and summarizing known global performance information on DC and DC-AC hybrid end-use appliances and power systems. This paper summarizes the information and insights gained from this research effort.« less

Photonics Research and Development

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Dickson, Elizabeth

During the period August 2005 through October 2009, the UNLV Research Foundation (UNLVRF), a non-profit affiliate of the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), in collaboration with UNLV's Colleges of Science and Engineering; Boston University (BU); Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL); and Sunlight Direct, LLC, has managed and conducted a diverse and comprehensive research and development program focused on light-emitting diode (LED) technologies that provide significantly improved characteristics for lighting and display applications. This final technical report provides detailed information on the nature of the tasks, the results of the research, and the deliverables. It is estimated that about fivemore » percent of the energy used in the nation is for lighting homes, buildings and streets, accounting for some 25 percent of the average home's electric bill. However, the figure is significantly higher for the commercial sector. About 60 percent of the electricity for businesses is for lighting. Thus replacement of current lighting with solid-state lighting technology has the potential to significantly reduce this nation's energy consumption by some estimates, possibly as high as 20%. The primary objective of this multi-year R&D project has been to develop and advance lighting technologies to improve national energy conversion efficiencies; reduce heat load; and significantly lower the cost of conventional lighting technologies. The UNLVRF and its partners have specifically focused these talents on (1) improving LED technologies; (2) optimizing hybrid solar lighting, a technology which potentially offers the benefits of blending natural with artificial lighting systems, thus improving energy efficiency; and (3) building a comprehensive academic infrastructure within UNLV which concentrates on photonics R&D. Task researchers have reported impressive progress in (1) the development of quantum dot laser emitting diodes (QDLEDs) which will ultimately improve energy efficiency and lower costs for display and lighting applications (UNLV College of Engineering); (2) advancing green LED technology based on the Indium-Gallium-Nitride system (BU), thus improving conversion efficiencies; (3) employing unique state-of-the-art X-ray, electron and optical spectroscopies with microscopic techniques to learn more about the electronic structure of materials and contacts in LED devices (UNLV College of Science); (4) establishing a UNLV Display Lighting Laboratory staffed with a specialized team of academic researchers, students and industrial partners focused on identifying and implementing engineering solutions for lighting display-related problems; and (5) conducting research, development and demonstration for HSL essential to the resolution of technological barriers to commercialization.« less

885-nm laser diode array pumped ceramic Nd:YAG master oscillator power amplifier system

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Yu, Anthony W.; Li, Steven X.; Stephen, Mark A.; Seas, Antonios; Troupaki, Elisavet; Vasilyev, Aleksey; Conley, Heather; Filemyr, Tim; Kirchner, Cynthia; Rosanova, Alberto

2010-04-01

The objective of this effort is to develop more reliable, higher efficiency diode pumped Nd:YAG laser systems for space applications by leveraging technology investments from the DoD and other commercial industries. Our goal is to design, build, test and demonstrate the effectiveness of combining 885 nm laser pump diodes and the use of ceramic Nd:YAG for future flight missions. The significant reduction in thermal loading on the gain medium by the use of 885 nm pump lasers will improve system efficiency.

Progress in wet-coated organic light-emitting devices for lighting

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Liu, Jie; Ye, Qing; Lewis, Larry N.; Duggal, Anil R.

2007-09-01

Here we present recent progress in developing efficient wet-coated organic light-emitting devices (OLEDs) for lighting applications. In particular, we describe a novel approach for building efficient wet-coated dye-doped blue phosphorescent devices. Further, a novel approach for achieving arbitrary emission patterning for OLEDs is discussed. This approach utilizes a photo-induced chemical doping strategy for selectively activating charge injection materials, thus enabling devices with arbitrary emission patterning. This approach may provide a simple, low cost path towards specialty lighting and signage applications for OLED technology.

ALI (Autonomous Lunar Investigator): Revolutionary Approach to Exploring the Moon with Addressable Reconfigurable Technology

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Clark, P. E.; Curtis, S. A.; Rilee, M. L.; Floyd, S. R.

2005-01-01

Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (ART) based structures: Mission Concepts based on Addressable Reconfigurable Technology (ART), originally studied for future ANTS (Autonomous Nanotechnology Swarm) Space Architectures, are now being developed as rovers for nearer term use in lunar and planetary surface exploration. The architecture is based on the reconfigurable tetrahedron as a building block. Tetrahedra are combined to form space-filling networks, shaped for the required function. Basic structural components are highly modular, addressable arrays of robust nodes (tetrahedral apices) from which highly reconfigurable struts (tetrahedral edges), acting as supports or tethers, are efficiently reversibly deployed/stowed, transforming and reshaping the structures as required.

Classroom to Clinic: Merging Education and Research to Efficiently Prototype Medical Devices

PubMed Central

Begg, Nikolai D.; Walsh, Conor; Custer, David; Gupta, Rajiv; Osborn, Lynn R.; Slocum, Alexander H.

2013-01-01

Innovation in patient care requires both clinical and technical skills, and this paper presents the methods and outcomes of a nine-year, clinical-academic collaboration to develop and evaluate new medical device technologies, while teaching mechanical engineering. Together, over the course of a single semester, seniors, graduate students, and clinicians conceive, design, build, and test proof-of-concept prototypes. Projects initiated in the course have generated intellectual property and peer-reviewed publications, stimulated further research, furthered student and clinician careers, and resulted in technology licenses and start-up ventures. PMID:27170859

Classroom to Clinic: Merging Education and Research to Efficiently Prototype Medical Devices.

PubMed

Hanumara, Nevan C; Begg, Nikolai D; Walsh, Conor; Custer, David; Gupta, Rajiv; Osborn, Lynn R; Slocum, Alexander H

2013-01-01

Innovation in patient care requires both clinical and technical skills, and this paper presents the methods and outcomes of a nine-year, clinical-academic collaboration to develop and evaluate new medical device technologies, while teaching mechanical engineering. Together, over the course of a single semester, seniors, graduate students, and clinicians conceive, design, build, and test proof-of-concept prototypes. Projects initiated in the course have generated intellectual property and peer-reviewed publications, stimulated further research, furthered student and clinician careers, and resulted in technology licenses and start-up ventures.

Progress of solar technology and potential farm uses

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Heid, W. G., Jr.; Trotter, W. K.

1982-09-01

The efficient use of solar energy on farms for space heating and cooling of livestock buildings, drying crops, and heating farm homes is discussed. Low cost, homemade solar collectors, having multiple uses and a payback of less than 5 years, are the most popular systems. In contrast, most commercially produced systems are still too expensive for agricultural uses, partly because they fail to qualify for tax credits as large as those allowed for residential uses. The solar industry has shown little interest in marketing the low cost technologies specifically developed for agriculture.

Energy Efficient Building Management | Climate Neutral Research Campuses |

Science.gov Websites

NREL Efficient Building Management Energy Efficient Building Management As campuses complete generate the greatest climate impact. Energy efficient management in the existing stock of buildings is the following links go to sections that describe how an energy buildings management and maintenance program may

Computer Game

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

1992-01-01

Using NASA studies of advanced lunar exploration and colonization, KDT Industries, Inc. and Wesson International have developed MOONBASE, a computer game. The player, or team commander, must build and operate a lunar base using NASA technology. He has 10 years to explore the surface, select a site and assemble structures brought from Earth into an efficient base. The game was introduced in 1991 by Texas Space Grant Consortium.

Design for perception management system on offshore reef based on integrated management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Peng, Li; Qiankun, Wang

2017-06-01

According to an analysis of actual monitoring demands using integrated management and information technology, a quad monitoring system is proposed to provide intelligent perception of offshore reefs, including indoor building environments, architectural structures, and facilities and perimeter integrity. This will strengthen the ability to analyse and evaluate offshore reef operation and health, promoting efficiency in decision making.

State University of New York Institute of Technology (SUNYIT) Visiting Scholars Program

DTIC Science & Technology

2013-05-01

team members, and build the necessary backend metal interconnections. APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE; DISTRIBUTION UNLIMITED 4 Baek-Young Choi...Cooperative and Opportunistic Mobile Cloud for Energy Efficient Positioning; Department of Computer Science Electrical Engineering, University of...Missouri - Kansas City The fast growing popularity of smartphones and tablets enables us the use of various intelligent mobile applications. As many of

Building an Institute for Triple Helix Research Innovation in the Pacific Region. Revision

DTIC Science & Technology

2008-10-01

multidisciplinary collaboration towards developing cost- effective and sustainable eHealth technologies and applications. The results of the...transparency, efficiency in sharing resources through eHealth , and leveraging skills needed to facilitate and expedite interdisciplinary collaboration and...innovation, especially in the eHealth and healthcare fields. To achieve the stated objectives, the Institute’s five initiatives were specifically

Recovery Act. Advanced Load Identification and Management for Buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Yi; Casey, Patrick; Du, Liang

2014-02-12

In response to the U.S. Department of Energy (DoE)’s goal of achieving market ready, net-zero energy residential and commercial buildings by 2020 and 2025, Eaton partnered with the Department of Energy’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and Georgia Institute of Technology to develop an intelligent load identification and management technology enabled by a novel “smart power strip” to provide critical intelligence and information to improve the capability and functionality of building load analysis and building power management systems. Buildings account for 41% of the energy consumption in the United States, significantly more than either transportation or industrial. Within the buildingmore » sector, plug loads account for a significant portion of energy consumption. Plug load consumes 15-20% of building energy on average. As building managers implement aggressive energy conservation measures, the proportion of plug load energy can increase to as much as 50% of building energy leaving plug loads as the largest remaining single source of energy consumption. This project focused on addressing plug-in load control and management to further improve building energy efficiency accomplished through effective load identification. The execution of the project falls into the following three major aspects; An intelligent load modeling, identification and prediction technology was developed to automatically determine the type, energy consumption, power quality, operation status and performance status of plug-in loads, using electric waveforms at a power outlet level. This project demonstrated the effectiveness of the developed technology through a large set of plug-in loads measurements and testing; A novel “Smart Power Strip (SPS) / Receptacle” prototype was developed to act as a vehicle to demonstrate the feasibility of load identification technology as a low-cost, embedded solution; and Market environment for plug-in load control and management solutions, in particular, advanced power strips (APSs) was studied. The project evaluated the market potential for Smart Power Strips (SPSs) with load identification and the likely impact of a load identification feature on APS adoption and effectiveness. The project also identified other success factors required for widespread APS adoption and market acceptance. Even though the developed technology is applicable for both residential and commercial buildings, this project is focused on effective plug-in load control and management for commercial buildings, accomplished through effective load identification. The project has completed Smart Receptacle (SR) prototype development with integration of Load ID, Control/Management, WiFi communication, and Web Service. Twenty SR units were built, tested, and demonstrated in the Eaton lab; eight SR units were tested in the National Renewable Energy Lab (NREL) for one-month of field testing. Load ID algorithm testing for extended load sets was conducted within the Eaton facility and at local university campuses. This report is to summarize the major achievements, activities, and outcomes under the execution of the project.« less

GSA's Green Proving Ground: Identifying, Testing and Evaluating Innovative Technologies; Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kandt, A.; Lowell, M.

2012-05-01

This paper will provide an overview of the GPG program and its objectives as well as a summary and status update of the 16 technologies selected for enhanced testing and evaluation in 2011. The federal government's General Services Administration's (GSA) Public Buildings Service (PBS) acquires space on behalf of the federal government through new construction and leasing, and acts as a caretaker for federal properties across the country. PBS owns or leases 9,624 assets and maintains an inventory of more than 370.2 million square feet of workspace, and as such has enormous potential for implementing energy efficient and renewable energymore » technologies to reduce energy and water use and associated emissions. The Green Proving Ground (GPG) program utilizes GSA's real estate portfolio to test and evaluate innovative and underutilized sustainable building technologies and practices. Findings are used to support the development of GSA performance specifications and inform decision making within GSA, other federal agencies, and the real estate industry. The program aims to drive innovation in environmental performance in federal buildings and help lead market transformation through deployment of new technologies. In 2011, the GPG program selected 16 technologies or practices for rigorous testing and evaluation. Evaluations are currently being performed in collaboration with the Department of Energy's National Laboratories, and a steady stream of results will be forthcoming throughout 2012. This paper will provide an overview of the GPG program and its objectives as well as a summary and status update of the 16 technologies selected for enhanced testing and evaluation in 2011. Lastly, it provides a general overview of the 2012 program.« less

Technical - Economic Research for Passive Buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Miniotaite, Ruta

2017-10-01

A newly constructed passive house must save 80 % of heat resources; otherwise it is not a passive house. The heating energy demand of a passive building is less than 15 kWh/m2 per year. However, a passive house is something more than just an energy-saving house. This concept involves sustainable, high-quality, valuable, healthy and durable construction. Features of a passive house: high insulation of envelope components, high-quality windows, good tightness of the building, regenerative ventilation system and elimination of thermal bridges. The Energy Performance of Buildings Directive (EPBD) 61 requires all new public buildings to become near-zero energy buildings by 2019 and will be extended to all new buildings by 2021. This concept involves sustainable, high-quality, valuable, healthy and durable construction. Foundation, walls and roofs are the most essential elements of a house. The type of foundation for a private house is selected considering many factors. The article examines technological and structural solutions for passive buildings foundation, walls and roofs. The technical-economic comparison of the main structures of a passive house revealed that it is cheaper to install an adequately designed concrete slab foundation than to build strip or pile foundation and the floor separately. Timber stud walls are the cheapest wall option for a passive house and 45-51% cheaper compared to other options. The comparison of roofs and ceilings showed that insulation of the ceiling is 25% more efficient than insulation of the roof. The comparison of the main envelope elements efficiency by multiple-criteria evaluation methods showed that it is economically feasible to install concrete slab on ground foundation, stud walls with sheet cladding and a pitched roof with insulated ceiling.

Building-in-Briefcase: A Rapidly-Deployable Environmental Sensor Suite for the Smart Building

PubMed Central

Weekly, Kevin; Jin, Ming; Zou, Han; Hsu, Christopher; Soyza, Chris; Bayen, Alexandre; Spanos, Costas

2018-01-01

A building’s environment has profound influence on occupant comfort and health. Continuous monitoring of building occupancy and environment is essential to fault detection, intelligent control, and building commissioning. Though many solutions for environmental measuring based on wireless sensor networks exist, they are not easily accessible to households and building owners who may lack time or technical expertise needed to set up a system and get quick and detailed overview of environmental conditions. Building-in-Briefcase (BiB) is a portable sensor network platform that is trivially easy to deploy in any building environment. Once the sensors are distributed, the environmental data is collected and communicated to the BiB router via the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) and WiFi technology, which then forwards the data to the central database securely over the internet through a 3G radio. The user, with minimal effort, can access the aggregated data and visualize the trends in real time on the BiB web portal. Paramount to the adoption and continued operation of an indoor sensing platform is battery lifetime. This design has achieved a multi-year lifespan by careful selection of components, an efficient binary communications protocol and data compression. Our BiB sensor is capable of collecting a rich set of environmental parameters, and is expandable to measure others, such as CO2. This paper describes the power characteristics of BiB sensors and their occupancy estimation and activity recognition functionality. We have demonstrated large-scale deployment of BiB throughout Singapore. Our vision is that, by monitoring thousands of buildings through BiB, it would provide ample research opportunities and opportunities to identify ways to improve the building environment and energy efficiency. PMID:29710839

Ten questions concerning occupant behavior in buildings: The big picture

DOE PAGES

Hong, Tianzhen; Yan, Da; D'Oca, Simona; ...

2016-12-27

Occupant behavior has significant impacts on building energy performance and occupant comfort. However, occupant behavior is not well understood and is often oversimplified in the building life cycle, due to its stochastic, diverse, complex, and interdisciplinary nature. The use of simplified methods or tools to quantify the impacts of occupant behavior in building performance simulations significantly contributes to performance gaps between simulated models and actual building energy consumption. Therefore, it is crucial to understand occupant behavior in a comprehensive way, integrating qualitative approaches and data- and model-driven quantitative approaches, and employing appropriate tools to guide the design and operation ofmore » low-energy residential and commercial buildings that integrate technological and human dimensions. This paper presents ten questions, highlighting some of the most important issues regarding concepts, applications, and methodologies in occupant behavior research. The proposed questions and answers aim to provide insights into occupant behavior for current and future researchers, designers, and policy makers, and most importantly, to inspire innovative research and applications to increase energy efficiency and reduce energy use in buildings.« less

Wifi-friendly building, enabling wifi signal indoor: an initial study

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Suherman; Mubarakah, Naemah; Sagala, Romulo S.; Prayitno, Hendra

2018-03-01

The 802.11 network (wireless fidelity/WiFi) is the most common wireless infrastructure applied for internet access indoor. Widespread devices and installation simplicity make it better than similar technologies such as 802.16 and other 802.xx series. The access points are the most influential devices for indoor access. However, building indoor architectures contribute to the signal quality. Since WiFi installation in buildings becomes prevalent, the architecture should consider WiFi-friendliness into consideration. The more friendly the building to WiFi signal, the more efficient the 802.11 based wireless infrastructure. This paper present preliminary study how the building, specially the obstacle material, effects the WiFi signal propagation indoor. The study was performed by using ESP8266-based WiFi signal reader, to determine the impact indoor obstacles to WiFi signal propagation. The initial study shows that simple reflecting materials increase signal level about 1.14 dBm. WiFi-friendly building can be achieved by transforming building properties into signal interconnector. A simple photo frame with aluminium sheet insertion increase signal level on the second floor up to 6.56dBm.

Higher Efficiency HVAC Motors

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Flynn, Charles Joseph

The objective of this project was to design and build a cost competitive, more efficient heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) motor than what is currently available on the market. Though different potential motor architectures among QMP’s primary technology platforms were investigated and evaluated, including through the building of numerous prototypes, the project ultimately focused on scaling up QM Power, Inc.’s (QMP) Q-Sync permanent magnet synchronous motors from available sub-fractional horsepower (HP) sizes for commercial refrigeration fan applications to larger fractional horsepower sizes appropriate for HVAC applications, and to add multi-speed functionality. The more specific goal became the research, design,more » development, and testing of a prototype 1/2 HP Q-Sync motor that has at least two operating speeds and 87% peak efficiency compared to incumbent electronically commutated motors (EC or ECM, also known as brushless direct current (DC) motors), the heretofore highest efficiency HVACR fan motor solution, at approximately 82% peak efficiency. The resulting motor prototype built achieved these goals, hitting 90% efficiency and .95 power factor at full load and speed, and 80% efficiency and .7 power factor at half speed. Q-Sync, developed in part through a DOE SBIR grant (Award # DE-SC0006311), is a novel, patented motor technology that improves on electronically commutated permanent magnet motors through an advanced electronic circuit technology. It allows a motor to “sync” with the alternating current (AC) power flow. It does so by eliminating the constant, wasteful power conversions from AC to DC and back to AC through the synthetic creation of a new AC wave on the primary circuit board (PCB) by a process called pulse width modulation (PWM; aka electronic commutation) that is incessantly required to sustain motor operation in an EC permanent magnet motor. The Q-Sync circuit improves the power factor of the motor by removing all failure prone capacitors from the power stage. Q-Sync’s simpler electronics also result in higher efficiency because it eliminates the power required by the PCB to perform the obviated power conversions and PWM processes after line synchronous operating speed is reached in the first 5 seconds of operation, after which the PWM circuits drop out and a much less energy intensive “pass through” circuit takes over, allowing the grid-supplied AC power to sustain the motor’s ongoing operation.« less

The Super Efficient Refrigerator Program: Case study of a Golden Carrot program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Eckert, J B

1995-07-01

The work in this report was conducted by the Analytic Studies Division (ASD) of the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) for the U.S. Department of Energy Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Office of Building Technologies. This case study describes the development and implementation of the Super Efficient Refrigerator Program (SERP), which awarded $30 million to the refrigerator manufacturer that developed and commercialized a refrigerator that exceeded 1993 federal efficiency standards by at least 25%. The program was funded by 24 public and private utilities. As the first Golden Carrot program to be implemented in the United States, SERPmore » was studied as an example for future `market-pull` efforts.« less

WSN- and IOT-Based Smart Homes and Their Extension to Smart Buildings

PubMed Central

Ghayvat, Hemant; Mukhopadhyay, Subhas; Gui, Xiang; Suryadevara, Nagender

2015-01-01

Our research approach is to design and develop reliable, efficient, flexible, economical, real-time and realistic wellness sensor networks for smart home systems. The heterogeneous sensor and actuator nodes based on wireless networking technologies are deployed into the home environment. These nodes generate real-time data related to the object usage and movement inside the home, to forecast the wellness of an individual. Here, wellness stands for how efficiently someone stays fit in the home environment and performs his or her daily routine in order to live a long and healthy life. We initiate the research with the development of the smart home approach and implement it in different home conditions (different houses) to monitor the activity of an inhabitant for wellness detection. Additionally, our research extends the smart home system to smart buildings and models the design issues related to the smart building environment; these design issues are linked with system performance and reliability. This research paper also discusses and illustrates the possible mitigation to handle the ISM band interference and attenuation losses without compromising optimum system performance. PMID:25946630

WSN- and IOT-Based Smart Homes and Their Extension to Smart Buildings.

PubMed

Ghayvat, Hemant; Mukhopadhyay, Subhas; Gui, Xiang; Suryadevara, Nagender

2015-05-04

Our research approach is to design and develop reliable, efficient, flexible, economical, real-time and realistic wellness sensor networks for smart home systems. The heterogeneous sensor and actuator nodes based on wireless networking technologies are deployed into the home environment. These nodes generate real-time data related to the object usage and movement inside the home, to forecast the wellness of an individual. Here, wellness stands for how efficiently someone stays fit in the home environment and performs his or her daily routine in order to live a long and healthy life. We initiate the research with the development of the smart home approach and implement it in different home conditions (different houses) to monitor the activity of an inhabitant for wellness detection. Additionally, our research extends the smart home system to smart buildings and models the design issues related to the smart building environment; these design issues are linked with system performance and reliability. This research paper also discusses and illustrates the possible mitigation to handle the ISM band interference and attenuation losses without compromising optimum system performance.

Additive Technology: Update on Current Materials and Applications in Dentistry.

PubMed

Barazanchi, Abdullah; Li, Kai Chun; Al-Amleh, Basil; Lyons, Karl; Waddell, J Neil

2017-02-01

Additive manufacturing or 3D printing is becoming an alternative to subtractive manufacturing or milling in the area of computer-aided manufacturing. Research on material for use in additive manufacturing is ongoing, and a wide variety of materials are being used or developed for use in dentistry. Some materials, however, such as cobalt chromium, still lack sufficient research to allow definite conclusions about the suitability of their use in clinical dental practice. Despite this, due to the wide variety of machines that use additive manufacturing, there is much more flexibility in the build material and geometry when building structures compared with subtractive manufacturing. Overall additive manufacturing produces little material waste and is energy efficient when compared to subtractive manufacturing, due to passivity and the additive layering nature of the build process. Such features make the technique suitable to be used with fabricating structures out of hard to handle materials such as cobalt chromium. The main limitations of this technology include the appearance of steps due to layering of material and difficulty in fabricating certain material generally used in dentistry for use in 3D printing such as ceramics. The current pace of technological development, however, promises exciting possibilities. © 2016 by the American College of Prosthodontists.

Functional unit, technological dynamics, and scaling properties for the life cycle energy of residences.

PubMed

Frijia, Stephane; Guhathakurta, Subhrajit; Williams, Eric

2012-02-07

Prior LCA studies take the operational phase to include all energy use within a residence, implying a functional unit of all household activities, but then exclude related supply chains such as production of food, appliances, and household chemicals. We argue that bounding the functional unit to provision of a climate controlled space better focuses the LCA on the building, rather than activities that occur within a building. The second issue explored in this article is how technological change in the operational phase affects life cycle energy. Heating and cooling equipment is replaced at least several times over the lifetime of a residence; improved efficiency of newer equipment affects life cycle energy use. The third objective is to construct parametric models to describe LCA results for a family of related products. We explore these three issues through a case study of energy use of residences: one-story and two-story detached homes, 1,500-3,500 square feet in area, located in Phoenix, Arizona, built in 2002 and retired in 2051. With a restricted functional unit and accounting for technological progress, approximately 30% of a building's life cycle energy can be attributed to materials and construction, compared to 0.4-11% in previous studies.

Accessorizing Building Science – A Web Platform to Support Multiple Market Transformation Programs

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Madison, Michael C.; Antonopoulos, Chrissi A.; Dowson, Scott T.

As demand for improved energy efficiency in homes increases, builders need information on the latest findings in building science, rapidly ramping-up energy codes, and technical requirements for labeling programs. The Building America Solution Center is a Department of Energy (DOE) website containing hundreds of expert guides designed to help residential builders install efficiency measures in new and existing homes. Builders can package measures with other media for customized content. Website content provides technical support to market transformation programs such as ENERGY STAR and has been cloned and adapted to provide content for the Better Buildings Residential Program. The Solution Centermore » uses the Drupal open source content management platform to combine a variety of media in an interactive manner to make information easily accessible. Developers designed a unique taxonomy to organize and manage content. That taxonomy was translated into web-based modules that allow users to rapidly traverse structured content with related topics, and media. We will present information on the current design of the Solution Center and the underlying technology used to manage the content. The paper will explore development of features, such as “Field Kits” that allow users to bundle and save content for quick access, along with the ability to export PDF versions of content. Finally, we will discuss development of an Android based mobile application, and a visualization tool for interacting with Building Science Publications that allows the user to dynamically search the entire Building America Library.« less

Assessment of Distributed Generation Potential in JapaneseBuildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Zhou, Nan; Marnay, Chris; Firestone, Ryan

2005-05-25

To meet growing energy demands, energy efficiency, renewable energy, and on-site generation coupled with effective utilization of exhaust heat will all be required. Additional benefit can be achieved by integrating these distributed technologies into distributed energy resource (DER) systems (or microgrids). This research investigates a method of choosing economically optimal DER, expanding on prior studies at the Berkeley Lab using the DER design optimization program, the Distributed Energy Resources Customer Adoption Model (DER-CAM). DER-CAM finds the optimal combination of installed equipment from available DER technologies, given prevailing utility tariffs, site electrical and thermal loads, and a menu of available equipment.more » It provides a global optimization, albeit idealized, that shows how the site energy loads can be served at minimum cost by selection and operation of on-site generation, heat recovery, and cooling. Five prototype Japanese commercial buildings are examined and DER-CAM applied to select the economically optimal DER system for each. The five building types are office, hospital, hotel, retail, and sports facility. Based on the optimization results, energy and emission reductions are evaluated. Furthermore, a Japan-U.S. comparison study of policy, technology, and utility tariffs relevant to DER installation is presented. Significant decreases in fuel consumption, carbon emissions, and energy costs were seen in the DER-CAM results. Savings were most noticeable in the sports facility (a very favourable CHP site), followed by the hospital, hotel, and office building.« less

Methods of erection of high-rise buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cherednichenko, Nadezhda; Oleinik, Pavel

2018-03-01

The article contains the factors determining the choice of methods for organizing the construction and production of construction and installation work for the construction of high-rise buildings. There are also indicated specific features of their underground parts, characterized by powerful slab-pile foundations, large volumes of earthworks, reinforced bases and foundations for assembly cranes. The work cycle is considered when using reinforced concrete, steel and combined skeletons of high-rise buildings; the areas of application of flow, separate and complex methods are being disclosed. The main conditions for the erection of high-rise buildings and their components are singled out: the choice of formwork systems, delivery and lifting of concrete mixes, installation of reinforcement, the formation of lifting and transporting and auxiliary equipment. The article prescribes the reserves of reduction in the duration of construction due to the creation of: complex mechanized technologies for the efficient construction of foundations in various soil conditions, including in the heaving, swelling, hindered, subsidence, bulk, water-saturated forms; complex mechanized technologies for the erection of monolithic reinforced concrete structures, taking into account the winter conditions of production and the use of mobile concrete-laying complexes and new generation machines; modular formwork systems, distinguished by their versatility, ease, simplicity in operation suitable for complex high-rise construction; more perfect methodology and the development of a set of progressive organizational and technological solutions that ensure a rational relationship between the processes of production and their maximum overlap in time and space.

KSC-2009-6798

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-12-11

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Trenches are prepared to support the walls of the Propellants North Administrative and Maintenance Facility in Launch Complex 39 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The facility will have a two-story administrative building to house managers, mechanics and technicians who fuel spacecraft at Kennedy adjacent to an 1,800-square-foot single-story shop to store cryogenic fuel transfer equipment. The new facility will feature high-efficiency roofs and walls, “Cool Dry Quiet” air conditioning with energy recovery technology, efficient lighting, and other sustainable features. The facility is striving to qualify for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Platinum certification. If successful, Propellants North will be the first Kennedy facility to achieve this highest of LEED ratings after it is completed in the summer of 2010. The facility was designed for NASA by Jones Edmunds and Associates. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

KSC-2009-6797

NASA Image and Video Library

2009-12-11

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Construction of the Propellants North Administrative and Maintenance Facility begins in Launch Complex 39 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The facility will have a two-story administrative building to house managers, mechanics and technicians who fuel spacecraft at Kennedy adjacent to an 1,800-square-foot single-story shop to store cryogenic fuel transfer equipment. The new facility will feature high-efficiency roofs and walls, “Cool Dry Quiet” air conditioning with energy recovery technology, efficient lighting, and other sustainable features. The facility is striving to qualify for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Platinum certification. If successful, Propellants North will be the first Kennedy facility to achieve this highest of LEED ratings after it is completed in the summer of 2010. The facility was designed for NASA by Jones Edmunds and Associates. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Protection of electronic health records (EHRs) in cloud.

PubMed

Alabdulatif, Abdulatif; Khalil, Ibrahim; Mai, Vu

2013-01-01

EHR technology has come into widespread use and has attracted attention in healthcare institutions as well as in research. Cloud services are used to build efficient EHR systems and obtain the greatest benefits of EHR implementation. Many issues relating to building an ideal EHR system in the cloud, especially the tradeoff between flexibility and security, have recently surfaced. The privacy of patient records in cloud platforms is still a point of contention. In this research, we are going to improve the management of access control by restricting participants' access through the use of distinct encrypted parameters for each participant in the cloud-based database. Also, we implement and improve an existing secure index search algorithm to enhance the efficiency of information control and flow through a cloud-based EHR system. At the final stage, we contribute to the design of reliable, flexible and secure access control, enabling quick access to EHR information.

Project H - A Complete Spaceport Hydrogen Solution

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Notardonato, William

2011-01-01

This slide presentation reviews Project H, and its importance in the development of Kennedy Space Center (KSC) as a Spaceport capable of multiple launches. It is known that current KSC cryogenic technology results in only approximately 55 % of purchased hydrogen being used. The rest is lost at various points in the process: transfer from transporting vehicle to tank, storage tank boil off, and from the tank to the intended propulsion tanks. Project H's goals would be to have local hydrogen production and liquifaction capability, and to increase the efficiency of hydrogen operations to greater than 80 %. The project envisions two phases: Phase 1 will build a smaller scale demonstration system, and phase 2 will build a full scale spaceport system. This initial project has proposed ideas for local hydrogen production, gaseous distribution, integrated refrigeration and storage, and high efficiency transfer lines that merit further investigation.

75 FR 7464 - Energy Efficient Building Systems Regional Innovation Cluster Initiative-Joint Federal Funding...

Federal Register 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014

2010-02-19

... DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY Energy Efficient Building Systems Regional Innovation Cluster Initiative... Energy Efficient Building Systems Regional Innovation Cluster Initiative. A single proposal submitted by... systems design. The DOE funded Energy Efficient Building Systems Design Hub (the ``Hub'') will serve as a...

Automatic generation and simulation of urban building energy models based on city datasets for city-scale building retrofit analysis

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Chen, Yixing; Hong, Tianzhen; Piette, Mary Ann

Buildings in cities consume 30–70% of total primary energy, and improving building energy efficiency is one of the key strategies towards sustainable urbanization. Urban building energy models (UBEM) can support city managers to evaluate and prioritize energy conservation measures (ECMs) for investment and the design of incentive and rebate programs. This paper presents the retrofit analysis feature of City Building Energy Saver (CityBES) to automatically generate and simulate UBEM using EnergyPlus based on cities’ building datasets and user-selected ECMs. CityBES is a new open web-based tool to support city-scale building energy efficiency strategic plans and programs. The technical details ofmore » using CityBES for UBEM generation and simulation are introduced, including the workflow, key assumptions, and major databases. Also presented is a case study that analyzes the potential retrofit energy use and energy cost savings of five individual ECMs and two measure packages for 940 office and retail buildings in six city districts in northeast San Francisco, United States. The results show that: (1) all five measures together can save 23–38% of site energy per building; (2) replacing lighting with light-emitting diode lamps and adding air economizers to existing heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are most cost-effective with an average payback of 2.0 and 4.3 years, respectively; and (3) it is not economical to upgrade HVAC systems or replace windows in San Francisco due to the city's mild climate and minimal cooling and heating loads. Furthermore, the CityBES retrofit analysis feature does not require users to have deep knowledge of building systems or technologies for the generation and simulation of building energy models, which helps overcome major technical barriers for city managers and their consultants to adopt UBEM.« less

Automatic generation and simulation of urban building energy models based on city datasets for city-scale building retrofit analysis

DOE PAGES

Chen, Yixing; Hong, Tianzhen; Piette, Mary Ann

2017-08-07

Buildings in cities consume 30–70% of total primary energy, and improving building energy efficiency is one of the key strategies towards sustainable urbanization. Urban building energy models (UBEM) can support city managers to evaluate and prioritize energy conservation measures (ECMs) for investment and the design of incentive and rebate programs. This paper presents the retrofit analysis feature of City Building Energy Saver (CityBES) to automatically generate and simulate UBEM using EnergyPlus based on cities’ building datasets and user-selected ECMs. CityBES is a new open web-based tool to support city-scale building energy efficiency strategic plans and programs. The technical details ofmore » using CityBES for UBEM generation and simulation are introduced, including the workflow, key assumptions, and major databases. Also presented is a case study that analyzes the potential retrofit energy use and energy cost savings of five individual ECMs and two measure packages for 940 office and retail buildings in six city districts in northeast San Francisco, United States. The results show that: (1) all five measures together can save 23–38% of site energy per building; (2) replacing lighting with light-emitting diode lamps and adding air economizers to existing heating, ventilation and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are most cost-effective with an average payback of 2.0 and 4.3 years, respectively; and (3) it is not economical to upgrade HVAC systems or replace windows in San Francisco due to the city's mild climate and minimal cooling and heating loads. Furthermore, the CityBES retrofit analysis feature does not require users to have deep knowledge of building systems or technologies for the generation and simulation of building energy models, which helps overcome major technical barriers for city managers and their consultants to adopt UBEM.« less

The benefit of 3D laser scanning technology in the generation and calibration of FEM models for health assessment of concrete structures.

PubMed

Yang, Hao; Xu, Xiangyang; Neumann, Ingo

2014-11-19

Terrestrial laser scanning technology (TLS) is a new technique for quickly getting three-dimensional information. In this paper we research the health assessment of concrete structures with a Finite Element Method (FEM) model based on TLS. The goal focuses on the benefits of 3D TLS in the generation and calibration of FEM models, in order to build a convenient, efficient and intelligent model which can be widely used for the detection and assessment of bridges, buildings, subways and other objects. After comparing the finite element simulation with surface-based measurement data from TLS, the FEM model is determined to be acceptable with an error of less than 5%. The benefit of TLS lies mainly in the possibility of a surface-based validation of results predicted by the FEM model.

Low-Flow Liquid Desiccant Air Conditioning: General Guidance and Site Considerations

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Kozubal, E.; Herrmann, L.; Deru, M.

2014-09-01

Dehumidification or latent cooling in buildings is an area of growing interest that has been identified as needing more research and improved technologies for higher performance. Heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems typically expend excessive energy by using overcool-and-reheat strategies to dehumidify buildings. These systems first overcool ventilation air to remove moisture and then reheat the air to meet comfort requirements. Another common strategy incorporates solid desiccant rotors that remove moisture from the air more efficiently; however, these systems increase fan energy consumption because of the high airside pressure drop of solid desiccant rotors and can add heat of absorptionmore » to the ventilation air. Alternatively, liquid desiccant air-conditioning (LDAC) technology provides an innovative dehumidification solution that: (1) eliminates the need for overcooling and reheating from traditional cooling systems; and (2) avoids the increased fan energy and air heating from solid desiccant rotor systems.« less

Reconstruction of 3d Objects of Assets and Facilities by Using Benchmark Points

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Baig, S. U.; Rahman, A. A.

2013-08-01

Acquiring and modeling 3D geo-data of building assets and facility objects is one of the challenges. A number of methods and technologies are being utilized for this purpose. Total station, GPS, photogrammetric and terrestrial laser scanning are few of these technologies. In this paper, points commonly shared by potential facades of assets and facilities modeled from point clouds are identified. These points are useful for modeling process to reconstruct 3D models of assets and facilities stored to be used for management purposes. These models are segmented through different planes to produce accurate 2D plans. This novel method improves the efficiency and quality of construction of models of assets and facilities with the aim utilize in 3D management projects such as maintenance of buildings or group of items that need to be replaced, or renovated for new services.

A Pilot Demonstration of Electrochromic and Thermochromic Windows in the Denver Federal Center, Building 41, Denver, Colorado

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Lee, Eleanor S.; Fernandes, Luis L.; Goudey, Chad Howdy

Chromogenic glazing materials are emerging technologies that tint reversibly from a clear to dark tinted state either passively in response to environmental conditions or actively in response to a command from a switch or building automation system. Switchable coatings on glass manage solar radiation and visible light while enabling unobstructed views to the outdoors. Building energy simulations estimate that actively controlled, near-term chromogenic glazings can reduce perimeter zone heating, ventilation, and airconditioning (HVAC) and lighting energy use by 10-20% and reduce peak electricity demand by 20-30%, achieving energy use levels that are lower than an opaque, insulated wall. This projectmore » demonstrates the use of two types of chromogenic windows: thermochromic and electrochromic windows. By 2013, these windows will begin production in the U.S. by multiple vendors at high-volume manufacturing plants, enabling lower cost and larger area window products to be specified. Both technologies are in the late R&D stage of development, where cost reductions and performance improvements are underway. Electrochromic windows have been installed in numerous buildings over the past four years, but monitored energy-efficiency performance has been independently evaluated in very limited applications. Thermochromic windows have been installed in one other building with an independent evaluation, but results have not yet been made public.« less

Accuracy of automated measurement and verification (M&V) techniques for energy savings in commercial buildings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Granderson, Jessica; Touzani, Samir; Custodio, Claudine

Trustworthy savings calculations are critical to convincing investors in energy efficiency projects of the benefit and cost-effectiveness of such investments and their ability to replace or defer supply-side capital investments. However, today’s methods for measurement and verification (M&V) of energy savings constitute a significant portion of the total costs of efficiency projects. They also require time-consuming manual data acquisition and often do not deliver results until years after the program period has ended. The rising availability of “smart” meters, combined with new analytical approaches to quantifying savings, has opened the door to conducting M&V more quickly and at lower cost,more » with comparable or improved accuracy. These meter- and software-based approaches, increasingly referred to as “M&V 2.0”, are the subject of surging industry interest, particularly in the context of utility energy efficiency programs. Program administrators, evaluators, and regulators are asking how M&V 2.0 compares with more traditional methods, how proprietary software can be transparently performance tested, how these techniques can be integrated into the next generation of whole-building focused efficiency programs. This paper expands recent analyses of public-domain whole-building M&V methods, focusing on more novel M&V2.0 modeling approaches that are used in commercial technologies, as well as approaches that are documented in the literature, and/or developed by the academic building research community. We present a testing procedure and metrics to assess the performance of whole-building M&V methods. We then illustrate the test procedure by evaluating the accuracy of ten baseline energy use models, against measured data from a large dataset of 537 buildings. The results of this study show that the already available advanced interval data baseline models hold great promise for scaling the adoption of building measured savings calculations using Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) data. Median coefficient of variation of the root mean squared error (CV(RMSE)) was less than 25% for every model tested when twelve months of training data were used. With even six months of training data, median CV(RMSE) for daily energy total was under 25% for all models tested. Finally, these findings can be used to build confidence in model robustness, and the readiness of these approaches for industry uptake and adoption« less

Accuracy of automated measurement and verification (M&V) techniques for energy savings in commercial buildings

DOE PAGES

Granderson, Jessica; Touzani, Samir; Custodio, Claudine; ...

2016-04-16

Trustworthy savings calculations are critical to convincing investors in energy efficiency projects of the benefit and cost-effectiveness of such investments and their ability to replace or defer supply-side capital investments. However, today’s methods for measurement and verification (M&V) of energy savings constitute a significant portion of the total costs of efficiency projects. They also require time-consuming manual data acquisition and often do not deliver results until years after the program period has ended. The rising availability of “smart” meters, combined with new analytical approaches to quantifying savings, has opened the door to conducting M&V more quickly and at lower cost,more » with comparable or improved accuracy. These meter- and software-based approaches, increasingly referred to as “M&V 2.0”, are the subject of surging industry interest, particularly in the context of utility energy efficiency programs. Program administrators, evaluators, and regulators are asking how M&V 2.0 compares with more traditional methods, how proprietary software can be transparently performance tested, how these techniques can be integrated into the next generation of whole-building focused efficiency programs. This paper expands recent analyses of public-domain whole-building M&V methods, focusing on more novel M&V2.0 modeling approaches that are used in commercial technologies, as well as approaches that are documented in the literature, and/or developed by the academic building research community. We present a testing procedure and metrics to assess the performance of whole-building M&V methods. We then illustrate the test procedure by evaluating the accuracy of ten baseline energy use models, against measured data from a large dataset of 537 buildings. The results of this study show that the already available advanced interval data baseline models hold great promise for scaling the adoption of building measured savings calculations using Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI) data. Median coefficient of variation of the root mean squared error (CV(RMSE)) was less than 25% for every model tested when twelve months of training data were used. With even six months of training data, median CV(RMSE) for daily energy total was under 25% for all models tested. Finally, these findings can be used to build confidence in model robustness, and the readiness of these approaches for industry uptake and adoption« less

Effects of recent energy system changes on CO2 projections for the United States.

PubMed

Lenox, Carol S; Loughlin, Daniel H

2017-09-21

Recent projections of future United States carbon dioxide (CO 2 ) emissions are considerably lower than projections made just a decade ago. A myriad of factors have contributed to lower forecasts, including reductions in end-use energy service demands, improvements in energy efficiency, and technological innovations. Policies that have encouraged these changes include renewable portfolio standards, corporate vehicle efficiency standards, smart growth initiatives, revisions to building codes, and air and climate regulations. Understanding the effects of these and other factors can be advantageous as society evaluates opportunities for achieving additional CO 2 reductions. Energy system models provide a means to develop such insights. In this analysis, the MARKet ALlocation (MARKAL) model was applied to estimate the relative effects of various energy system changes that have happened since the year 2005 on CO 2 projections for the year 2025. The results indicate that transformations in the transportation and buildings sectors have played major roles in lowering projections. Particularly influential changes include improved vehicle efficiencies, reductions in projected travel demand, reductions in miscellaneous commercial electricity loads, and higher efficiency lighting. Electric sector changes have also contributed significantly to the lowered forecasts, driven by demand reductions, renewable portfolio standards, and air quality regulations.

A Feasibility Study of Sustainable Distributed Generation Technologies to Improve the electrical System on the Duck Valley Reservation

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Herman Atkins, Shoshone-Paiute; Mark Hannifan, New West Technologies

A range of sustainable energy options were assessed for feasibility in addressing chronic electric grid reliability problems at Duck Valley IR. Wind power and building energy efficiency were determined to have the most merit, with the Duck Valley Tribes now well positioned to pursue large scale wind power development for on- and off-reservation sales.

A Decision Model for Selecting Energy Efficient Technologies for Low-Sloping Roof Tops Using Value-Focused Thinking

DTIC Science & Technology

2007-03-01

Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) is the combined value of the reflectance and emittance, or the roof’s ability to reject heat. A white shingle has an...directly into the building structure, such as a roof shingle or a sheet of glazing (US DOE, 2006b). Figure 2.6. An Example of Fixed Position Solar ...18 Solar Thermal Systems

ASTM Committee D-7 : Wood : promoting safety and standardization for 100 years

Treesearch

David W. Green; Robert L. Ethington

2004-01-01

In October 2004, Committee D-7 on Wood of the American Society for Testing and Materials (ASTM) is celebrating 100 years of contributions to the safe and efficient use of wood as a building material. Born during a period of rapid social, economic, and technological change, the Committee faced controversial issues and the challenge of a changing forest resource. This...

Smart and Green Energy (SAGE) for Base Camps Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Engels, Matthias; Boyd, Paul A.; Koehler, Theresa M.

2014-02-11

The U.S. Army Logistics Innovation Agency’s (LIA’s) Smart and Green Energy (SAGE) for Base Camps project was to investigate how base camps’ fuel consumption can be reduced by 30% to 60% using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies for power generation, renewables, and energy efficient building systems. Field tests and calibrated energy models successfully demonstrated that the fuel reductions are achievable.

Gray-Box Approach for Thermal Modelling of Buildings for Applications in District Heating and Cooling Networks

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Saurav, Kumar; Chandan, Vikas

District-heating-and-cooling (DHC) systems are a proven energy solution that has been deployed for many years in a growing number of urban areas worldwide. They comprise a variety of technologies that seek to develop synergies between the production and supply of heat, cooling, domestic hot water and electricity. Although the benefits of DHC systems are significant and have been widely acclaimed, yet the full potential of modern DHC systems remains largely untapped. There are several opportunities for development of energy efficient DHC systems, which will enable the effective exploitation of alternative renewable resources, waste heat recovery, etc., in order to increasemore » the overall efficiency and facilitate the transition towards the next generation of DHC systems. This motivated the need for modelling these complex systems. Large-scale modelling of DHC-networks is challenging, as it has several components such as buildings, pipes, valves, heating source, etc., interacting with each other. In this paper, we focus on building modelling. In particular, we present a gray-box methodology for thermal modelling of buildings. Gray-box modelling is a hybrid of data driven and physics based models where, coefficients of the equations from physics based models are learned using data. This approach allows us to capture the dynamics of the buildings more effectively as compared to pure data driven approach. Additionally, this approach results in a simpler models as compared to pure physics based models. We first develop the individual components of the building such as temperature evolution, flow controller, etc. These individual models are then integrated in to the complete gray-box model for the building. The model is validated using data collected from one of the buildings at Lule{\\aa}, a city on the coast of northern Sweden.« less

Improving building energy efficiency in India: State-level analysis of building energy efficiency policies

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Sha; Tan, Qing; Evans, Meredydd

India is expected to add 40 billion m2 of new buildings till 2050. Buildings are responsible for one third of India’s total energy consumption today and building energy use is expected to continue growing driven by rapid income and population growth. The implementation of the Energy Conservation Building Code (ECBC) is one of the measures to improve building energy efficiency. Using the Global Change Assessment Model, this study assesses growth in the buildings sector and impacts of building energy policies in Gujarat, which would help the state adopt ECBC and expand building energy efficiency programs. Without building energy policies, buildingmore » energy use in Gujarat would grow by 15 times in commercial buildings and 4 times in urban residential buildings between 2010 and 2050. ECBC improves energy efficiency in commercial buildings and could reduce building electricity use in Gujarat by 20% in 2050, compared to the no policy scenario. Having energy codes for both commercial and residential buildings could result in additional 10% savings in electricity use. To achieve these intended savings, it is critical to build capacity and institution for robust code implementation.« less

Research & Development Roadmap for Next-Generation Appliances

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Goetzler, William; Sutherland, Timothy; Foley, Kevin

2012-03-01

Appliances present an attractive opportunity for near-term energy savings in existing building, because they are less expensive and replaced more regularly than heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems or building envelope components. This roadmap targets high-priority research and development (R&D), demonstration and commercialization activities that could significantly reduce residential appliance energy consumption. The main objective of the roadmap is to seek activities that accelerate the commercialization of high-efficiency appliance technologies while maintaining the competitiveness of American industry. The roadmap identified and evaluated potential technical innovations, defined research needs, created preliminary research and development roadmaps, and obtained stakeholder feedback on themore » proposed initiatives.« less

From Tragedy to Triumph: Rebuilding Greensburg, Kansas To Be a 100% Renewable Energy City; Preprint

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Pless, S.; Billman, L.; Wallach, D.

On May 4, 2007, Greensburg, Kansas, was hit by a 1.7-mile wide tornado with 200 mph-plus wind speeds. This tornado destroyed or severely damaged 90% of Greensburg?s structures. We discuss the progress made in rebuilding Greensburg, with a focus on the built environment and on meeting Greensburg?s goal of 100% renewable energy, 100% of the time. We also discuss key disaster recovery efforts that enabled Greensburg to reach this goal. Key strategies included a Sustainable Comprehensive Master Plan, an ordinance resolving that city-owned buildings achieve LEED Platinum and 42% energy savings, a strong focus on rebuilding 'right' with an integratedmore » design process, attracting significant and sustained technical experts and national media attention, and linking renewable and energy efficiency technologies to business development. After three years, more than half the homes that have been rebuilt are rated at an average of 40% energy savings. All significant commercial buildings, including the school, hospital, banks, courthouse, and retail buildings, have been rebuilt to LEED Gold and Platinum standards and exceed 40% savings, with many exceeding 50% savings. Greensburg recently constructed a 12.5-MW community wind farm to provide all the remaining energy needed for its energy-efficient buildings and homes.« less

Integrated Heat Pump HVAC Systems for Near-Zero-Energy Homes - Business Case Assessment

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Baxter, Van D

2007-05-01

The long range strategic goal of the Department of Energy's Building Technologies (DOE/BT) Program is to create, by 2020, technologies and design approaches that enable the construction of net-zero energy homes at low incremental cost (DOE/BT 2005). A net zero energy home (NZEH) is a residential building with greatly reduced needs for energy through efficiency gains, with the balance of energy needs supplied by renewable technologies. While initially focused on new construction, these technologies and design approaches are intended to have application to buildings constructed before 2020 as well resulting in substantial reduction in energy use for all building typesmore » and ages. DOE/BT's Emerging Technologies (ET) team is working to support this strategic goal by identifying and developing advanced heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and water heating (HVAC/WH) technology options applicable to NZEHs. Although the energy efficiency of heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) equipment has increased substantially in recent years, new approaches are needed to continue this trend. Dramatic efficiency improvements are necessary to enable progress toward the NZEH goals, and will require a radical rethinking of opportunities to improve system performance. The large reductions in HVAC energy consumption necessary to support the NZEH goals require a systems-oriented analysis approach that characterizes each element of energy consumption, identifies alternatives, and determines the most cost-effective combination of options. In particular, HVAC equipment must be developed that addresses the range of special needs of NZEH applications in the areas of reduced HVAC and water heating energy use, humidity control, ventilation, uniform comfort, and ease of zoning. In FY05 ORNL conducted an initial Stage 1 (Applied Research) scoping assessment of HVAC/WH systems options for future NZEHs to help DOE/BT identify and prioritize alternative approaches for further development. Eleven system concepts with central air distribution ducting and nine multi-zone systems were selected and their annual and peak demand performance estimated for five locations: Atlanta (mixed-humid), Houston (hot-humid), Phoenix (hot-dry), San Francisco (marine), and Chicago (cold). Performance was estimated by simulating the systems using the TRNSYS simulation engine (Solar Energy Laboratory et al. 2006) in two 1800-ft{sup 2} houses--a Building America (BA) benchmark house and a prototype NZEH taken from BEopt results at the take-off (or crossover) point (i.e., a house incorporating those design features such that further progress towards ZEH is through the addition of photovoltaic power sources, as determined by current BEopt analyses conducted by NREL). Results were summarized in a project report, 'HVAC Equipment Design options for Near-Zero-Energy Homes--A Stage 2 Scoping Assessment', ORNL/TM-2005/194 (Baxter 2005). The 2005 study report describes the HVAC options considered, the ranking criteria used, and the system rankings by priority. Table 1 summarizes the energy savings potential of the highest scoring options from the 2005 study for all five locations. All system options were scored by the ORNL building equipment research team and by William Goetzler of Navigant Consulting. These scores were reviewed by DOE/BT's Residential Integration program leaders and Building America team members. Based on these results, the two centrally ducted integrated heat pump (IHP) systems (air source and ground source versions) were selected for advancement to Stage 2 (Exploratory Development) business case assessments in FY06. This report describes results of these business case assessments. It is a compilation of three separate reports describing the initial business case study (Baxter 2006a), an update to evaluate the impact of an economizer cooling option (Baxter 2006b), and a second update to evaluate the impact of a winter humidification option (Baxter 2007). In addition it reports some corrections made subsequent to release of the first two reports to correct some errors in the TRNSYS building model for Atlanta and in the refrigerant pressure drop calculation in the water-to-refrigerant evaporator module of the ORNL Heat Pump Design Model (HPDM) used for the IHP analyses. These changes resulted in some minor differences between IHP performance as reported in Baxter (2006a, b) and in this report.« less

Final Scientific Technical Report Crowder College MARET Center

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Boyt, Art; Eberle, Dan; Hudson, Pam

Following decades of success in solar energy projects, the Missouri Legislature designated Crowder College in 1992 as the State's renewable energy education center. The resulting Missouri Alternative and Renewable Energy Technology (MARET) Center is recognized internationally for its contributions to the energy field. The mission of the MARET Center is to expand renewable energy throughout the region with education, applied research, and economic development. Educational programs include certification and transfer degrees encompassing green construction, solar thermal energy, solar electricity, and wind. The MARET Center also assists in new product development and other business support services in renewable energy. The Missourimore » Alternative and Renewable Energy Technology (MARET) Center at Crowder College hopes to eventually develop a 27,500 ft 2 facility as a living laboratory to support solar and other renewable and sustainable energy development through professional degrees, new product development and commercialization, renewable energy business incubation, and consumer education. The primary objective of the current project was to complete Stage One of this building, with solar, wind, and geothermal technologies installed to power its 9,216 ft 2 office, classroom, and research spaces. This MARET Center includes a modular roof structure that permits both solar module mounting and daylighting, PV/thermal hybrid modules pioneered in Crowder Solar Decathlon homes, modular electrical management subsystems; and modular delivery systems for heating and cooling the structure. The MARET Facility will operate as a Net Positive energy building, consistently producing surplus energy for distributed generation on the utility grid. The modular design of the energy systems within the building is to serve as a scalable and repeatable model for a wide variety of building applications and climate zones. As a living laboratory of renewable energy, exploring and validating new applications of solar and other renewable technologies, the MARET Facility will house a wide variety of programs which will advance implementation of renewable energy throughout the region. These program goals include; Curriculum in renewable energy for pre-engineering transfer programs; Certification and degree programs for technical degrees for Energy Efficiency, Wind, Photovoltaic and Solar Thermal professionals; Short courses and workshops for building management and design professionals; Public education and demonstration projects in renewable energy through conferences and K-12 educational outreach; Technical degree offering in building construction incorporating “best practices” for energy efficiency and renewables; and Business incubators for new renewable energy businesses and new product development The new MARET facility will support the mission of the US Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Program, “to improve America’s security, environmental quality, and economic prosperity through public-private partnerships that bring reliable and affordable solar energy technologies to the marketplace,” through a variety of educational and business assistance programs. Further, technical innovations planned for the MARET facility and its applied research activities will advance the Solar Program strategic goals to “reduce the cost of solar energy to the point it becomes competitive in relevant energy markets (e.g., buildings, power plants) and for solar technology to enable a sustainable solar industry.” Overarching Goals relative to program needs, future expansion, flexibility, quality of materials, and construction and operational costs:; Experimental: The structure and systems of the building operate as an educational resource. The systems are meant to be a source for data collection and study for building users and instructors; Educational: Part of the evolution of this building and its ongoing goals is to use the building as an educational tool, one where new ideas developed in the world and especially at Crowder can be tested further as part of MARET's curriculum; LEED Platinum: achieve highest level of LEED certification; Net Zero: The building will utilize existing wind and alternate energy sources on campus and add solar PVT panels and achieve as close as possible to a net zero energy usage; and Phase II: The phase II portion of this project will expand the Internet student area, additional classrooms, and labs, as well as an auditorium and exhibit area.« less

17th Space Photovoltaic Research and Technology Conference

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Jenkins, Phillip (Compiler)

2002-01-01

The 17th Space Photovoltaic Research and Technology (SPRAT XVII) Conference was held September 11-13, 2001, at the Ohio Aerospace Institute (OAI) in Cleveland, Ohio. The SPRAT conference, hosted by the Photovoltaic and Space Environments Branch of the NASA Glenn Research Center, brought together representatives of the space photovoltaic community from around the world to share the latest advances in space solar technology. This year's conference continued to build on many of the trends shown in SPRAT XVI; the use of new high-efficiency cells for commercial use and the development of novel array concepts such as Boeing's Solar Tile concept. In addition, new information was presented on space environmental interactions with solar arrays.

Mickey Leland Energy Fellowship Report: Development of Advanced Window Coatings

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Bolton, Ladena A.; Alvine, Kyle J.; Schemer-Kohrn, Alan L.

2014-08-05

Advanced fenestration technologies for light and thermal management in building applications are of great recent research interest for improvements in energy efficiency. Of these technologies, there is specific interest in advanced window coating technologies that have tailored control over the visible and infrared (IR) scattering into a room for both static and dynamic applications. Recently, PNNL has investigated novel subwavelength nanostructured coatings for both daylighting, and IR thermal management applications. Such coatings rese still in the early stages and additional research is needed in terms of scalable manufacturing. This project investigates aspects of a potential new methodology for low-cost scalablemore » manufacture of said subwavelength coatings.« less

Application of BIM Technology in Building Water Supply and Drainage Design

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Wei, Tianyun; Chen, Guiqing; Wang, Junde

2017-12-01

Through the application of BIM technology, the idea of building water supply and drainage designers can be related to the model, the various influencing factors to affect water supply and drainage design can be considered more comprehensively. BIM(Building information model) technology assist in improving the design process of building water supply and drainage, promoting the building water supply and drainage planning, enriching the building water supply and drainage design method, improving the water supply and drainage system design level and building quality. Combined with fuzzy comprehensive evaluation method to analyze the advantages of BIM technology in building water supply and drainage design. Therefore, application prospects of BIM technology are very worthy of promotion.

Technology Challenges and Opportunities for Very Large In-Space Structural Systems

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Belvin, W. Keith; Dorsey, John T.; Watson, Judith J.

2009-01-01

Space solar power satellites and other large space systems will require creative and innovative concepts in order to achieve economically viable designs. The mass and volume constraints of current and planned launch vehicles necessitate highly efficient structural systems be developed. In addition, modularity and in-space deployment/construction will be enabling design attributes. While current space systems allocate nearly 20 percent of the mass to the primary structure, the very large space systems of the future must overcome subsystem mass allocations by achieving a level of functional integration not yet realized. A proposed building block approach with two phases is presented to achieve near-term solar power satellite risk reduction with accompanying long-term technology advances. This paper reviews the current challenges of launching and building very large space systems from a structures and materials perspective utilizing recent experience. Promising technology advances anticipated in the coming decades in modularity, material systems, structural concepts, and in-space operations are presented. It is shown that, together, the current challenges and future advances in very large in-space structural systems may provide the technology pull/push necessary to make solar power satellite systems more technically and economically feasible.

Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) Technology Maturation in Preparation for Flight

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Wong, Wayne A.; Cornell, Peggy A.

2012-01-01

The Advanced Stirling Convertor (ASC) is being developed by an integrated team of Sunpower and National Aeronautics and Space Administration s (NASA s) Glenn Research Center (GRC). The ASC development, funded by NASA s Science Mission Directorate, started as a technology development effort in 2003 and has since evolved through progressive convertor builds and successful testing to demonstrate high conversion efficiency, low mass, and capability to meet long-life Radioisotope Power System (RPS) requirements. The technology has been adopted by the Department of Energy and Lockheed Martin Space Systems Company s Advanced Stirling Radioisotope Generator (ASRG), which has been selected for potential flight demonstration on Discovery 12. This paper provides an overview of the status of ASC development including the most recent ASC-E2 convertors that have been delivered to GRC and an introduction to the ASC-E3 and ASC flight convertors that Sunpower will build next. The paper also describes the technology maturation and support tasks being conducted at GRC to support ASC and ASRG development in the areas of convertor and generator extended operation, high-temperature materials, heater head life assessment, organics, nondestructive inspection, spring fatigue testing, and other reliability verification tasks.

Lesson Learned from Technical and Economic Performance Assessment and Benefit Evaluation of CHP-FCS

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Makhmalbaf, Atefe; Brooks, Kriston P.; Srivastava, Viraj

2014-08-22

Recent efforts and interest in combined heat and power (CHP) have increased with the momentum provided by the federal government support for penetration of CHP systems. Combined heat and power fuel cell systems (CHP-FCSs) provide consistent electrical power and utilize the heat normally wasted in power generation for useful heating or cooling with lower emissions compared to alternative sources. A recent study investigated the utilization of CHP-FCSs in the range of 5 to 50KWe in various commercial building types and geographic locations. Electricity, heating, and water heating demands were obtained from simulation of the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) commercialmore » reference building models for various building types. Utility rates, cost of equipment, and system efficiency were used to examine economic payback in different scenarios. As a new technology in the early stages of adoption, CHP-FCSs are more expensive than alternative technologies, and the high capital cost of the CHP-FCSs results in a longer payback period than is typically acceptable for all but early-adopter market segments. However, the installation of these units as on-site power generators also provide several other benefits that make them attractive to building owners and operators. The business case for CHP-FCSs can be made more financially attractive through the provision of government incentives and when installed to support strategic infrastructure, such as military installations or data centers. The results presented in this paper intend to provide policy makers with information to define more customized incentives and tax credits based on a sample of building types and geographic locations in order to attract more business investment in this new technology.« less

A New Generation of Building Insulation by Foaming Polymer Blend Materials with CO 2

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yang, Arthur; Domszy, Roman; Yang, Jeff

Advanced thermal insulation is among the most effective technologies in transforming our nation’s energy system and contributing to DOE’s stated goal of 50% less building energy consumption by 2030. The installation of an advanced thermal insulation would prevent energy waste without the need for any maintenance, and ISTN conservatively estimates that the commercialization of such a new technology would contribute to annual U.S. energy savings of 0.361 Quads and $8 billion in annual economic savings. The key challenge to improving building insulation is to maintain and surpass the industry standard of R-5 per inch insulation value in a cost-competitive manner.more » Improvements in R-value without cost-efficiency are not likely to impact the market given the cost-sensitive nature of the construction industry (insulation is already the lowest-cost component of the building envelope). However, significantly higher insulating value at competitive costs is extremely appealing to the market given the greater potential to save on energy consumption and costs over the long-term. Thus, our goal is to develop a super-thermal insulation with 50% greater insulation value (R-9 to R-10 per inch) and manufacturing costs that are equal on a per-R-value basis (< $0.70/ft 2).« less

RTU Comparison Calculator Enhancement Plan

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Miller, James D.; Wang, Weimin; Katipamula, Srinivas

Over the past two years, Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office (BTO) has been investigating ways to increase the operating efficiency of the packaged rooftop units (RTUs) in the field. First, by issuing a challenge to the RTU manufactures to increase the integrated energy efficiency ratio (IEER) by 60% over the existing ASHRAE 90.1-2010 standard. Second, by evaluating the performance of an advanced RTU controller that reduces the energy consumption by over 40%. BTO has previously also funded development of a RTU comparison calculator (RTUCC). RTUCC is a web-based tool that provides the user a way to compare energy andmore » cost savings for two units with different efficiencies. However, the RTUCC currently cannot compare savings associated with either the RTU Challenge unit or the advanced RTU controls retrofit. Therefore, BTO has asked PNNL to enhance the tool so building owners can compare energy and savings associated with this new class of products. This document provides the details of the enhancements that are required to support estimating energy savings from use of RTU challenge units or advanced controls on existing RTUs.« less

Nitrogen cycling in Bioregenerative Life Support Systems: Challenges for waste refinery and food production processes

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Clauwaert, Peter; Muys, Maarten; Alloul, Abbas; De Paepe, Jolien; Luther, Amanda; Sun, Xiaoyan; Ilgrande, Chiara; Christiaens, Marlies E. R.; Hu, Xiaona; Zhang, Dongdong; Lindeboom, Ralph E. F.; Sas, Benedikt; Rabaey, Korneel; Boon, Nico; Ronsse, Frederik; Geelen, Danny; Vlaeminck, Siegfried E.

2017-05-01

In order to sustain human life in an isolated environment, an efficient conversion of wasted nutrients to food might become mandatory. This is particularly the case for space missions where resupply from earth or in-situ resource utilization is not possible or desirable. A combination of different technologies is needed to allow full recycling of e.g. nitrogenous compounds in space. In this review, an overview is given of the different essential processes and technologies that enable closure of the nitrogen cycle in Bioregenerative Life Support Systems (BLSS). Firstly, a set of biological and physicochemical refinery stages ensures efficient conversion of waste products into the building blocks, followed by the production of food with a range of biological methods. For each technology, bottlenecks are identified. Furthermore, challenges and outlooks are presented at the integrated system level. Space adaptation and integration deserve key attention to enable the recovery of nitrogen for the production of nutritional food in space, but also in closed loop systems on earth.

Safeguarding our energy future

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

1993-02-01

Throughout the past several years, states have been receiving settlement monies distributed from escrow accounts maintained by the Department of Energy and various courts. These monies are paid by oil companies for alleged violations of the petroleum pricing regulations of the 1970's. These funds, commonly referred to as Petroleum Violation Escrow (PVE) or Oil Overcharge funds, have been an important tool in supporting energy efficiency programs and technologies at the state level. The aim of this publication is to highlight some of the many interesting, replicable projects funded with PVE monies and to serve as a resource for successful, energy efficiency programs in planning, technology application, and education. By capturing a number of these innovative state-level programs, this document will expand the information network on renewable energy and energy efficiency and serve as a point of departure for others pursuing similar goals. Projects referenced throughout this publication reflect some of the program areas in which the Department of Energy takes an active interest and fall into the following categories: (1) alternative fuels; (2) industrial efficiency and waste minimization; (3) electric power production from renewable resources; (4) building efficiency; (5) integrated resource planning; and (6) energy education.

User preferences and water use savings owing to washbasin taps retrofit: a case study of the DECivil building of the University of Aveiro.

PubMed

Meireles, Inês; Sousa, Vítor; Adeyeye, Kemi; Silva-Afonso, Armando

2017-04-04

During the last decades, achieving water efficiency in buildings has increasingly become an important challenge in the scope of sustainability. Water consumption is directly related to individual conduct. Despite the various technological improvements in fixtures and appliances, their performance will be influenced by human preferences and behavior. As a result, the potential for effective water consumption saving is influenced by behavior change as well as water-efficient fixtures and appliances. This work evaluates the impact of user preferences and behavior change on the water-efficient performance of tap aerators in a case study building: the Department of Civil Engineering building of the University of Aveiro, Portugal. Four aerators with different discharge reductions and types were installed in the toilet's washbasins and the user's preferences and behavior change measured through direct and online questionnaires. It was observed that the effective water consumption reduction (15 to 49%) was less than the discharge reduction (30 to 70%), confirming that user factors influence water savings. Water use reductions in the tested range (2.0 to 6.7 l/min) also varied according to gender, with male users using less water than their female counterparts. It was noted that an awareness of sustainability values prevailed amongst the users when confronted with the choice between comfort and water efficiency, although differences were observed in the user preferences regarding the various aerators. When confronted with the information that the lower discharge aerator would contribute to a reduction of about 70% on the water discharge, 25% of the users agreed with its use, even if it resulted in a certain degree of dissatisfaction. In comparison, only 8% of the users completely disagreed with its installation. On average, the water consumption reduction was 46% smaller than the discharge reduction achievable with the aerator alone. This further confirms the user factors inform the degree of water savings that is achievable from water-efficient fittings and fixtures.

Adoption of high technology medical imaging and hospital quality and efficiency: Towards a conceptual framework.

PubMed

Sandoval, Guillermo A; Brown, Adalsteinn D; Wodchis, Walter P; Anderson, Geoffrey M

2018-05-17

Measuring the value of medical imaging is challenging, in part, due to the lack of conceptual frameworks underlying potential mechanisms where value may be assessed. To address this gap, this article proposes a framework that builds on the large body of literature on quality of hospital care and the classic structure-process-outcome paradigm. The framework was also informed by the literature on adoption of technological innovations and introduces 2 distinct though related aspects of imaging technology not previously addressed specifically in the literature on quality of hospital care: adoption (a structural hospital characteristic) and use (an attribute of the process of care). The framework hypothesizes a 2-part causality where adoption is proposed to be a central, linking factor between hospital structural characteristics, market factors, and hospital outcomes (ie, quality and efficiency). The first part indicates that hospital structural characteristics and market factors influence or facilitate the adoption of high technology medical imaging within an institution. The presence of this technology, in turn, is hypothesized to improve the ability of the hospital to deliver high quality and efficient care. The second part describes this ability throughout 3 main mechanisms pointing to the importance of imaging use on patients, to the presence of staff and qualified care providers, and to some elements of organizational capacity capturing an enhanced clinical environment. The framework has the potential to assist empirical investigations of the value of adoption and use of medical imaging, and to advance understanding of the mechanisms that produce quality and efficiency in hospitals. Copyright © 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

FY2014 Oak Ridge National Laboratory Annual Progress Report for the Power Electronics and Electric Motors Program

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Ozpineci, Burak

The US Department of Energy (DOE) announced in May 2011 a new cooperative research effort comprising DOE, the US Council for Automotive Research (composed of automakers Ford Motor Company, General Motors Company, and Chrysler Group), Tesla Motors, and representatives of the electric utility and petroleum industries. Known as U.S. DRIVE (Driving Research and Innovation for Vehicle efficiency and Energy sustainability), it represents DOE’s commitment to developing public–private partnerships to fund high-risk–high-reward research into advanced automotive technologies. The new partnership replaces and builds upon the partnership known as FreedomCAR (derived from “Freedom” and “Cooperative Automotive Research”) that ran from 2002 throughmore » 2010 and the Partnership for a New Generation of Vehicles initiative that ran from 1993 through 2001. Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL’s) Advanced Power Electronics and Electric Motors (APEEM) subprogram within the DOE Vehicle Technologies Office (VTO) provides support and guidance for many cutting-edge automotive technologies now under development. Research is focused on developing revolutionary new power electronics (PE), electric motor, and traction drive system (TDS) technologies that will leapfrog current on-the-road technologies, leading to lower cost and better efficiency in transforming battery energy to useful work. The research and development (R&D) is also aimed at achieving a greater understanding of and improvements in the way the various new components of tomorrow’s automobiles will function as a unified system to improve fuel efficiency through research in more efficient TDSs.« less

Research on key technologies of data processing in internet of things

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Zhu, Yangqing; Liang, Peiying

2017-08-01

The data of Internet of things (IOT) has the characteristics of polymorphism, heterogeneous, large amount and processing real-time. The traditional structured and static batch processing method has not met the requirements of data processing of IOT. This paper studied a middleware that can integrate heterogeneous data of IOT, and integrated different data formats into a unified format. Designed a data processing model of IOT based on the Storm flow calculation architecture, integrated the existing Internet security technology to build the Internet security system of IOT data processing, which provided reference for the efficient transmission and processing of IOT data.

Programming an Experiment Control System

NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)

Lange, Stuart

2004-01-01

As NASA develops plans for more and more ambitious missions into space, it is the job of NASA's researchers to develop the technologies that will make those planed missions feasible. One such technology is energy conversion. Energy is all around us; it is in the light that we see in the chemical bonds that hold compounds together, and in mass itself.Energy is the fundamental building block of our universe, yet it has always been straggle for humans to convert this energy into useable forms, like electricity. For space-based applications, NASA requires efficient energy conversion method that require little or no fuel.

Geo-portal as a planning instrument: supporting decision making and fostering market potential of Energy efficiency in buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Cuca, Branka; Brumana, Raffaella; Oreni, Daniela; Iannaccone, Giuliana; Sesana, Marta Maria

2014-03-01

Steady technological progress has led to a noticeable advancement in disciplines associated with Earth observation. This has enabled information transition regarding changing scenarios, both natural and urban, to occur in (almost) real time. In particular, the need for integration on a local scale with the wider territorial framework has occurred in analysis and monitoring of built environments over the last few decades. The progress of Geographic Information (GI) science has provided significant advancements when it comes to spatial analysis, while the almost free availability of the internet has ensured a fast and constant exchange of geo-information, even for everyday users' requirements. Due to its descriptive and semantic nature, geo-spatial information is capable of providing a complete overview of a certain phenomenon and of predicting the implications within the natural, social and economic context. However, in order to integrate geospatial data into decision making processes, it is necessary to provide a specific context, which is well supported by verified data. This paper investigates the potentials of geo-portals as planning instruments developed to share multi-temporal/multi-scale spatial data, responding to specific end-users' demands in the case of Energy efficiency in Buildings (EeB) across European countries. The case study regards the GeoCluster geo-portal and mapping tool (Project GE2O, FP7), built upon a GeoClustering methodology for mapping of indicators relevant for energy efficiency technologies in the construction sector.

Two-stage commercial evaluation of engineering systems production projects for high-rise buildings

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bril, Aleksander; Kalinina, Olga; Levina, Anastasia

2018-03-01

The paper is devoted to the current and debatable problem of methodology of choosing the effective innovative enterprises for venture financing. A two-stage system of commercial innovation evaluation based on the UNIDO methodology is proposed. Engineering systems account for 25 to 40% of the cost of high-rise residential buildings. This proportion increases with the use of new construction technologies. Analysis of the construction market in Russia showed that the production of internal engineering systems elements based on innovative technologies has a growth trend. The production of simple elements is organized in small enterprises on the basis of new technologies. The most attractive for development is the use of venture financing of small innovative business. To improve the efficiency of these operations, the paper proposes a methodology for a two-stage evaluation of small business development projects. A two-stage system of commercial evaluation of innovative projects allows creating an information base for informed and coordinated decision-making on venture financing of enterprises that produce engineering systems elements for the construction business.

Investigating Methods for Serving Visualizations of Vertical Profiles

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Roberts, J. T.; Cechini, M. F.; Lanjewar, K.; Rodriguez, J.; Boller, R. A.; Baynes, K.

2017-12-01

Several geospatial web servers, web service standards, and mapping clients exist for the visualization of two-dimensional raster and vector-based Earth science data products. However, data products with a vertical component (i.e., vertical profiles) do not have the same mature set of technologies and pose a greater technical challenge when it comes to visualizations. There are a variety of tools and proposed standards, but no obvious solution that can handle the variety of visualizations found with vertical profiles. An effort is being led by members of the NASA Global Imagery Browse Services (GIBS) team to gather a list of technologies relevant to existing vertical profile data products and user stories. The goal is to find a subset of technologies, standards, and tools that can be used to build publicly accessible web services that can handle the greatest number of use cases for the widest audience possible. This presentation will describe results of the investigation and offer directions for moving forward with building a system that is capable of effectively and efficiently serving visualizations of vertical profiles.

Solar efficient technologies for valorising an archaeological site in the rural area Romania

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Tǎmǎşan, Maria; Mǎrǎcineanu, Cristian; Bica, Smaranda Maria

2015-12-01

The purpose of the study is finding viable methods of rehabilitation and re-use of the cultural heritage in rural areas by efficient contemporary technological and architectural solutions. In this respect, this paper describes the phases of an environmental-friendly intervention on an archaeological site near the village Şiria, Arad County, as case study, the expected results and the steps which must be taken in order to implement the proposal. The final aim is to create a complex and sustainable tourist attraction through musealisation, integrated in the already known, but poorly promoted tourist itinerary, known as The Wine Path - Şiria is in a wine-growing region first documented in the 9th century. The proposed design reflects our sustainable approach by combining local materials with non-invasive structural solutions and efficient solar technologies. The purpose of this approach is to reduce the building's maintenance costs nearly to 0 and to extend the visiting time of the archaeological site during the entire year, whatever the weather or season. The proposals are to be submitted to the County Council, having issued the Strategy for Tourist Development for Arad County, elaborated in 2011 by The Analysis for Institutional Development Centre - Bucharest.

System Dynamics Modeling of Households' Electricity Consumption and Cost-Income Ratio: a Case Study of Latvia

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Bariss, Uldis; Bazbauers, Gatis; Blumberga, Andra; Blumberga, Dagnija

2017-11-01

Increased energy efficiency of the building sector is high on the list of priorities for energy policy since better energy efficiency would help to reduce impact on climate change and increase security of energy supply. One aim of the present study was to find a relative effect of growth of demand for energy services due to changes in income, energy consumption per unit of demand due to technological development, changes in electricity price and household income on household electricity consumption in Latvia. The method applied included system dynamics modeling and data from a household survey regarding the relationship between electricity saving activities and the electricity cost-income ratio. The results revealed that, in direct contrast to the expected, a potential reduction of the electricity consumption is rather insensitive to electricity price and electricity cost-income ratio, and that the efficiency of technologies could be the main drivers for future electricity savings. The results suggest that support to advancement of technologies and faster replacement of inefficient ones rather than influencing the energy price could be effective energy policy measures. The model, developed in the study could be used in similar assessments in other countries.

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Mutanen, K.I.

Development of fluidized bed combustion (FBC) was started both in North America and in Europe in the 1960`s. In Europe and especially in Scandinavia the major driving force behind the development was the need to find new more efficient technologies for utilization of low-grade fuels like different biomasses and wastes. Both bubbling fluidized bed (BFB) and circulating fluidized bed (CFB) technologies were under intensive R&D,D efforts and have now advanced to dominating role in industrial and district heating power plant markets in Europe. New advanced CFB designs are now entering the markets. In North America and especially in the USmore » the driving force behind the FBC development was initially the need to utilize different types of coals in a more efficient and environmentally acceptable way. The present and future markets seem to be mainly in biomass and multifuel applications where there is benefit from high combustion efficiency, high fuel flexibility and low emissions such as in the pulp and paper industry. The choice between CFB technology and BFB technology is based on selected fuels, emission requirements, plant size and on technical and economic feasibility. Based on Scandinavian experience there is vast potential in the North American industry to retrofit existing oil fired, pulverized coal fired, chemical recovery or grate fired boilers with FBC systems or to build a new FBC based boiler plant. This paper will present the status of CFB technologies and will compare technical and economic feasibility of CFB technology to CFB technology to BFB and also to other combustion methods. Power plant projects that are using advanced CFB technology e.g. Ahlstrom Pyroflow Compact technology for biomass firing and co-firing of biomass with other fuels will also be introduced.« less

Jackson Park Hospital Green Building Medical Center

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

William Dorsey; Nelson Vasquez

2010-03-31

Jackson Park Hospital completed the construction of a new Medical Office Building on its campus this spring. The new building construction has adopted the City of Chicago's recent focus on protecting the environment, and conserving energy and resources, with the introduction of green building codes. Located in a poor, inner city neighborhood on the South side of Chicago, Jackson Park Hospital has chosen green building strategies to help make the area a better place to live and work. The new green building houses the hospital's Family Medicine Residency Program and Specialty Medical Offices. The residency program has been vital inmore » attracting new, young physicians to this medically underserved area. The new outpatient center will also help to allure needed medical providers to the community. The facility also has areas designated to women's health and community education. The Community Education Conference Room will provide learning opportunities to area residents. Emphasis will be placed on conserving resources and protecting our environment, as well as providing information on healthcare access and preventive medicine. The new Medical Office Building was constructed with numerous energy saving features. The exterior cladding of the building is an innovative, locally-manufactured precast concrete panel system with integral insulation that achieves an R-value in excess of building code requirements. The roof is a 'green roof' covered by native plantings, lessening the impact solar heat gain on the building, and reducing air conditioning requirements. The windows are low-E, tinted, and insulated to reduce cooling requirements in summer and heating requirements in winter. The main entrance has an air lock to prevent unconditioned air from entering the building and impacting interior air temperatures. Since much of the traffic in and out of the office building comes from the adjacent Jackson Park Hospital, a pedestrian bridge connects the two buildings, further decreasing the amount of unconditioned air that enters the office building. The HVAC system has an Energy Efficiency Rating 29% greater than required. No CFC based refrigerants were used in the HVAC system, thus reducing the emission of compounds that contribute to ozone depletion and global warming. In addition, interior light fixtures employ the latest energy-efficient lamp and ballast technology. Interior lighting throughout the building is operated by sensors that will automatically turn off lights inside a room when the room is unoccupied. The electrical traction elevators use less energy than typical elevators, and they are made of 95% recycled material. Further, locally manufactured products were used throughout, minimizing the amount of energy required to construct this building. The primary objective was to construct a 30,000 square foot medical office building on the Jackson Park Hospital campus that would comply with newly adopted City of Chicago green building codes focusing on protecting the environment and conserving energy and resources. The energy saving systems demonstrate a state of the-art whole-building approach to energy efficient design and construction. The energy efficiency and green aspects of the building contribute to the community by emphasizing the environmental and economic benefits of conserving resources. The building highlights the integration of Chicago's new green building codes into a poor, inner city neighborhood project and it is designed to attract medical providers and physicians to a medically underserved area.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sathaye, Jayant A.; Price, Lynn; Kumar, Satish

Development and poverty eradication are urgent andoverriding goals internationally. The World Summit on SustainableDevelopment made clear the need for increased access to affordable,reliable and cleaner energy and the international community agreed in theDelhi Declaration on Climate Change and Sustainable Development on theimportance of the development agenda in considering any climate changeapproach. To this end, six countries (Australia, China, India, Japan,Republic of Korea and the United States) have come together to form theAsia Pacific Partnership in accordance with their respective nationalcircumstances, to develop, deploy and transfer cleaner, more efficienttechnologies and to meet national pollution reduction, energy securityand climate change concerns consistentmore » with the principles of the U.N.Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The APP builds on thefoundation of existing bilateral and multilateral initiativescomplements.APP has established eight public-private sector Task Forcescovering: (1) cleaner fossil energy; (2) renewable energy and distributedgeneration; (3) power generation and transmission; (4) steel; (5)aluminium; (6) cement; (7) coal mining; and (8) buildings and appliances.As a priority, each Task Force will formulate detailed action plansoutlining both immediate and medium-term specific actions, includingpossible "flagship" projects and relevant indicators of progress by 31August 2006. The partnership will help the partners build human andinstitutional capacity to strengthen cooperative efforts, and will seekopportunities to engage the private sector. The APP organized An OutreachWorkshop: Business&Technology Cooperation Opportunities forIndustry on August 26, 2006, New Delhi. This paper was prepared toprovide background information for participants of the Conference. Ithighlights energy efficiency, renewable energy, and climate technologies,barriers, and partnerships that are being implemented in the US, Indiaand other selected countries. The paper discusses the lessons to belearned from these partnerships, and ways by which the APP could fostercooperation between India and the other member countries. It highlightsthe types of technologies that Indian public sector and private industrycould access from US national laboratories and also be able to leveragecurrent and planned USAID/India activities. The paper builds on anearlier background paper that was prepared for the US-India EnergyDialogue Working Group on Energy Efficiency.« less

Micro Climate Simulation in new Town 'Hashtgerd'

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Sodoudi, S.; Langer, I.; Cubasch, U.

2012-04-01

One of the objectives of climatological part of project Young Cities 'Developing Energy-Efficient Urban Fabric in the Tehran-Karaj Region' is to simulate the micro climate (with 1m resolution) in 35ha of new town Hashtgerd, which is located 65 km far from mega city Tehran. The Project aims are developing, implementing and evaluating building and planning schemes and technologies which allow to plan and build sustainable, energy-efficient and climate sensible form mass housing settlements in arid and semi-arid regions ("energy-efficient fabric"). Climate sensitive form also means designing and planning for climate change and its related effects for Hashtgerd New Town. By configuration of buildings and open spaces according to solar radiation, wind and vegetation, climate sensitive urban form can create outdoor thermal comfort. To simulate the climate on small spatial scales, the micro climate model Envi-met has been used to simulate the micro climate in 35 ha. The Eulerian model ENVI-met is a micro-scale climate model which gives information about the influence of architecture and buildings as well as vegetation and green area on the micro climate up to 1 m resolution. Envi-met has been run with information from topography, downscaled climate data with neuro-fuzzy method, meteorological measurements, building height and different vegetation variants (low and high number of trees) Through the optimal Urban Design and Planning for the 35ha area the microclimate results shows, that with vegetation the microclimate in streets will be change: • 2 m temperature is decreased by about 2 K • relative humidity increase by about 10 % • soil temperature is decreased by about 3 K • wind speed is decreased by about 60% The style of buildings allows free movement of air, which is of high importance for fresh air supply. The increase of inbuilt areas in 35 ha reduces the heat island effect through cooling caused by vegetation and increase of air humidity which caused by trees evaporation.

The impact of state energy programs and other contextual factors on U.S. buildings energy consumption

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Ofori-Boadu, Andrea N. Y. A.

High energy consumption in the United States has been influenced by populations, climates, income and other contextual factors. In the past decades, U.S. energy policies have pursued energy efficiency as a national strategy for reducing U.S. environmental degradation and dependence on foreign oils. The quest for improved energy efficiency has led to the development of energy efficient technologies and programs. The implementation of energy programs in the complex U.S. socio-technical environment is believed to promote the diffusion of energy efficiency technologies. However, opponents doubt the fact that these programs have the capacity to significantly reduce U.S. energy consumption. In order to contribute to the ongoing discussion, this quantitative study investigated the relationships existing among electricity consumption/ intensity, energy programs and contextual factors in the U.S. buildings sector. Specifically, this study sought to identify the significant predictors of electricity consumption and intensity, as well as estimate the overall impact of selected energy programs on electricity consumption and intensity. Using state-level secondary data for 51 U.S. states from 2006 to 2009, seven random effects panel data regression models confirmed the existence of significant relationships among some energy programs, contextual factors, and electricity consumption/intensity. The most significant predictors of improved electricity efficiency included the price of electricity, public benefits funds program, building energy codes program, financial and informational incentives program and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program. Consistently, the Southern region of the U.S. was associated with high electricity consumption and intensity; while the U.S. commercial sector was the greater benefactor from energy programs. On the average, energy programs were responsible for approximately 7% of the variation observed in electricity consumption and intensity, over and above the variation associated with the contextual factors. This study also had implications in program implementation theory, and revealed that resource availability, stringency and adherence had significant impacts on program outcomes. Using seven classification tables, this study categorized and matched the predictors of electricity consumption and intensity with the specific energy sectors in which they demonstrated significance. Project developers, energy advocates, policy makers, program administrators, building occupants and other stakeholders could use study findings in conjunction with other empirical findings, to make informed decisions regarding the adoption, continuation or discontinuation of energy programs, while taking contextual factors into consideration. The adoption and efficient implementation of the most significant programs could reduce U.S. electricity consumption, and in the long term, probably reduce U.S. energy waste, environmental degradation, energy imports, energy prices, and demands for expanding energy generation and distribution infrastructure.

Library Buildings and Equipment Section. Management and Technology Division. Papers.

ERIC Educational Resources Information Center

International Federation of Library Associations, The Hague (Netherlands).

Papers on library buildings and equipment, which were presented at the 1983 International Federation of Library Associations (IFLA) conference, include: (1) "The Impact of Technology on Library Buildings," in which Rolf Fuhlrott (West Germany) discusses construction technology (types of building materials and library building design),…

Recovery Act: Training Program Development for Commercial Building Equipment Technicians

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Leah Glameyer

The overall goal of this project has been to develop curricula, certification requirements, and accreditation standards for training on energy efficient practices and technologies for commercial building technicians. These training products will advance industry expertise towards net-zero energy commercial building goals and will result in a substantial reduction in energy use. The ultimate objective is to develop a workforce that can bring existing commercial buildings up to their energy performance potential and ensure that new commercial buildings do not fall below their expected optimal level of performance. Commercial building equipment technicians participating in this training program will learn how tomore » best operate commercial buildings to ensure they reach their expected energy performance level. The training is a combination of classroom, online and on-site lessons. The Texas Engineering Extension Service (TEEX) developed curricula using subject matter and adult learning experts to ensure the training meets certification requirements and accreditation standards for training these technicians. The training targets a specific climate zone to meets the needs, specialized expertise, and perspectives of the commercial building equipment technicians in that zone. The combination of efficient operations and advanced design will improve the internal built environment of a commercial building by increasing comfort and safety, while reducing energy use and environmental impact. Properly trained technicians will ensure equipment operates at design specifications. A second impact is a more highly trained workforce that is better equipped to obtain employment. Organizations that contributed to the development of the training program include TEEX and the Texas Engineering Experiment Station (TEES) (both members of The Texas A&M University System). TEES is also a member of the Building Commissioning Association. This report includes a description of the project accomplishments, including the course development phases, tasks associated with each phase, and detailed list of the course materials developed. A summary of each year's activities is also included.« less

Building Energy Asset Score for Building Owners

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Building Technologies Office

2015-01-01

The Building Energy Asset Score is a national standardized tool for evaluating the physical and structural energy efficiency of commercial and multifamily residential buildings. The Asset Score generates a simple energy efficiency rating that enables comparison among buildings, and identifies opportunities for users to invest in energy efficiency upgrades. It is web-based and free to use. This fact sheet discusses the value of the score for building owners.

Building Diagnostic Market Deployment - Final Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Katipamula, S.; Gayeski, N.

2012-04-30

Operational faults are pervasive across the commercial buildings sector, wasting energy and increasing energy costs by up to about 30% (Mills 2009, Liu et al. 2003, Claridge et al. 2000, Katipamula and Brambley 2008, and Brambley and Katipamula 2009). Automated fault detection and diagnostic (AFDD) tools provide capabilities essential for detecting and correcting these problems and eliminating the associated energy waste and costs. The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Building Technology Program (BTP) has previously invested in developing and testing of such diagnostic tools for whole-building (and major system) energy use, air handlers, chillers, cooling towers, chilled-water distribution systems, andmore » boilers. These diagnostic processes can be used to make the commercial buildings more energy efficient. The work described in this report was done as part of a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) between the U.S. Department of Energy's Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and KGS Building LLC (KGS). PNNL and KGS both believe that the widespread adoption of AFDD tools will result in significant reduction to energy and peak energy consumption. The report provides an introduction and summary of the various tasks performed under the CRADA. The CRADA project had three major focus areas: (1) Technical Assistance for Whole Building Energy Diagnostician (WBE) Commercialization, (2) Market Transfer of the Outdoor Air/Economizer Diagnostician (OAE), and (3) Development and Deployment of Automated Diagnostics to Improve Large Commercial Building Operations. PNNL has previously developed two diagnostic tools: (1) whole building energy (WBE) diagnostician and (2) outdoor air/economizer (OAE) diagnostician. WBE diagnostician is currently licensed non-exclusively to one company. As part of this CRADA, PNNL developed implementation documentation and provided technical support to KGS to implement the tool into their software suite, Clockworks. PNNL also provided validation data sets and the WBE software tool to validate the KGS implementation. OAE diagnostician automatically detects and diagnoses problems with outdoor air ventilation and economizer operation for air handling units (AHUs) in commercial buildings using data available from building automation systems (BASs). As part of this CRADA, PNNL developed implementation documentation and provided technical support to KGS to implement the tool into their software suite. PNNL also provided validation data sets and the OAE software tool to validate the KGS implementation. Finally, as part of this CRADA project, PNNL developed new processes to automate parts of the re-tuning process and transfer those process to KGS for integration into their software product. The transfer of DOE-funded technologies will transform the commercial buildings sector by making buildings more energy efficient and also reducing the carbon footprint from the buildings. As part of the CRADA with PNNL, KGS implemented the whole building energy diagnostician, a portion of outdoor air economizer diagnostician and a number of measures that automate the identification of re-tuning measures.« less

Building electronic data infrastructure for comparative effectiveness research: accomplishments, lessons learned and future steps.

PubMed

Randhawa, Gurvaneet S

2014-11-01

There are large gaps in our knowledge on the potential impact of diagnostics and therapeutics on outcomes of patients treated in the real world. Comparative effectiveness research aims to fill these gaps to maximize effectiveness of these interventions. Health information technology has the potential to dramatically improve the practice of medicine and of research. This is an overview of about US$100 million of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act investment in 12 projects managed by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality to build an electronic clinical data infrastructure that connects research with healthcare delivery. The achievements and lessons learned from these projects provided a foundation for the National Patient-Centered Clinical Research Network (PCORnet)and will help to guide future infrastructure development needed to build an efficient, scalable and sustainable learning health system.

Testing reflective insulation for improvement of buildings energy efficiency

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Vrachopoulos, Michalis Gr.; Koukou, Maria K.; Stavlas, Dimitris G.; Stamatopoulos, Vasilis N.; Gonidis, Achilleas F.; Kravvaritis, Eleftherios D.

2012-03-01

Reflective insulation stands as an alternative to common building materials used to reduce a building's heating and cooling loads. In this work, an experimental prototype chamber facility has been designed and constructed at the campus of the Technological Educational Institution of Halkida, located in an area of climatic zone B in Greece, aiming to the evaluation of reflective insulation's performance. Reflective insulation is a part of the test room wall construction, specifically, heat insulation material of the vertical wall construction all directions (North, South, East, West), and temperature and water proofing element of the roof. Measurements were obtained for both winter and summer periods. Results indicate that the existence of reflective insulation during summer period averts the overheating at the interior of the experimental chamber, while during winter the heat is retained in the chamber.

Building Energy Asset Score for Utilities and Energy Efficiency Program Administrators

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Building Technologies Office

2015-01-01

The Building Energy Asset Score is a national standardized tool for evaluating the physical and structural energy efficiency of commercial and multifamily residential buildings. The Asset Score generates a simple energy efficiency rating that enables comparison among buildings, and identifies opportunities for users to invest in energy efficiency upgrades. It is web-based and free to use. This fact sheet discusses the value of the score for utilities and energy efficiency program administrators.

KSC-2010-1114

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-01-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - The 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building, in the background, is witness to the formation of the Propellants North Administrative and Maintenance Facility, a new "green" building under construction in Launch Complex 39 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Concrete layers on either side of high-density foam insulation in the facility's walls will prevent any transfer of radiant heat between the exterior and interior of the buildings. A tilt-up construction method is being used to erect a THERMOMASS concrete wall insulation system for the facility's walls. In this approach, the exterior layer of concrete for the wall panels is poured and leveled on the building's footprint. Then, prefabricated, predrilled insulation sheets are arranged on top of the unhardened concrete, and connectors, designed to hold the sandwiched layers of concrete and insulation secure, are inserted through the predrilled holes. Next, the structural wythe is poured. Once cured, these panels are lifted upright to form the building's envelope. The facility will have a two-story administrative building to house managers, mechanics and technicians who fuel spacecraft at Kennedy adjacent to an 1,800-square-foot single-story shop to store cryogenic fuel transfer equipment. The new facility will feature high-efficiency roofs and walls, “Cool Dry Quiet” air conditioning with energy recovery technology, efficient lighting, and other sustainable features. The facility is striving to qualify for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Platinum certification. If successful, Propellants North will be the first Kennedy facility to achieve this highest of LEED ratings after it is completed in the summer of 2010. The facility was designed for NASA by Jones Edmunds and Associates. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Building energy information systems: Synthesis of costs, savings, and best-practice uses

DOE PAGES

Granderson, Jessica; Lin, Guanjing

2016-02-19

Building energy information systems (EIS) are a powerful customer-facing monitoring and analytical technology that can enable up to 20% site energy savings for buildings. Few technologies are as heavily marketed, but in spite of their potential, EIS remain an under-adopted emerging technology. One reason is the lack of information on purchase costs and associated energy savings. While insightful, the growing body of individual case studies has not provided industry the information needed to establish the business case for investment. Vastly different energy and economic metrics prevent generalizable conclusions. This paper addresses three common questions concerning EIS use: what are themore » costs, what have users saved, and which best practices drive deeper savings? We present a large-scale assessment of the value proposition for EIS use based on data from over two-dozen organizations. Participants achieved year-over-year median site and portfolio savings of 17% and 8%, respectively; they reported that this performance would not have been possible without the EIS. The median five-year cost of EIS software ownership (up-front and ongoing costs) was calculated to be $1,800 per monitoring point (kilowatt meter points were most common), with a median portfolio-wide implementation size of approximately 200 points. In this paper, we present an analysis of the relationship between key implementation factors and achieved energy reductions. Extent of efficiency projects, building energy performance prior to EIS installation, depth of metering, and duration of EIS were strongly correlated with greater savings. As a result, we also identify the best practices use of EIS associated with greater energy savings.« less

Building energy information systems: Synthesis of costs, savings, and best-practice uses

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Granderson, Jessica; Lin, Guanjing

Building energy information systems (EIS) are a powerful customer-facing monitoring and analytical technology that can enable up to 20% site energy savings for buildings. Few technologies are as heavily marketed, but in spite of their potential, EIS remain an under-adopted emerging technology. One reason is the lack of information on purchase costs and associated energy savings. While insightful, the growing body of individual case studies has not provided industry the information needed to establish the business case for investment. Vastly different energy and economic metrics prevent generalizable conclusions. This paper addresses three common questions concerning EIS use: what are themore » costs, what have users saved, and which best practices drive deeper savings? We present a large-scale assessment of the value proposition for EIS use based on data from over two-dozen organizations. Participants achieved year-over-year median site and portfolio savings of 17% and 8%, respectively; they reported that this performance would not have been possible without the EIS. The median five-year cost of EIS software ownership (up-front and ongoing costs) was calculated to be $1,800 per monitoring point (kilowatt meter points were most common), with a median portfolio-wide implementation size of approximately 200 points. In this paper, we present an analysis of the relationship between key implementation factors and achieved energy reductions. Extent of efficiency projects, building energy performance prior to EIS installation, depth of metering, and duration of EIS were strongly correlated with greater savings. As a result, we also identify the best practices use of EIS associated with greater energy savings.« less

KSC-2010-1106

NASA Image and Video Library

2010-01-07

CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - In Launch Complex 39 at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida, the first wall of the Propellants North Administrative and Maintenance Facility is lifted into place. In the background is the 525-foot-tall Vehicle Assembly Building. A tilt-up construction method is being used to erect a THERMOMASS concrete wall insulation system for the facility's walls. In this approach, the exterior layer of concrete for the wall panels is poured and leveled on the building's footprint. Then, prefabricated, predrilled insulation sheets are arranged on top of the unhardened concrete, and connectors, designed to hold the sandwiched layers of concrete and insulation secure, are inserted through the predrilled holes. Next, the structural wythe is poured. Once cured, these panels are lifted upright to form the building's envelope. The facility will have a two-story administrative building to house managers, mechanics and technicians who fuel spacecraft at Kennedy adjacent to an 1,800-square-foot single-story shop to store cryogenic fuel transfer equipment. The new facility will feature high-efficiency roofs and walls, “Cool Dry Quiet” air conditioning with energy recovery technology, efficient lighting, and other sustainable features. The facility is striving to qualify for the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, Platinum certification. If successful, Propellants North will be the first Kennedy facility to achieve this highest of LEED ratings after it is completed in the summer of 2010. The facility was designed for NASA by Jones Edmunds and Associates. Photo credit: NASA/Jim Grossmann

Building green supply chains in eco-industrial parks towards a green economy: Barriers and strategies.

PubMed

Li, Jacqueline; Pan, Shu-Yuan; Kim, Hyunook; Linn, Jean H; Chiang, Pen-Chi

2015-10-01

As suggested by UNEP, the key to sustainable development is to create a "green economy" which should encapsulate all three sectors: the industry, the people, and the government. Therefore, there is an urgent need to develop and implement the green technologies into the existing facilities, especially in the developing countries. In this study, the role of green supply chains in eco-industrial parks (EIPs) towards a green economy was investigated. The strategies and effective evaluation procedures of the green economy were proposed by assessing the barriers from the perspective of institution, regulation, technology, and finance. In addition, three case studies from iron and steel-making, paper mill and pulping, and petrochemical industries were presented and illustrated for building the green supply chains. For example, in the case of Lin-Hai Industrial Park, a total of 15 efficient green supply chains using waste-to-resources technologies were established by 2012, resulting in an economic benefit of USD 100 million per year. It suggests that the green supply chains should be established to achieve both economic growth and environmental protection. With these successful experiences, building a green supply chain within industrial park should be extensively promoted to make traditional industries around the world being environmentally bearable, economic viable, and social equitable. Copyright © 2015 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Commercial Buildings Partnerships - Overview of Higher education projects

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Parrish, Kristen; Robinson, Alastair; Regnier, Cindy

2013-02-01

The Commercial Building Partnership (CBP), a public/private, cost-shared program sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), paired selected commercial building owners and operators with representatives of DOE, its national laboratories, and private-sector technical experts. These teams explored energy-saving measures across building systems – including some considered too costly or technologically challenging – and used advanced energy modeling to achieve peak whole-building performance. Modeling results were then included in new construction or retrofit designs to achieve significant energy reductions. CBP design goals aimed to achieve 50 percent energy savings compared to ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1-2004 for new construction, while retrofits aremore » designed to consume at least 30 percent less energy than either Standard 90.1-2004 or current consumption. After construction and commissioning of the project, laboratory staff continued to work with partners to collect and analyze data for verification of the actual energy reduction. CBP projects represent diverse building types in commercial real estate, including lodging, grocery, retail, higher education, office, and warehouse/storage facilities. Partners also commit to replicating low-energy technologies and strategies from their CBP projects throughout their building portfolios. As a result of CBP projects, five sector overviews (Lodging, Food Sales, General Merchandise, Higher Education, Offices) were created to capture successful strategies and recommended energy efficiency measures that could broadly be applied across these sectors. These overviews are supplemented with individual case studies providing specific details on the decision criteria, modeling results, and lessons learned on specific projects. Sector overviews and CBP case studies will also be updated to reflect verified data and replication strategies as they become available.« less

Behavioral Change and Building Performance: Strategies for Significant, Persistent, and Measurable Institutional Change

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Wolfe, Amy K.; Malone, Elizabeth L.; Heerwagen, Judith H.

2014-04-01

The people who use Federal buildings — Federal employees, operations and maintenance staff, and the general public — can significantly impact a building’s environmental performance and the consumption of energy, water, and materials. Many factors influence building occupants’ use of resources (use behaviors) including work process requirements, ability to fulfill agency missions, new and possibly unfamiliar high-efficiency/high-performance building technologies; a lack of understanding, education, and training; inaccessible information or ineffective feedback mechanisms; and cultural norms and institutional rules and requirements, among others. While many strategies have been used to introduce new occupant use behaviors that promote sustainability and reduced resourcemore » consumption, few have been verified in the scientific literature or have properly documented case study results. This paper documents validated strategies that have been shown to encourage new use behaviors that can result in significant, persistent, and measureable reductions in resource consumption. From the peer-reviewed literature, the paper identifies relevant strategies for Federal facilities and commercial buildings that focus on the individual, groups of individuals (e.g., work groups), and institutions — their policies, requirements, and culture. The paper documents methods with evidence of success in changing use behaviors and enabling occupants to effectively interact with new technologies/designs. It also provides a case study of the strategies used at a Federal facility — Fort Carson, Colorado. The paper documents gaps in the current literature and approaches, and provides topics for future research.« less

2013 Building Technologies Office Program Peer Review Report

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

none,

2013-11-01

The 2013 Building Technologies Office Program Peer Review Report summarizes the results of the 2013 Building Technologies Office (BTO) peer review, which was held in Washington, D.C., on April 2–4, 2013. The review was attended by over 300 participants and included presentations on 59 BTO-funded projects: 29 from BTO’s Emerging Technologies Program, 20 from the Commercial Buildings Integration Program, 6 from the Residential Buildings Integration Program, and 4 from the Building Energy Codes Program. This report summarizes the scores and comments provided by the independent reviewers for each project.

Performance of fuel cell for energy supply of passive house

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Badea, G.; Felseghi, R. A., E-mail: Raluca.FELSEGHI@insta.utcluj.ro; Mureşan, D.

2015-12-23

Hydrogen technology and passive house represent two concepts with a remarkable role for the efficiency and decarbonisation of energy systems in the residential buildings area. Through design and functionality, the passive house can make maximum use of all available energy resources. One of the solutions to supply energy of these types of buildings is the fuel cell, using this technology integrated into a system for generating electricity from renewable primary sources, which take the function of backup power (energy reserve) to cover peak load and meteorological intermittents. In this paper is presented the results of the case study that providemore » an analysis of the energy, environmental and financial performances regarding energy supply of passive house by power generation systems with fuel cell fed with electrolytic hydrogen produced by harnessing renewable energy sources available. Hybrid systems have been configured and operate in various conditions of use for five differentiated locations according to the main areas of solar irradiation from the Romanian map. Global performance of hybrid systems is directly influenced by the availability of renewable primary energy sources - particular geo-climatic characteristics of the building emplacement.« less

Development strategy research of low-carbon tourist city

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Dong, Xiaohong

2017-04-01

Construction of low-carbon tourist city has become a strategic choice for the development of city construction in our country, becoming the direction and goal of future city development in China. In this paper, the development strategy of low-carbon tourist city is put forward from the aspects of building low-carbon tourism culture, strengthening and perfecting the relevant rules and regulations, establishing and perfecting the decision-making management mechanism of low-carbon tourist city construction, establishing accurate, timely, efficient and comprehensive ecological environment monitoring and supervision network, building economical resource utilization system, strengthening science and technology supporting of low-carbon city construction, establishing low-carbon tourism scenic spot, low-carbon community or low-carbon demonstration area, etc.

Mechatronic Prototype of Parabolic Solar Tracker.

PubMed

Morón, Carlos; Díaz, Jorge Pablo; Ferrández, Daniel; Ramos, Mari Paz

2016-06-15

In the last 30 years numerous attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of the parabolic collectors in the electric power production, although most of the studies have focused on the industrial production of thermoelectric power. This research focuses on the application of this concentrating solar thermal power in the unexplored field of building construction. To that end, a mechatronic prototype of a hybrid paraboloidal and cylindrical-parabolic tracker based on the Arduido technology has been designed. The prototype is able to measure meteorological data autonomously in order to quantify the energy potential of any location. In this way, it is possible to reliably model real commercial equipment behavior before its deployment in buildings and single family houses.

Mechatronic Prototype of Parabolic Solar Tracker

PubMed Central

Morón, Carlos; Díaz, Jorge Pablo; Ferrández, Daniel; Ramos, Mari Paz

2016-01-01

In the last 30 years numerous attempts have been made to improve the efficiency of the parabolic collectors in the electric power production, although most of the studies have focused on the industrial production of thermoelectric power. This research focuses on the application of this concentrating solar thermal power in the unexplored field of building construction. To that end, a mechatronic prototype of a hybrid paraboloidal and cylindrical-parabolic tracker based on the Arduido technology has been designed. The prototype is able to measure meteorological data autonomously in order to quantify the energy potential of any location. In this way, it is possible to reliably model real commercial equipment behavior before its deployment in buildings and single family houses. PMID:27314359

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

NONE

When the facilities design and construction team at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) started planning to upgrade and expand their control system, they had several critical goals for the project. They wanted a building automation system (BAS) that could achieve optimum energy savings while maximizing the efficiency of the facilities staff. They needed the new system to link 26 campus buildings--containing a variety of existing systems--to one central location for monitoring and diagnostics. They wanted a single vendor to handle installation, software development, service and support--and they wanted the entire project completed without downtime. At the core ofmore » these technologies is the Metasys{reg_sign} facility management system from Johnson Controls.« less

Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF): Golden, CO - Energy Integration

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Sheppy, Michael; VanGeet, Otto; Pless, Shanti

2015-03-01

At NREL's Energy Systems Integration Facility (ESIF) in Golden, Colo., scientists and engineers work to overcome challenges related to how the nation generates, delivers and uses energy by modernizing the interplay between energy sources, infrastructure, and data. Test facilities include a megawatt-scale ac electric grid, photovoltaic simulators and a load bank. Additionally, a high performance computing data center (HPCDC) is dedicated to advancing renewable energy and energy efficient technologies. A key design strategy is to use waste heat from the HPCDC to heat parts of the building. The ESIF boasts an annual EUI of 168.3 kBtu/ft2. This article describes themore » building's procurement, design and first year of performance.« less

Exploitation and Benefits of BIM in Construction Project Management

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Mesároš, Peter; Mandičák, Tomáš

2017-10-01

BIM is increasingly getting into the awareness in construction industry. BIM is the process of creating and data managing of the building during its life cycle. BIM became a part of management tools in modern construction companies. Construction projects have a number of participants. It means difficulty process of construction project management and a serious requirement for processing the huge amount of information including design, construction, time and cost parameters, economic efficiency and sustainability. Progressive information and communication technologies support cost management and management of construction project. One of them is Building Information Modelling. Aim of the paper is to examine the impact of BIM exploitation and benefits on construction project management in Slovak companies.

Assessment of hospital processes using a process mining technique: Outpatient process analysis at a tertiary hospital.

PubMed

Yoo, Sooyoung; Cho, Minsu; Kim, Eunhye; Kim, Seok; Sim, Yerim; Yoo, Donghyun; Hwang, Hee; Song, Minseok

2016-04-01

Many hospitals are increasing their efforts to improve processes because processes play an important role in enhancing work efficiency and reducing costs. However, to date, a quantitative tool has not been available to examine the before and after effects of processes and environmental changes, other than the use of indirect indicators, such as mortality rate and readmission rate. This study used process mining technology to analyze process changes based on changes in the hospital environment, such as the construction of a new building, and to measure the effects of environmental changes in terms of consultation wait time, time spent per task, and outpatient care processes. Using process mining technology, electronic health record (EHR) log data of outpatient care before and after constructing a new building were analyzed, and the effectiveness of the technology in terms of the process was evaluated. Using the process mining technique, we found that the total time spent in outpatient care did not increase significantly compared to that before the construction of a new building, considering that the number of outpatients increased, and the consultation wait time decreased. These results suggest that the operation of the outpatient clinic was effective after changes were implemented in the hospital environment. We further identified improvements in processes using the process mining technique, thereby demonstrating the usefulness of this technique for analyzing complex hospital processes at a low cost. This study confirmed the effectiveness of process mining technology at an actual hospital site. In future studies, the use of process mining technology will be expanded by applying this approach to a larger variety of process change situations. Copyright © 2016. Published by Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

The remote sensing image segmentation mean shift algorithm parallel processing based on MapReduce

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Chen, Xi; Zhou, Liqing

2015-12-01

With the development of satellite remote sensing technology and the remote sensing image data, traditional remote sensing image segmentation technology cannot meet the massive remote sensing image processing and storage requirements. This article put cloud computing and parallel computing technology in remote sensing image segmentation process, and build a cheap and efficient computer cluster system that uses parallel processing to achieve MeanShift algorithm of remote sensing image segmentation based on the MapReduce model, not only to ensure the quality of remote sensing image segmentation, improved split speed, and better meet the real-time requirements. The remote sensing image segmentation MeanShift algorithm parallel processing algorithm based on MapReduce shows certain significance and a realization of value.

Integrating Science Communication, Outreach and Awareness into the R&D Investment Framework of SKA in order to drive a knowledge economy

NASA Astrophysics Data System (ADS)

Raynard, Lorenzo; Garnier, William

2015-08-01

The emergence of the "knowledge society" has reshaped the context and content of public communication of science and technology. The construction and design of SKA and associated science research are increasingly characterised by the formation of large, multidisciplinary and multi-institute research teams. The integration of science communication into the scientific endeavour is key to building the foundations of a thriving knowledge-based economy identified by new technology investments, high-technology industries and highly skilled labour. Knowledge Economy Indicators profile, among others, the efficient and effective Management of Knowledge Assets. This presentation will explore the strategic trade and positioning of Knowledge Assets in order to drive and stimulate innovation.

ARPA-E: Redefining the Problem to Fine New Solutions

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

McGrath, Patrick; Wang, Joseph; Kester, Robbie

ARPA-E brings together experts from diverse disciplines and industries to frame new ways of looking at the energy challenge. By viewing the problem through a different lens, ARPA-E brings together new capabilities to develop new technology solutions. The DELTA and MONITOR programs illustrate this novel approach well. In this video, Associate Director of Technology Dr. Patrick McGrath discusses how ARPA-E has reframed the challenge of building efficiency with the DELTA program and methane leaks with the MONITOR program differently in order to yield “out of left field” technologies that can lead to transformational gains. The video features two projects –more » University of California San Diego’s DELTA project and Rebellion Photonics’ MONITOR project.« less

DOE Office of Scientific and Technical Information (OSTI.GOV)

Yu, Sha; Evans, Meredydd; Shi, Qing

China will account for about half of the new construction globally in the coming decade. Its floorspace doubled from 1996 to 2011, and Chinese rural buildings alone have as much floorspace as all of U.S. residential buildings. Building energy consumption has also grown, increasing by over 40% since 1990. To curb building energy demand, the Chinese government has launched a series of policies and programs. Combined, this growth in buildings and renovations, along with the policies to promote green buildings, are creating a large market for energy efficiency products and services. This report assesses the impact of China’s policies onmore » building energy efficiency and on the market for energy efficiency in the future. The first chapter of this report introduces the trends in China, drawing on both historical analysis, and detailed modeling of the drivers behind changes in floorspace and building energy demand such as economic and population growth, urbanization, policy. The analysis describes the trends by region, building type and energy service. The second chapter discusses China’s policies to promote green buildings. China began developing building energy codes in the 1980s. Over time, the central government has increased the stringency of the code requirements and the extent of enforcement. The codes are mandatory in all new buildings and major renovations in China’s cities, and they have been a driving force behind the expansion of China’s markets for insulation, efficient windows, and other green building materials. China also has several other important policies to encourage efficient buildings, including the Three-Star Rating System (somewhat akin to LEED), financial incentives tied to efficiency, appliance standards, a phasing out of incandescent bulbs and promotion of efficient lighting, and several policies to encourage retrofits in existing buildings. In the third chapter, we take “deep dives” into the trends affecting key building components. This chapter examines insulation in walls and roofs; efficient windows and doors; heating, air conditioning and controls; and lighting. These markets have seen significant growth because of the strength of the construction sector but also the specific policies that require and promote efficient building components. At the same time, as requirements have become more stringent, there has been fierce competition, and quality has at time suffered, which in turn has created additional challenges. Next we examine existing buildings in chapter four. China has many Soviet-style, inefficient buildings built before stringent requirements for efficiency were more widely enforced. As a result, there are several specific market opportunities related to retrofits. These fall into two or three categories. First, China now has a code for retrofitting residential buildings in the north. Local governments have targets of the number of buildings they must retrofit each year, and they help finance the changes. The requirements focus on insulation, windows, and heat distribution. Second, the Chinese government recently decided to increase the scale of its retrofits of government and state-owned buildings. It hopes to achieve large scale changes through energy service contracts, which creates an opportunity for energy service companies. Third, there is also a small but growing trend to apply energy service contracts to large commercial and residential buildings. This report assesses the impacts of China’s policies on building energy efficiency. By examining the existing literature and interviewing stakeholders from the public, academic, and private sectors, the report seeks to offer an in-depth insights of the opportunities and barriers for major market segments related to building energy efficiency. The report also discusses trends in building energy use, policies promoting building energy efficiency, and energy performance contracting for public building retrofits.« less