DOE’s Building Technologies Office:
R&D Directions and Opportunities
Pat Phelan,* Emerging Technologies
* On leave from Arizona State University
University of Pennsylvania
October 20, 2015
patrick.phelan@ee.doe.gov
Sustainable Energy  Renewable Energy
Energy efficiency MUST be considered as a part of our sustainable
energy strategy!
2
Source: Advanced Energy Economy (AEE) Institute, “Competitiveness of Renewable Energy and
Energy Efficiency in U.S. Markets,” 2015
Market Opportunities for Buildings Energy Efficiency
U.S. Revenue by Advanced Building Technology Type
141%
74%
36%
25%
4%
31%
48%
343%
Buildings energy efficiency is the largest advanced energy segment
in 2014, in terms of revenue ($60.1B, or 30% of the total).
3
Source: Advanced Energy Now 2015 Market Report
2014 Building Energy Use
Buildings use about 76% of the electricity, and about 40% of all
primary energy, in the USA.
Sources: 2013, 2014 EIA Annual Energy Outlook; 2010 Manufacturing Energy Consumption Survey
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4
Who Supports Energy Efficiency R&D (Federal)?
Fundamental
Research
First
Commercialization
Market
Penetration
Building Technologies Office
Emerging
Technologies
ESTCP
NSF
5
Residential
Buildings
Integration
FEMP
ARPA-E
DOE Office
of Science
Commercial
Buildings
Integration
ONR
GSA Green
Proving Grounds
Codes
&
Standards
BTO Emerging Technologies:
Research Portfolio
Solid state
lighting
Advanced windows
Advanced refrigerator
technology
Building energy
modeling
Low global warming
potential (GWP)
refrigeration
Heating, ventilating,
air conditioning,
water heating, and
appliances
6
Sensors and
controls
Advanced heat
pump technology:
• Air source heat
pumps
• Integrated heat
pumps
• Heat exchangers
Building
Envelope: Next
generation
insulation
Quadrennial Technology Review: Chapter 5 on Buildings
5.2 Thermal Comfort and Air Quality
The Building Envelope
Ventilation and Air Quality
Space Conditioning Equipment
Moisture Removal
Heat Exchangers
Thermal Storage
5.5 Electronics and Other Building Energy
Loads
Computers and Other Electronic Devices
Other Building Energy Loads
5.3 Lighting
Windows, Daylighting, and Lighting
Controls
Lighting Devices
5.6 Systems-Level Opportunities
Sensors, Controls, and Networks
Building Design and Operation
Decision Science
Embodied Energy
DC Systems
Thermal Energy Distribution and Reuse
5.4 Major Energy Consuming Appliances:
Hot Water Heaters, Refrigerators, and
Clothes Dryers
7
QTR: http://energy.gov/qtr
Potential Limits of Building Energy Efficiency
Source: 2015 DOE Quadrennial
(Residential)
Technology Review (Chioke Harris,
Jared Langevin, Jack Mayernik, & Brent
Nelson)
EUI = Energy Use Intensity
“Other” dominates in the future: Small
electric devices, heating elements,
outdoor grills, exterior lights, pool/spa
heaters, etc.
Best available does not consider cost
ET 2020 includes cost effectiveness
8
8
ET = Emerging Technologies
Thermodynamic Limit for a Building
 Interest in “net zero energy” and “low energy” buildings
 Is there an ideal minimum building energy use?
 Compare with the Carnot limits for heat engines and
refrigerators:
 max
Tc
 1   100%
Th
Carnot efficiency for a heat
engine
 In a similar manner, for an “ideal” building, will the building
energy consumption be reduced to zero?
 Probably not, just like how max < 100%
 Therefore, what is the minimum energy use intensity for a
building:
Collaboration with Dr. Omar Abdelaziz of
kWh 
ORNL
?
9
ft
2

 min
Methodology for Minimum Building Energy Analysis
For single-family houses:
 Assume the “New Construction” home, as described in Hendron
& Engebrecht, 2010, “Building America House Simulation
Protocols,” DOE/GO-102010-3141
 This report also specifies the internal loads (people, lighting
requirements, cold and hot water usage, etc.)
 Houses are assumed to be located in one of seven cities,
representing most of the climate zones in the USA
 Ideal assumptions:
 Adiabatic walls and windows
 Carnot heat pump for space heating and cooling
 Carnot refrigerator
 Carnot heat pump water heater
 Carnot heat pump clothes dryer
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Sample Climate-Specific Annual Energy Consumption
Climate Zone
City
6A, Very Cold
Minneapolis, MN
5A, Cold
Chicago, IL
4C, Marine
Seattle, WA
3A, Mixed-Humid
Atlanta, GA
3B, Hot-Dry
Los Angeles, CA
2B, Hot-Dry
Phoenix, AZ
2A, Hot-Humid
Houston, TX
Ideal Minimum Site
Energy Consumption
Per Unit Area
(kWhr/ft2)
Actual National
Average*
(kWhr/ft2)
3.61
3.29
2.75
2.63
2.32
2.42
2.67
14.84
14.84
11.64
13.01
12.05
12.05
11.46
Existing homes consume > 4 times the ideal thermodynamic limit.
* http://www.eia.gov/consumption/residential/data/2009/
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Potential Limits of Building Energy Efficiency
Source: 2015 DOE Quadrennial
(Residential)
Technology Review
“ET 2020” represents the R&D
goals for BTO for the year 2020
(ET = Emerging Technologies)
12
12
Representative ET 2020 R&D Goals
COP =
Coefficient of
Performance
COP is based
on primary
energy input.
13
Source: 2015 DOE Quadrennial Technology Review
Tracking Progress on Efficiency & Cost: Water Heaters
2020 R&D targets are shown
for:
Electric
• Non-CO2 vapor compression
• CO2 vapor compression
• Non vapor compression
Gas-Fired
• Absorption/Adsorption
Moral: Both
performance AND cost
matter!
2015 Best Source: Lowe’s, Home Depot, & Sears product data for ~50-60 gallon residential heat pump water heater
Energy Star Source: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=water_heat.pr_crit_water_heaters
Fed. Min. Std. Sources: Electric - http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/product.aspx/productid/27#recentupdates ;
14 -http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/appliance_standards/product.aspx/productid/27#recentupdates
Gas
Setting R&D Targets: BTO Prioritization Tool (Scout)
Inputs
• Performance improvement
• Cost
• Market
• Lifetime
U = S X E -1 X SD = S X C
Consumption (e.g.
kWh / sq. ft. /year)
Analysis
Outputs
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• Stock and flow dynamics
• Technology diffusion
• Cost of Conserved Energy (CCE)
• Staging framework
• CCE and annual energy savings
• Technical potential
• Full-Adoption potential
• BTO-Adoption adjusted potential
• Staged potential
Source: Farese, P, Gelman, R, & Hendron, R, 2012, “A Tool
to Prioritize Energy Efficiency Investments,” NREL/TP-6A2054799; Farese, P, 2012, “How to Build a Low-Energy
Future,” Nature 488, pp. 275-277.
Service Demand per unit stock
(e.g., BTUs of heating required
to maintain occupant comfort/
home/ year, lumens/ sq. ft.
/year)
Efficiency (or more formally intensity):
the energy required to meet the
service demand (e.g., AFUE,
lumens/watt)
Equipment Stock (e.g., number of homes,
total square footage)
Total energy use (e.g., trillion BTUs primary energy
per year in 2030)
Representative Results: R-10 Windows
Realized Energy Savings
BAU
Max Adoption
Potential
Technical Potential
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Adoption-Adjusted
Potential
ET Recent Highlights: HVAC
Transcritical CO2 Supermarket Refrigeration System
Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL’s)
cooperative research and development agreement
(CRADA) with HillPhoenix
• Low GWP refrigerant (CO2), with 25 percent lower
energy consumption than existing systems, and
78% lower GHG emissions
New Low-GWP Refrigerant for Supermarkets
Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s (ORNL’s) cooperative
research and development agreement (CRADA) with
Honeywell
•
•
Honeywell and ORNL have developed Solstice N40, a nontoxic hydrofluoroolefin (HFO) -based refrigerant alternative
for R-404A, the most common refrigerant used
Offers a lower-global-warming potential and energy-saving
replacement for R-404A
Search for Low-GWP Refrigerants
Research by NIST and CUA to identify lowGWP refrigerants: Best Paper Award for
2013/14 Int. J Refrigeration
17
Low-GWP Refrigerants for High-Ambient
Temperatures (HFC Alternatives)
ORNL report highlighted at recent White
House HFC event
Commercialized Technologies & Energy Impacts from ET Funding
18
Buildings RD&D Opportunities in the 2015 QTR
Building thermal comfort
and appliances




Lighting
 Test procedures for reliably determining the expected lifetime of commercial
LED and OLED products
 Understanding why LED efficiency decreases at high power densities
 High efficiency green LEDs
 Efficient quantum dot materials
 Advanced sensors and controls for lighting
 Glazing with tunable optical properties
 Efficient, durable, low-cost OLEDs
 Lower cost retrofit solutions for lighting fixtures
Electronics and
miscellaneous building
energy loads




More efficient circuitry (hardware and software)
More flexible power management (hardware and software)
Standardized communications protocols
Wide-band-gap semiconductors for power supplies
Systems-level
opportunities









Accurate, reliable, low installed cost sensors
Energy harvesting to power wireless sensors and controls
Improved control systems (cybersecurity, install/commissioning)
Control algorithms to automatically optimize building system performance
Open-source software modules supporting interoperability
Easy-to-use, fast, accurate software tools to design and operate buildings
Co-simulation modeling with a widely used interface standard
Decision science research incorporating personal information security
Components and systems that allow building devices to share waste heat
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Materials that facilitate deep retrofits (e.g., thin insulating materials)
Low/no-GWP heat pump systems
Improved tools for diagnosing heat flows over the lifetime of a building
Clear metrics for the performance of building shells for heat and air flows
Fundamental Research Challenges in the 2015 QTR
• Materials with tunable optical properties (adjust transmissivity
and absorptivity by wavelength)
• Materials for efficient LEDs
• Materials for efficient motors and controls (magnets, wideband-gap semiconductors)
• Enthalpy exchange materials
• Materials for low-cost Krypton/Xenon replacement
• Materials for non-vapor-compression heat pumps (e.g.
thermoelectric, magnetocaloric, electrocaloric)
• Big-data management for large networks of building controls
and next-generation grid systems
• Ultra-efficient computation (neural networks)
• Decision science research
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One Future R&D Priority:
Low-GWP HVAC & Refrigeration
GWP = Global Warming Potential
HVAC = Heating, Ventilation, & Air Conditioning
Upcoming workshops to help define solution strategies:
• Nov 17, 2015: ASME IMECE (Houston, TX)
• Dec 8, 2015: ASHRAE headquarters (Atlanta, GA)
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Climate Impacts from HFC Refrigerants
Under a “business-as-usual”
scenario, continued use of HFC
refrigerants could contribute up
to  20% of the increased
radiative forcing due to CO2.
Source: Velders et al., 2012, “Preserving Montreal
Protocol Climate Benefits by Limiting HFCs,” Science
335, pp. 922-3.
22
100-Year GWPs
• R-22:
1,760 (HCFC)
• R-125:
3,400
• R-134a:
1,300
• R-290:
3 (propane)
• R-407c:
1,610
• R-410a:
1,924
Thermodynamic “Head Room” for Efficiency Improvements
Residential End-Use Efficiencies
Thermodynamic
“Head Room”
Opportunities for both
advanced vaporcompression systems,
and non vaporcompression systems.
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Recent DOE/BTO Awards in Non-Vapor-Compression Technology
Dais Analytic: advanced membrane HVAC technology
Maryland Energy and Sensor Technologies, LLC: thermoelastic cooling
Oak Ridge National Laboratory: magnetocaloric air conditioner
UTRC: electrocaloric heat pump
Xergy, Inc.: electrochemical compression (ECC) technology
For more information, go to
http://energy.gov/eere/articles/energy-department-invests-nearly8-million-develop-next-generation-hvac-systems
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BTO & PNNL: Buildings of the Future Scoping Study
Goal: Develop a vision for what mainstream U.S. residential and
commercial buildings could become in 100 years.
http://www.nrel.gov/sustainable_nrel/rsf_photos.html
http://www.libertyharborrv.
com/empire-state-building
http://www.architectureadmirers.c
om/renewable-resources-andenergy-efficient-buildings-are-thefuture-of-architecture/
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futurebuildings.pnnl.gov
BTO & PNNL: Buildings of the Future Scoping Study
Goal: Develop a vision for what mainstream U.S. residential and
commercial buildings could become in 100 years.
Future
Buildings
The path is unclear due to the lack of an integrated vision.
Reduced
Potable
Water Use
Group 1
-Identified metrics (how to measure)
-Quantitative targets (what to achieve)
-Mostly known processes (how to achieve)
-Some overlaps
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Zero Waste
Group 2
-Identified metrics
-Quantitative targets
-Partially known processes
-Little overlap
futurebuildings.pnnl.gov
Comfort &
Productivity
Resiliency
Security
Group 3
-Unclear metrics
-Qualitative targets
-Learning process
-Some overlaps
Fiscal Year 2015 Emerging Technologies Funding Distribution
Funding Opportunity Announcements
(FOAs):
• Solid State Lighting
• BENEFIT (HVAC focus in 2015)
• BUILD (university-led projects)
*
$20.25M
$17.8M
* Includes water heating and appliances
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ET FY15 Budget: $49.9M
Funding Opportunities in FY16 and Beyond
Emerging Technologies:
 BENEFIT (Building Energy Frontiers and Innovation Technologies)
 Rotates among non-SSL topics
 Early stage and later stage R&D; often includes “open” topic
 Solid State Lighting (SSL) Advanced Technology R&D
 Catalyst (software solutions; joint with SunShot)
 ORNL JUMP (hardware)
 Small Business Vouchers (SBV)
Commercial Buildings Integration:
 Annual FOA for demonstration or deployment projects
Residential Buildings Integration:
 Annual FOA, especially for Building America Program
Small Business Innovative Research:
 2 – 3 topics offered each year
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Catalyst: Crowdsourcing Initiative to Solve Buildings-Related Problems
• BTO partnership with the successful SunShot Catalyst initiative
for open innovation on near-term market challenges.
• Identify and solve problems related to software development,
data, and/or automation.
Ideation

Innovation

Prototype
 Incubation
• More information at: http://catalyst.energy.gov/
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BTO Catalyst Winners (2015)
• CBE Occupant Feedback Toolkit (Livable Analytics)
• Using Automation to Reduce Barriers to Adoption of Fault
Diagnostic Technologies in Commercial Buildings (Kinetic
Buildings)
• SmartHome HVAC, by One Oak Systems (One Oak Systems)
• A software-centric approach to Building Automation to improve
utilization of energy efficiency technology (Building DataCloud)
• Spectrum: sustainability software for the architecture industry
(BuiltSpectrum)
Each winning team received $25K in software development funds
(through TopCoder)
 Demonstration Days: Dec 14 – 18, 2015
 Successful teams at Demonstration Days compete for up to an
additional $100K in funding
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http://catalyst.energy.gov/
ORNL’s 2015 Buildings Crowdsourcing Efforts
Vision
Create a community that links ORNL researchers
to industry partners, small businesses, innovators and end-users
to hasten the market transformation curve of energy efficient technologies.
Community Engagement to Advance Best Ideas
2
1
Campaigns & Stats
 3 Campaigns:
Envelope,
Equipment ,
Sensors & Control
 5,000+ Unique
visitors
 70+ Valid ideas
5
31
Judging
 9 Independent
Judges. Ideas
evaluated based
on their technical
feasibility,
potential for
energy savings,
and novelty
3
Award Recognition
 3-D printed
prototypes, poster
and in-session
presentations for
best ideas at
EERE’s Industry
Day*
4
Rapid Innovation
 Facilitated
networking
 Opportunity for
small businesses
to participate in
the SBV program
Taking it Forward: Launch v2.0
Stay tuned for the web-cast announcement of the 2015 winners and the launch of V2.0 “JUMP”
on Sept 24, 2015! Join the community at buildings.ideascale.com to receive the latest updates!
* Subject to funding availability
2015 ORNL Crowdsourcing Winners
Hybrid Air/Water
Conditioner
 Exploits synergies between


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conditioning indoor air,
dehumidification,
ventilation, and hot water
heating
The AC cycle separates
sensible and latent heat
with a desiccant wheel and
decides whether to use the
waste heat from the
variable-speed vapor
compression cycle for
generating domestic hot
water or for regenerating
the desiccant wheel.
Status: A working
prototype
Combined CO2 &
Temperature Control
 Replace individual zone

temperature sensors with
ones that also measure CO2 to
control the damper inside a
variable air volume (VAV)
mixing box.
This will allow the mixing
damper in a VAV box to close
if the space does not have a
call for ventilation air or air
conditioning. Reducing the
energy needed to cool and
heat air.
 Status: A working concept but
need testing and validation
High Performance EPS Foam
Window Frames


Work with local manufacture
of high density EPS foam
window frames. Insulated
glass units (IGUs) can then be
ordered to size and inserted
into the EPS window frames
that are already installed in
the wall
This would eliminate concern
for loss of gas-fill during
handling.
 Status: In process to patent this
technology approach and
licensing it to EPS molders
ORNL’s Goal for Crowdsourcing v2.0 - JUMP
Engage industry partners in co-developing campaigns relevant to the most
pressing industry challenges, to accelerate Tech2Market
Join in discussion
Accelerate Innovation Cycle
Unveil innovation
Motivate transformation
Promote technology to market
Jan. 2016 – Kick off Round 2
Mar. 2016 – Kick off Round 3
Let’s Put Our Ideas to Work at buildings.ideascale.com
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DOE Small Business Vouchers Program
• Recently DOE launched the Small Business Central Assistance
Platform (www.sbv.org), a web-based tool that will be used to
exchange information between the labs and small businesses.
• This Platform will be used to market the labs’ core capabilities in the
topic areas of interest and will be used to accept applications from
small businesses who want to participate in the program.
• Individual vouchers will range from $50,000 to $300,000 per clean
energy small business and can be used to initiate collaborative
research projects or to access technical assistance with labs.
• Three cycles of competitions will be offered to interested small
businesses in the 2015 (deadline: Oct 23, 2015) and 2016 fiscal
years.
• Small business leaders interested in pursuing a voucher may reach
participating labs through our Lab Impact Initiative:
EERELabImpact@ee.doe.gov.
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http://energy.gov/eere/lab-impact/downloads/smallbusiness-vouchers-documents-0
2016 BENEFIT Funding Opportunity Announcement
Notice of Intent DE-FOA-0001413
Topic 1 Open Topic for Energy Efficiency Solutions for Residential and
Commercial Buildings
Topic 2 Human-in-the-Loop Sensor & Control Systems
Topic 3 Infiltration Diagnostic Technologies
Topic 4 Plug-and Play-Sensor Systems
Topic 5 Advanced Air-Sealing Technologies for Existing Buildings
BUILD (Buildings University Innovators and Leaders Development)
Supplements Section
DE-FOA-0001410: Request for Information
Teaming Partner List for Upcoming Funding Opportunity
Announcement: Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation
Technologies (BENEFIT) - 2016
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How To Get Involved with BTO
• Get on our email list
(http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/newsletter.html, and click
on “Sign up to receive news and events from BTO”)
• Provide input on draft BTO Multi-Year Program Plan
(http://energy.gov/eere/buildings/downloads/draft-multi-yearprogram-plan)
 Volunteer to be a reviewer (send CV to BTOreviewer@ee.doe.gov )
 Participate in workshops, RFIs (Requests for Information), roadmap
development, our crowdsourcing competitions (Catalyst and JUMP)
and the annual program peer review
– Roadmaps under development: Building Energy Modeling,
Sensors & Controls
 Apply to a FOA! (https://eere-exchange.energy.gov/)
36
patrick.phelan@ee.doe.gov