R&D for the Net-Zero Energy Commercial Building
Researchers in the Environmental Energy Technologies Division (EETD) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) have supported the Department of Energy's Building Technologies program for more than 30 years, leveraging the resources of Berkeley Lab, the UC Berkeley campus, and numerous private and public sector partners and sponsors in support of the DOE building energy efficiency mission. To assist the DOE Commercial Buildings Initiative, Berkeley Lab performs a broad range of multidisciplinary research, development, demonstration, and deployment activities on advanced energy technologies and building systems, improved design tools and operating practices, high-quality indoor environments, and mechanisms for more effective policy, finance, and other innovative market transformation activities. All of this work furthers DOE's Zero Energy Buildings vision.
More than one-third of the energy consumed in the United States is used in buildings. EETD conducts research on building energy efficiency, including:
- building technologies,
- buildings, demand response and the smart grid,
- the indoor environment,
- codes and standards, and
- end-use energy efficiency issues
through multidisciplinary research and analysis.
Berkeley Lab's Environmental Energy Technologies Division has extensive scientific expertise and experience, and related test and evaluation facilities in the following areas related to commercial buildings:
Advanced Building Technologies and Systems
Glazing, windows, cool roofs, envelope air leakage, daylighting, lighting controls, low energy cooling strategies, mechanical and natural ventilation systems, thermal distribution systems, fault detection and diagnostics, wireless sensors and smart building controls, hot water systems, office equipment and networks.Indoor Environmental Quality
Visual and thermal comfort in indoor environments; human health and productivity; air quality.Building Operations
Commissioning and retrocommissioning; benchmarking systems and tools; customer energy bill and tariff analysis; advanced metering and energy information systems; virtual building controls testbed; automated demand response systems; high-tech buildings, including labs, and data centers.Tools, Guides and Standards
Energy design and simulation tools; design guides and financial tools; support for building codes and standards; technical analysis for appliance standards; energy efficiency and carbon emissions policy studies; efficient product procurement guidelines.
This website is a portal to more than fifty current and recent projects in commercial buildings. We have organized these projects into two broad areas:
More on the Department of Energy's Net-Zero Energy Commercial Buildings Initiative.