Building Envelopes Program Home Page

Building Envelopes Program - Oak Ridge National Laboratory


	Updated Building Envelope Program Summary
HTML version	Updated Building Envelope Program Summary	PDF version (258 kb)

introduction

The Building Envelopes Program at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is a program within the Buildings Technology Center (BTC), the premier U.S. research facility devoted to developing technologies that improve the energy efficiency and environmental compatibility of residential and commercial buildings. Our program is divided into two parts: building envelope research, which focuses on the structural elements that enclose a building (walls, roofs and foundations), and materials research, which concentrates on the materials within the envelope systems (such as insulation). The building envelope provides the thermal barrier between the indoor and outdoor environment, and its elements are the key determinants of a building's energy requirements that result from the climate where it is located.
CLICK HERE to move to the BTC web site.

facilities & equipment

The ORNL Buildings Technology Center is made up of a cluster of six buildings with over 20,000 square feet of laboratory space. Within this complex are four major experimental apparatuses used primarily for building envelope research. They are the Large Scale Climate Simulator (LSCS), Rotatable Guarded Hot Box (RGHB), Roof Thermal Research Apparatus (RTRA), and Envelope Systems Research Apparatus (ESRA).
CLICK HERE for a web tour of our facilities and equipment.

research staff

The Building Envelope & Materials program staff consists of scientists, engineers, and technicians with diverse backgrounds and experiences. Responsibilities range from research and authoring to product testing and development.
CLICK HERE to meet our research staff.

how to work with us

We work with universities, other government agencies, and private industry to accelerate the market penetration of the most promising energy-efficient building envelope systems.
CLICK HERE to learn more about how to work with us.

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