Building Technologies
ORNL research in building technologies supports the DOE goals of achieving zero energy homes by 2020 and zero energy buildings of all kinds by 2025. Zero energy implies buildings that annually produce as much energy as they consume. The goals are achieved if components and integration techniques are commercially available at affordable prices by the target years so zero energy is feasible for the private sector to implement.
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Reducing the energy/carbon footprint of the nation's buildings sector is essential for tackling climate change and will be an enormous challenge. Buildings account for 43% of the nation's carbon emissions and the consumption of 39% of our total primary energy, 71% of our electricity, and 55% of our natural gas. The importance of buildings is amplified because some renewable energy applications such as generating power with photovoltaic cells, lighting and heating water with direct sunlight, and geothermal (ground-source) space conditioning and water heating with energy from the ground are most economical when using buildings as their deployment platforms.
ORNL's work in pursuit of energy and environmental sustainability of the built environment is broad-based, addressing residential and commercial, and new and existing buildings. Focus areas are aligned with the interests of our DOE Building Technologies Program (BT) sponsor and other current sponsors, and include:
energy efficient, affordable, moisture tolerant, and durable building envelopes;
energy efficient, affordable, energy services equipment that is optimally integrated (for heat recycling, use of renewable energy (solar and geothermal), and demand-response);
whole-building integration for affordable energy and environmental sustainability;
- BT sponsored: Whole-Building Integration
energy management and improvements to the existing building stock.
Many of ORNL's buildings-related laboratory facilities are accessible to the private sector through the Buildings Technology Center, a designated National User Facility.
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