Research Tracker

This project will study selected software and hardware platforms that apply algorithms to identify, diagnose, and sometimes fix broken electric cooling, ventilation and refrigeration systems in buildings. If widely used, the fault detection and diagnosis tools validated in this project could have savings of 927 Tbtu per year.

PPG Industries, Inc. will develop high-performing dark-colored pigments for use in cool roof coatings. These pigments would satisfy customers' demand for dark-colored cool roofs and lead to 0.17 quads of energy savings annually.

This project is developing a gas-fired absorption heat pump that offers a significant advancement for space and water heating technologies when compared to conventional gas heating technologies (an Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency (AFUE) of 140% versus 100%, respectively). This heat pump will provide efficient space and water heating for single and multi-family homes in most climate zones.

Columbia University will use an inexpensive and widely tunable library of quantum dot (QD) synthesis reagents along with automated high-throughput synthesis and analysis tools to grade the alloy composition of QD heterostructures, in order to provide stable and efficient narrow-band red down-converters for LEDs.

The University of California-Berkeley and its partner, Building Robotics, will create, evaluate and establish the technical foundations for secure and easy to deploy building energy efficiency applications utilizing pervasive, low-cost wireless sensors integrated with traditional Building Management Systems (BMS), consumer-sector building components, personalized smartphone devices, and powerful data analytics.

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will work with project partners to address several indoor air quality challenges for high performance homes through experimental, analytical and modeling efforts. The long term goal of this project is to significantly reduce the indoor air quality risks that are a barrier to industry adoption of high performance homes.

Cree, Inc. will incorporate a high-efficacy LED light engine into a demonstration luminaire, with concurrent advancements in LED light engines, optics, and sensors integrated to result in high efficacy as well as additional features such as spectral tuning.

Arizona State University is demonstrating an efficient and stable white organic light diode (WOLED) using a single emitter on a planar glass substrate. By simplifying the device fabrication process, increasing the robustness of materials, and providing cost-effective emitter materials, Arizona State University will help reduce the overall manufacturering costs of WOLEDs.

QM Power will install and demonstrate approximately 12,000 high-efficiency fans in more than 50 U.S. grocery stores, focusing on open display case retrofits. This technology has additional applications and could achieve more than 0.6 quads and more than $1 billion in energy savings.

United Technologies Research Center will demonstrate a compressor design that will enable high-efficiency small commercial rooftop air conditioning systems. This technology could provide 30% annual energy savings and reduce energy use by 2.5 quads by 2030.

United Technologies Research Center will develop a high-performance commercial cold climate heat pump system. The system could enable annual electricity use for building space heating in cold climates to decrease by at least 25%.

This project will address the fundamental challenges for green LEDs by a combination of innovations in epitaxial growth and layer design, advanced processes including tunnel junctions, and advanced materials characterization.

Lumileds, LLC will develop a high-efficacy, high-power LED emitter enabled by patterned sapphire substrate flip-chip architecture, die development to include novel contact design, phosphors with reduced bandwidth, and new optical materials for light extraction from the die.

United Technologies Research Center will demonstrate a heat pump that is smaller, quieter, and cheaper to maintain than current models. The heat pump could result in annual energy savings of more than 1.5 quads and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 million metric tons.

United Technologies Research Center (UTRC) will develop and validate a high-efficiency, high-speed 5TR packed rooftop system that uses a sustainable, nonflammable, nontoxic and high-efficiency refrigerant.

OLEDWorks will develop the cost-effective and scalable manufacturing methods needed to produce a high-performance, large-area OLED lighting panel and luminaire system. This work will help develop and integrate the cost effective manufacturing technologies necessary to achieve the DOE performance and cost targets.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory will demonstrate a high-efficiency refrigerator that uses novel rotating heat exchanger technology to reduce energy use. The technology could produce energy savings of approximately 13%, or 407 TBtu/year.

KLA-Tencor will develop, characterize, and verify a high-throughput, precision hot test tool for high-brightness light-emitting diodes (HBLEDs). The hot test tool will have an impact on the HBLED manufacturing process such that 2 quads of energy savings could be achieved at full market penetration.

Lumileds, LLC will develop an LED light engine that integrates a new low-cost, high-power chip and optimized drivers. This light engine will enable comprehensive luminaire system cost reduction.

QM Power, Inc. will develop advanced HVAC motors that are significantly more efficient and cheaper than current solutions for almost all electric motor compressor and fan applications. The technology will have the potential to save more than 0.62 quads of energy.

GE Global Research will build a scalable, efficient, modular luminaire to address the integration of driver, optics, and package in a flexible integration platform that allows for simplified manufacturing to customized performance specifications.

The Home Improvement Catalyst (HI Cat) is a new DOE initiative focused on high impact opportunities to achieve energy savings in home improvements already planned or being undertaken by homeowners. The Home Improvement Catalyst is designed to identify the multiple pathways to achieving an energy efficient home through energy upgrades and speed the adoption of market-ready energy improvements; resulting in greater energy savings over time.

Carnegie Mellon University will design, implement, and evaluate a human-in-the-loop sensing and control system for energy efficiency of heating, ventilation, air conditioning (HVAC), and lighting systems based on a novel occupancy sensor. Through occupant sensing and real-time data collection, this project will reduce energy waste, targeting a 20% energy savings, while increasing occupant comfort by accurately estimating occupants in an area to overcome current HVAC system operations.

Throughout the development of the AVS resources and meta-analysis, HI Cat will conduct outreach to EPA, utilities, CEE, REEOs, and program implementers seeking to advance programs that advance high performance HVAC and QI practices. DOE is partnering with MEEA to collect data and evaluate the HVAC SAVE program (Iowa), test approaches to offering additional services, and develop a case study of the HVAC SAVE program in Iowa.

This project will combine electrochemical compression technology with ionic liquid desiccant to provide the most efficient means of managing latent and sensible heat loads in air-conditioning (AC) systems. This technology replaces the standard mechanical compressor commonly found today in AC systems with an electrochemical compressor that utilizes fuel cell technology to enable efficient heat pump systems.

The University of California, Santa Barbara, will identify the fundamental causes of current droop in state-of-the-art commercial LEDs. These findings will lead to development of higher-performing LED lighting technologies.

With a focus on typical business as usual HVAC trade practices, HI Cat seeks to capture greater efficiency at high volume within the home improvement transactions at key decision points. HI Cat will work in partnership with industry to design contractor ready resources via development of a Sequencing Tool that curates advisory content that can be applied during the sales transaction. The sequencing tool, designed for use by trade contractors, will identify opportunities to improve upon the current transaction in any given scenario, without disrupting it. Related resources, such as a contractor playbook, will provide ing relevant sales tools and tips; selection, specification, and field installation guidance; proposal and contract language; etc. It will also offer messaging about the energy efficiency pathway or customer journey, reference applicable DOE and industry technical standards/guidance and provide technical information to address follow on EE opportunities.

Trane, in partnership with the University of Illinois, will develop engineered microstructure surfaces that will reduce refrigerant leaks and enhance HVAC&R systems efficiency by improving the strength and quality of brazed joints.

Lumileds, LLC will develop structures that will dramatically improve efficiency droop. The improvement in droop will be utilized to achieve higher performing LEDs.

This project will improve the external quantum efficiency (EQE) of amber and red aluminium gallium indium phosphide (AlGaInP)-based LEDs by developing strain-engineered cladding layers to provide enhanced carrier confinement.

the University of Miami, in partnership with Schneider Electric and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, will create a tool for dynamic cooling and airflow optimization that is customized for the design and operational requirements of data centers and computer rooms by integrating several open-source modeling packages: the Modeling Buildings Library/Spawn-of-EnergyPlus for flexible IT equipment and cooling system modeling; LBNLs GenOpt for optimization; and the University of Miamis Fast Fluid Dynamics package for airflow modeling.

As part of an ongoing effort to enhance low-power wireless communication, this project will develop a wireless connectivity module made of radio frequency (RF) hardware and systems software that enables RF connectivity at over 50% lower active power consumption for integration into MELs.

OLEDWorks will reduce OLED manufacturing costs by developing innovative high-performance deposition technology. If OLD costs can be reduced to enable OLED lighting to make up 5% as large a market as LEDs by 2025, OLED lighting will save approximately 10 TWh/year.

Philips Research North America will develop an innovative LED office lighting system that integrates light delivery, optics, and controls. The office portfolio developed in this project will maximize energy efficiency and occupant health and well-being.

Philips Research North America will develop an innovative LED lighting system for patient rooms. This solution will be energy efficient and will meet all the needs of patients, caregivers, and visitors.

The project will study the integration trade-offs, cost and energy optimization of daylighting, LED electric lighting, plug load sensors and zonal air plow controls. If widely adopted, the integrated controls package in this project could have savings up to 750 Tbtu per year.

This project will further refine a new approach to using mini-split heat pumps in existing homes. The team will focus on using a single, centrally located mini-split heat pump as the primary system, while only using the existing lower efficiency central system as needed.

Sinovia Technologies will combine a barrier film technology with a nanowire transparent conduction film to make a single substrate product for OLED lighting. This technology will improve the efficiency and lower the cost of OLEDs.

This project studies the synergistic interactions of daylighting, plug controls, automated fault detection and diagnostics (AFDD) and HVAC optimization. If widely used, the package of daylighting techniques, plug loads, AFDD and controls for HVAC systems validated in this project could have savings of 756 Tbtu per year.

This project focuses on establishing a framework and identifying priority R&D needs for coordination with industry, Emerging Technology and market deployment programs. PNNL will develop a white paper evaluating the state of the art of commercially available sensors and controls technology for operations, maintenance, and commissioning applications in residential HVAC. This work assesses technology gaps and market needs, and provides clear recommendations for government action and industry involvement in advancing sensors, controls, diagnostics, and automated fault correction. The task will explore opportunities for industry engagement to gain feedback on report findings, better identify industry development plans, and focus BA/BTO investments.

This project will attempt to measure the impact of lighting on the users of an outdoor lighting space. The experiments will determine the effects of different lighting types on the melatonin levels of the participants. As different CCT light sources will be used, their differing spectral contents can be evaluated to determine the most appropriate light source for implementation in the outdoor environment.

Princeton University will integrate multiple aspects of outcoupling enhancement within one OLED structure to achieve greater than 60% outcoupling efficiency. This development will lead to higher-efficiency OLEDs.

North Carolina State University will develop OLEDs fabricated on low-cost high index corrugated substrates with a semi-random periodicity to give enhancements in extraction efficiency across the entire visible spectrum, due to the extraction of the thin-film-guided and surface-plasmon modes.

Xergy will develop electrochemical compression technology in combination with an energy recovery module to replace a solid-state compressor for use in heat pumps. This technology will enable heat pumps to use water as the refrigerant and could lead to efficiency improvements of 30% - 56%.

Stone Mountain Technologies will build and test a low-cost gas heat pump that is optimized for heating-dominated climates. The technology will reduce heating costs by 30% - 45% compared to conventional gas furnaces and boilers.

This project will help address the challenge of identifying loads within the long tail of consumption by integrating the previously developed PowerBlade wireless AC plug-through meters to measure real, reactive, and apparent power with load monitoring based on extracting high-fidelity electrical waveform features to capture power profiles and automatically identify and categorize MELs in a scalable manner.