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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.

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At least 181 records · Page 10
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2020

Cost Reduction of School Bus Fleet Electrification With Optimized Charging and Distributed Energy Resources: Preprint

Considerations for electrifying school buses are presented with an analysis of battery sizing to match bus driving requirements. The charging and vehicle-to-building dispatch of the electric school buses were optimized to evaluate the potential to reduce the impact of the bus charging on the school's electric utility bill. Distributed energy resources (DER) and flexible building loads were also considered with the school bus electrification to evaluate the further reduction in energy costs with enhanced system integration and optimized dispatch. The effect of degradation on the school bus batteries was analyzed to determine if the smart charging and vehicle-to-building battery operation decreases the life of the battery. The results show that there is an opportunity to mitigate the increase of electric utility bills with improved charging controls and bi-directionally operating the school bus batteries to reduce building demand charges. The battery degradation analysis using dispatch with optimized charging and discharging shows acceptable battery life.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Building Monitoring and Energy Efficiency Training for Small and Mid-Sized Commercial Buildings in Non-Urbanized Areas of Alaska

The goal of this project was to create an effective training that increases understanding, competency and capacity in monitoring critical building data. Mentorship, verification and follow-up ensured participants now have necessary skills to install and maintain building monitoring systems. This training sought to empower building managers and maintenance staff to properly and efficiently operate their buildings for energy savings and increased lifespan of equipment. Through the project, participants’ knowledge of the building was increased through hands-on training using a familiar building environment and eliminating common barriers to effective training through peer-to peer delivery. In successful cases the host organization will save money and resources due to more efficient operation of building equipment already in place.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Comprehensive Analysis of Model Parameter Uncertainty Influence on Evaluation of HVAC Operation to Mitigate Indoor Virus: A Case Study for an Office Building in a Cold and Dry Climate

Simulation-based studies of HVAC operation to mitigate indoor virus have been conducted to understand tradeoffs between indoor air quality (IAQ) and energy consumption. However, the influence of model parameter uncertainty in these studies has not been systematically quantified, which is critical when providing guidance to building operators. To address this gap, we identify 20 model parameters for a typical medium office building system in a cold and dry climate that can influence IAQ and energy consumption for indoor virus scenarios. Next, the distributions of the parameter values are estimated from literature and a set of simulation samples for three representative days is generated that simultaneously sample all of the parameters from their distributions. Two HVAC virus mitigation strategies are studied: increased filtration using MERV 13 filters and increased ventilation, via supply of 100% outdoor air into buildings. The model parameter uncertainty leads to significant variability in the results, particularly for the IAQ because of the highly uncertain virus generation rate. Use of 100% outdoor air can be beneficial for some uncertain scenarios on the hot day, but shows less IAQ improvement and/or significant energy increases on the other days. The virus removal efficiency and pressure drop of the HVAC filter, fan efficiency, and internal heat gain are the most important parameters to determining the tradeoffs of the two strategies. Our results demonstrate how this model parameter uncertainty analysis methodology can provide practical guidance to building operators.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Securing Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (GEB) through Cyber Defense and Resilient System (CYDRES)

The DOE CYDRES project is driven by the urgent need to address critical research gaps in the domain of cyber-physical security of smart buildings, including Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings (GEBs). CYDRES, a real-time advanced building resilient platform, aims to enhance the cyber-attack-immune capabilities of buildings through multi-layered prevention, detection, and adaptation mechanisms. CYDRES consists of five key modules: a multi-layer network analyzer, an Automatic Fault Detection, Diagnosis, and Prognosis (AFDDP) framework, an intelligent mode selector, a cyber-resilient control framework, and a situation awareness platform. The Network Analyzer employs a data-driven framework that includes a protocol state learning tool and a CRF (Conditional Random Field) command validator. In Hardware-In-the-Loop (HIL) testbeds, it achieved 100% detection accuracy with a false alarm rate of 3%, validating its efficacy in identifying selected cyber-attacks. The AFDDP framework leverages pattern matching, PCA (Principal Component Analysis)-based strategies, and a DBN (Dynamic Bayesian Network)-based fault diagnosis approach to pinpoint the causes of physical system abnormalities using Building Automation System (BAS) data. In HIL experiments, the AFDDP module attained a detection accuracy of over 95% with a false alarm rate below 7%. Additionally, the fault detector utilized machine learning (Random Forest) and deep learning (Multi-Layer Perceptron) methods with acoustic sensor data to achieve a 100% fault detection accuracy in Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning (HVAC) equipment. The Mode Selector offered real-time impact analysis, allowing immediate actions to protect BASs in the face of emerging threats. The cyber-resilient control framework included an adaptive Model Predictive Control (MPC) and a measurement compensator, reducing temperature violations by up to 94% and improving the total demand flexibility by up to 70% in HIL experiments. Such HIL experiments covered a cyber-attack case and a physical fault case, showcasing CYDRES’ efficiency in maintaining operational continuity during threats. The situation awareness platform in Grafana enhanced real-time threat detection and response visualization, augmenting the operational awareness for building operators. CYDRES demonstrated high technical effectiveness in various test scenarios, particularly in HIL environments. The project's phased development approach ensured efficient use of resources, highlighting its practical feasibility and readiness for commercialization. By enhancing the security and resilience of building operations, CYDRES represents a significant advance in mitigating risks associated with cyber-physical systems, thereby enhancing public confidence in the safety of modern building infrastructure. Future directions for the project include expanding testing protocols, refining AFDDP methodologies, exploring more comprehensive resilient control strategies, and testing in real commercial buildings.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2022

Datasets of a Multizone Office Building under Different HVAC System Operation Scenarios

Abstract This study provides an open-source dataset of the measured weather data, building indoor data, and system data under the different test settings. The test building is the two-story Flexible Research Platform building at the US Department of Energy’s Oak Ridge National Laboratory, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee. Four heating tests and three cooling tests were conducted. The 1-min interval of weather, building indoor data, and system data from each test setting are provided. Actual weather data were collected from a weather station installed on the roof. This paper describes information on the test building and installed sensors, data collection method, and data validation. The provided dataset can be employed to understand HVAC system conditions and building indoor conditions under different HVAC system operations and the performance of building envelope without HVAC system operation using free-floating test data. Additionally, it can be used for empirical validation of the building energy modelling engine.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Supporting Growth of a Skilled Workforce in the Building Energy Efficiency Industry (Final Technical Report)

The Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC), having worked for well over a decade to develop national networks and best practices focused on attracting and training high quality workers for the clean energy industries, sought to address shortfalls in skilled workers who build, retrofit, operate, and maintain energy efficient buildings. Through this project, IREC created and promoted a Green Buildings Career Map (GBCM)—a career awareness and recruitment tool—that seeks to boost the nationwide growth of workers entering the energy efficiency (EE) industry. Working with a team of subject matter experts and our partner organizations—Building Performance Association (BPA), Building Performance Institute (BPI), Community Action Partnership (CAP), and the National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS)—IREC produced an interactive, engaging career map to attract and motivate individuals into pursuing careers in energy efficiency, and in support of the Weatherization Assistance Program. The GBCM was designed for a broad audience including educators, career advisors, employers, policymakers, workforce professionals, and jobseekers who may otherwise have little or no awareness of the exciting and rewarding opportunities within targeted industry sectors. Most individuals seeking careers do not know about the breadth of careers awaiting them in the built environment and the same is true for most career and guidance counselors, educators, and parents. The GBCM provides this broad audience with a vision of the myriad jobs that could lead to a long-standing career in energy efficiency. The GBCM describes diverse occupations across the EE industry, charts possible progression between those occupations, and identifies the training, skills, and credentials necessary to do them well.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Innovating the next generation of commercial smart building software

Nearly 30% of commercial building energy use is wasted due to equipment faults and HVAC controls problems. The result is increased emissions, compromised comfort and productivity, and less reliable coordination of building power needs with a clean grid. The energy impact alone represents $17 billion in potential savings. Today’s smart building software provides a robust solution to address these operational deficiencies. Energy management and information systems (EMIS) are saving up to 9% on average, with two-year paybacks. They are being incorporated into energy management processes, commissioning services, and utility programs. As effective as they are, two barriers prevent even deeper benefits; limited personnel to fix problems once they are identified, and the expense and time to manually implement changes in control systems. In partnership with the research community, the EMIS industry is developing new capabilities to overcome these barriers. Moving beyond siloed products for either fault detection and diagnostics, or optimal control, these new capabilities empower users to not only automatically identify faults, but also to push corrective action, and control improvements to their buildings. In this paper, several areas for enhancements are documented: ‘one-time’ correction of faults such as setpoints, schedules, and economizer lockouts; short-term active testing for automated proportional integral derivative (PID) loop tuning and functional testing; and continuous supervisory control for demand flexibility and year-round efficiency. Results are presented from a pair of partner implementations out of a dozen providers integrating these enhancements into their products, including field tests from across the country, and insights into operator acceptance and integration into operations and maintenance practices.

Casillas, Armando↗
DOE OSTI2021

Investigation of HVAC operation strategies for office buildings during COVID-19 pandemic

To minimize the indoor transmission of contaminants, such as the virus that can lead to COVID-19, buildings must provide the best indoor air quality possible. Improving indoor air quality can be achieved through the building's HVAC system to decrease any concentration of indoor contaminants by dilution and/or by source removal. However, doing so has practical downsides on the HVAC operation that are not always quantified in the literature. This paper develops a temporal simulation capability that is used to investigate the indoor virus concentration and operational cost of an HVAC system for two mitigation strategies: (1) supplying 100% outdoor air into the building and (2) using different HVAC filters, including MERV 10, MERV 13, and HEPA filters. These strategies are applied to a hypothetical medium office building consisting of five occupied zones and located in a cold and dry climate. We modeled the building using the Modelica Buildings library and developed new models for HVAC filtration and virus transmission to evaluate COVID-19 scenarios. We show that the ASHRAE-recommended MERV 13 filtration reduces the average virus concentration by about 10% when compared to MERV 10 filtration, with an increase in site energy consumption of about 3%. In contrast, the use of 100% outdoor air reduces the average indoor concentration by about an additional 1% compared to MERV 13 filtration, but significantly increases heating energy consumption. Use of HEPA filtration increases the average indoor concentration and energy consumption compared to MERV 13 filtration due to the high resistance of the HEPA filter.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

Chemical looping combustion oxygen carrier production cost study

The objective of this study was to estimate the cost of commercial production of oxygen carriers (OCs) for large-scale application in a mature, chemical looping combustion (CLC) power generation industry. Estimates of cost were made for two production facility scenarios: 1) build and operate an on-site, OC production facility located at a 550 MW CLC power plant site; and 2) build and operate a central production facility to produce and distribute OCs to the U.S. CLC power generation industry. Two OC production techniques were addressed: mechanical mixing and co-precipitation. Representative OCs that have production raw materials with sufficient commercial availability to support a CLC industry are ilmenite, a natural OC, and four engineered OC types, Fe 2 O 3 -based, CuO-based, NiO-based, and CuFeAlO 4 -based, with candidate OC support materials Al 2 O 3 and TiO 2 . The costs of the OC production raw materials represent the major portion of the OC product cost; the OC production cost, in dollars per kg, has been found to be nearly a linear function of the OC raw materials cost, in dollars per kg. In conclusion, the estimated OC product costs can be used to estimate the maximum OC loss rate yielding a designated CLC power plant cost-of-electricity (COE) target as a development guide, and it has been found that the maximum OC makeup rate, in kg per hour, achieving a designated COE reduction goal relative to a conventional pulverized coal (PC) power plant, will be nearly inversely proportional to the OC production raw materials cost, in dollars per kg.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Transactive Campus Energy Systems: An R&D Testbed for Renewables, Integration, Efficiency, and Grid Services (CRADA 356 / Amendment 1)

The Clean Energy and Transactive Campus (CETC) work described in this report was done as part of Amendment 1 to Campus Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) 356, the Transactive Campus CRADA with the Washington State Department of Commerce (Commerce) between the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s), Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) and the Commerce through the Clean Energy Fund (CEF). The original project team consisted of PNNL, the University of Washington (UW) and Washington State University (WSU), to connect the PNNL, UW, and WSU campuses to construct and operate the testbed as both a regional flexibility resource and as a platform for research and development (R&D) for buildings/grid integration. Building on the foundational transactive system established by the Pacific Northwest Smart Grid Demonstration (PNWSGD), the purpose of the project was to construct the testbed as both a regional flexibility resource and as a platform for R&D on buildings/grid integration and information-based energy efficiency. The testbed supports the integration of renewables and other regional needs, using the flexibility provided by building loads, energy storage, and smart inverters for batteries and photovoltaic (PV) solar systems, at four physical scales: multiple campuses, campus, microgrid and building.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

Developing energy flexibility in clusters of buildings: A critical analysis of barriers from planning to operation

This paper examines building energy flexibility at an aggregated level and addresses the main barriers and research gaps for the development of this resource across three design and development phases: market and policy, early planning and design, and operation. We review methodologies and tools and discuss barriers, challenges, and opportunities, incorporating policy, economic, technical, professional, and social perspectives. Although various legal and regulatory frameworks exist to foster the development of energy flexibility for small buildings, financing mechanisms are limited with a significant number of perceived risks undermining private investment. For the early planning and design phase, planners and designers lack appropriate tools and face interoperability challenges, which often results in insufficient consideration of demand response programs. The review of the operational phase highlighted the socio-technical challenges related to both the complexity of deployment and communication, as well as privacy and acceptability issues. Finally, the paper proposes a number of targeted research directions to address challenges and promote greater energy flexibility deployments, including capturing building demand side dynamics, improving baseline estimations and developing seamless connectivity between buildings and districts.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Can We Fix It Automatically? Development of Fault Auto-Correction Algorithms for HVAC and Lighting Systems

A fault detection and diagnostics (FDD) tool is a type of energy management and information system designed to continuously identify the presence of faults and efficiency improvement opportunities through a one-way interface to the building automation system and application of automated analytics. Building owners and operators at the leading edge of technology adoption are using FDD tools to enable average whole-building portfolio savings of 8 percent. Although FDD tools can inform building operators of operational faults, currently a manual action is always required to correct faults and generate the associated energy savings. A subset of faults, however, such as biased sensors and manual override, can be addressed automatically, removing the need for operations and maintenance staff intervention. Automating this fault “correction” can significantly increase the savings generated by FDD tools and reduce the reliance on human intervention. Doing so is expected to advance the usability, as well as the technical and economic performance, of FDD technologies. In this paper, we present the development of 10 innovative fault auto-correction algorithms for HVAC and lighting systems. When the auto-correction routine is triggered, it will overwrite the control setpoints or other variables (via BACnet or other protocol) to implement the intended changes. These algorithms are able to automatically correct the faults or improve the operation associated with an incorrectly programmed schedule, override manual control, sensor bias, control hunting, rogue zone, and less aggressive setpoints/setpoints setback. The paper will also discuss the implementation of the auto-correction algorithms in FDD software products.

Lin, Guanjing↗
DOE OSTI2023

Offshore Wind Workforce Safety Standards and Training Resource

The standardization of safety training requirements for people working at sea to build and operate offshore wind energy projects, adoption of those standards, and alignment with offshore safety training curriculum development was identified as a high-priority workforce gap in the U.S. Offshore Wind Workforce Assessment (Stefek, 2022). Safety is a top priority for the offshore wind industry; however, there has been uncertainty surrounding what unique safety standards and training will be needed and how various offshore wind safety stakeholders will be involved. The scope of safety training for this resource includes workers who build and operate offshore wind energy projects at sea and defines the stakeholders in the complex ecosystem. This fact sheet aims to help reduce these uncertainties by: 1) Delineating jurisdictional lines, while clarifying roles and responsibilities amongst stakeholders; 2) Identifying key actions or partnerships that can encourage further success with safety training and workforce development.

offshore wind↗
DOE OSTI2020

The effect of lighting environment on task performance in buildings – A review

The effects of indoor environmental conditions on human health, satisfaction, and performance have been the focal point of research for decades. This paper reviews and summarizes the impact of lighting environment on task performance, specifically for the built environment audience. Existing studies included a variety of performance tests on cognitive performance and perception, visual acuity and reaction, memory, reasoning, and labor productivity. Illuminance, luminance ratio and correlated color temperature were found to affect performance in different ways, reflecting the impact of experimental techniques, conditions, performance evaluation methods used and data analysis methods. These were reviewed and categorized, with discussion on limitations related to sample size, modeling approach, carryover effects and other factors affecting individual differences in performance, with recommendations for future improvement. Although no universal conclusions can be made, in general, task performance seems to improve with higher illuminances, contrast ratios in the range of 7–11:1 (while always making sure that glare will not occur in the space) and higher correlated color temperature, while spectral tuning in the red or blue wavelengths has also shown positive effects. To obtain more generic evidence, future studies should be more consistent in terms of experimental procedures and overall light conditions, and also consider the effects of vertical illuminance, daylight provision/control, and outside views on task performance. Finally, studying performance with multi-factorial designs in a human-centered optimized manner (such as deploying variable lighting scenarios optimized for various tasks) can lead to deeper understanding of lighting effects on task performance, and ultimately to improved lighting design and operation in buildings overall.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Meta‐Analysis and Regression Modeling of the Impacts of Four Indoor Environmental Quality Metrics on Office Performance

Awareness of how buildings interact with the occupant experience—especially human performance—is becoming more prevalent, as seen by increasing interest and investment in healthy built environments. However, there is a need to synthesize the wide array of existing indoor environmental assessment and performance research in a way that can translate directly to building design and operation. Existing research in this area typically focuses on a single isolated metric and has not focused on making the results utilizable by building practitioners. The aim of this research is to investigate existing office performance literature through meta‐analyses and produce regression models for four indoor environmental quality (IEQ) metrics to support critical decision‐making for building operation and renovation. To reach this aim, a literature review was conducted to identify studies that measure the impact of changing ventilation rate, temperature, horizontal illuminance, and noise level in offices on occupant task performance. This repository of field and laboratory studies was analyzed to visualize the trends between the selected IEQ metrics and task performance. The temperature, ventilation rate, and horizontal illuminance regression models showed clear improvement potential when modifying indoor conditions toward the defined high‐performance range, while the regression model for noise level was inconclusive. The discussion notes the importance of designing holistically for all components of these IEQ categories to utilize the results, for example, good filtration on outdoor air for quantifying ventilation impact and uniform overhead lighting with low contrast for quantifying horizontal illuminance impact. The novelty of this work is in considering multiple facets of the indoor environment under a single, unified analysis schema and producing IEQ‐based performance gains that can directly inform cost‐benefit analyses of building design and renovation.

60 APPLIED LIFE SCIENCES↗
DOE OSTI2025

ACTIVE

The Automated Control Testbed for Integration, Verification, and Emulation (ACTIVE) framework is a software platform designed to support the optimized operation and management of a wide range of building types. It enables the development, testing, and validation of diverse control strategies, including AI-based, rule-based, and model-based approaches. The platform facilitates a seamless transition from simulation-based evaluation of control strategies to real-world field validation and deployment. ACTIVE supports the full building management lifecycle, encompassing data acquisition and management, system monitoring, optimized control, adaptive learning services, device dispatch and coordination, as well as advanced analytics and visualization. Together, these capabilities provide an integrated environment for improving building performance, operational efficiency, reducing energy cost, and reliability.

Smith, Robert [Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL↗
DOE OSTI2025

Modularization of Small Modular Reactor Facilities: Physical Protection Recommendations

U.S. nuclear power facilities face increasing challenges in meeting dynamic security requirements caused by evolving and expanding threats while keeping costs reasonable to make nuclear energy competitive. In consideration of the economic viability of small modular reactor (SMR) facilities, many designers and utilities are considering a modular approach to the construction and operation of these facilities. This modular approach considers building and operating a first unit; once the first reactor is in operation, construction will begin on a second reactor. This process would allow the vendor or utility to ensure production of energy and financial income while the second reactor is under construction. This project evaluates the feasibility of modular construction in terms of physical protection and identifies several recommendations for vendors and utilities considering this approach. To conduct this evaluation, a hypothetical three-unit SMR facility was developed, a physical protection system (PPS) was considered for the design, and a hypothetical design basis threat (DBT) was used to evaluate this PPS. Multiple outsider sabotage scenarios were examined, with adversary team sizes ranging from 4-to-8 to determine security system effectiveness. The results of this work will influence PPS designs and facility designs for U.S. domestic SMRs. This work will also demonstrate how a series of experimental and modeling capabilities across the Department of Energy (DOE) complex can impact the design and completion of security-by-design (SeBD) for SMRs considering modular construction. The conclusions and recommendations in this document may be applicable to all SMR designs.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗