Engineering Papers⌕ Search

SEARCH · Engineering Papers

Results for “energy efficiency programs”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 487 records · Page 27

Demand Response in Industrial Facilities: Peak Electric Demand

The US Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Better Buildings, Better Plants Program (Better Plants) is a voluntary energy efficiency leadership initiative for US manufacturers and water/wastewater entities. The program encourages organizations to commit to reducing the energy intensity of their US operations over a 10-year period, typically by 25%. Companies joining Better Plants are recognized by DOE for their leadership in implementing energy efficiency practices and for reducing their energy intensity. Better Plants Partners are assigned to a Technical Account Manager, who can help companies establish energy intensity baselines, develop energy management plans, and identify key resources and incentives from DOE, other federal agencies, states, utilities, and other organizations that can enable them to reach their goals. Better Plants Partners are expected to report their progress to DOE once a year. This involves establishing an energy intensity baseline upon joining the program and then tracking their progress over time. Demand Response in Industrial Facilities: Peak Electrical Demand is intended to help companies understand peak demand response programs offering by their local utility. Manufacturing industries can learn about time-varying rates and smart technologies they can use to help them reduce their energy bills. This guidance document is applicable to companies participating at either the program or challenge level. Although this guide is intended primarily to assist companies participating in Better Plants, the methodologies and guidance within the document are applicable to any organization interested in understanding peak demand response programs.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗

DE-EE0007069 – Location, Location, Efficiency! (L.L.E!) (Final Technical Report)

As a participant in Department of Energy's national Better Buildings Challenge, the City of Milwaukee's Environmental Collaboration Office and local partners developed a program to bundle and deliver energy efficiency services to commercial buildings and help bring energy efficiency technologies developed by DOE's Building Technology Office to market. This report summarizes the programs and its results.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

NLR Core Modeling & Decision Support Capabilities: FASTSim, RouteE, T3CO & OpenPATH

This project is part of the program area to develop and improve core capabilities for the Energy-Efficient Mobility Systems (EEMS) program that enable research, development and deployment of advanced mobility solutions and enhance the EEMS Program's ability to address system-level transportation challenges. Advancements to the Future Automotive Systems Technology Simulator (FASTSim), Route Energy Prediction Model (RouteE), Transportation Technology Total Cost of Ownership (T3CO) and Open Platform for Agile Trip Heuristics (OpenPATH) core capabilities under this project supports the overall EEMS Program goals to effectively evaluate energy and mobility impacts of future transportation technologies and services, and to identify the most promising pathways to reduce transportation costs and environmental harms, and to improve mobility access. This presentation was prepared for the 2026 Annual Merit Review of this project.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

2010 Northwest Federal Market Assessment Report

The primary intent of this market assessment is to provide insights on the effectiveness of current energy efficiency and renewable energy program offerings available to Federal sites in the region. The level of detail, quality and currency of the data used in this market assessment varies significantly by Federal agency and energy efficiency service provider. Limited access to some Federal sites, limited availability of key points of contact, time/resource constraints, and other considerations limited the total number of Federal agencies and energy efficiency service providers participating in the survey.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Accessorizing Building Science – A Web Platform to Support Multiple Market Transformation Programs

As demand for improved energy efficiency in homes increases, builders need information on the latest findings in building science, rapidly ramping-up energy codes, and technical requirements for labeling programs. The Building America Solution Center is a Department of Energy (DOE) website containing hundreds of expert guides designed to help residential builders install efficiency measures in new and existing homes. Builders can package measures with other media for customized content. Website content provides technical support to market transformation programs such as ENERGY STAR and has been cloned and adapted to provide content for the Better Buildings Residential Program. The Solution Center uses the Drupal open source content management platform to combine a variety of media in an interactive manner to make information easily accessible. Developers designed a unique taxonomy to organize and manage content. That taxonomy was translated into web-based modules that allow users to rapidly traverse structured content with related topics, and media. We will present information on the current design of the Solution Center and the underlying technology used to manage the content. The paper will explore development of features, such as “Field Kits” that allow users to bundle and save content for quick access, along with the ability to export PDF versions of content. Finally, we will discuss development of an Android based mobile application, and a visualization tool for interacting with Building Science Publications that allows the user to dynamically search the entire Building America Library.

Madison, Michael C.↗

Designing Energy Efficient Communication Runtime Systems for Data Centric Programming Models

The insatiable demand of high performance computing is being driven by the most computationally intensive applications such as computational chemistry, climate modeling, nuclear physics, etc. The last couple of decades have observed a tremendous rise in supercomputers with architectures ranging from traditional clusters to system-on-a-chip in order to achieve the petaflop computing barrier. However, with advent of petaflop-plus computing, we have ushered in an era where power efficient system software stack is imperative for execution on exascale systems and beyond. At the same time, computationally intensive applications are exploring programming models beyond traditional message passing, as a combination of Partitioned Global Address Space (PGAS) languages and libraries, providing one-sided communication paradigm with put, get and accumulate primitives. To support the PGAS models, it is critical to design power efficient and high performance one-sided communication runtime system. In this paper, we design and implement PASCoL, a high performance power aware one-sided communication library using Aggregate Remote Memory Copy Interface (ARMCI), the communication runtime system of Global Arrays. For various communication primitives provided by ARMCI, we study the impact of Dynamic Voltage/Frequency Scaling (DVFS) and a combination of interrupt (blocking)/polling based mechanisms provided by most modern interconnects. We implement our design and evaluate it with synthetic benchmarks using an InfiniBand cluster. Our results indicate that PASCoL can achieve significant reduction in energy consumed per byte transfer without additional penalty for various one-sided communication primitives and various message sizes and data transfer patterns.

99 GENERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS↗

Optimization of wall assembly for DOE Efficient New Homes Program in HUD’s Climate Zones 2 and 3

Manufactured homes provide affordable housing for over 20 million Americans. The U.S. Department of Energy’s Efficient New Homes (ENH) program has introduced new energy certification requirements that manufacturers can optionally target to ensure outstanding levels of energy savings, comfort, health, and durability. In collaboration with Clayton Homes (under User Agreement (NN-23-1469)), Oak Ridge National Laboratory evaluated multiple wall assembly options to meet ENH requirements in HUD Climate Zones 2 and 3, with a target maximum cost premium of 5%. After analyzing thermal performance, cost, and manufacturability, insulated structural sheathing was identified as the most practical and effective solution. A full-scale manufactured home prototype demonstrated that this approach meets energy performance goals with minimal disruption to existing manufacturing processes and a cost premium of less than 10% with a path to further lower costs, offering a promising path forward for more efficient manufactured housing.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Flight test evaluation of drag effects on surface coatings on the NASA Boeing 737 TCV airplane

A flight test program was conducted in which the effects of various surface coatings on aerodynamic drag were investigated; results of this program are described in this report. The tests were conducted at NASA-Langley Research Center on the terminal configured vehicle (TCV) Boeing 737 research airplane. The Boeing Company, as contractor with NASA under the Energy Efficient Transport (EET) program, planned and evaluated the experiment. The NASA-TCV Program Office coordinated the experiment and performed the flight tests. The principal objective of the test was to evaluate the drag reduction potential of an elastomeric polyurethane surface coating, CAAPCO B-274, which also has been considered for application on transport airplanes to protect leading edges from erosion. The smooth surface achievable with this type of coating held some promise of reducing the skin friction drag as compared to conventional production type aircraft surfaces, which are usually anodized bare metal or coated with corrosion protective paint. Requirements for high precision measurements were the principal considerations in the experiment.

George-Falvy, D.↗

Energy Efficient Engine: Control system preliminary definition report

The object of the Control Preliminary Definition Program was to define a preliminary control system concept as a part of the Energy Efficient Engine program. The program was limited to a conceptual definition of a full authority digital electronic control system. System requirements were determined and a control system was conceptually defined to these requirements. Areas requiring technological development were identified and a plan was established for implementing the identified technological features, including a control technology demonstration. A significant element of this program was a study of the potential benefits of closed-loop active clearance control, along with laboratory tests of candidate clearance sensor elements for a closed loop system.

Howe, David C.↗

Achieving Regional Energy Efficiency Potential in the Midwest

The Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance report on actions to accelerate adoption of energy efficiency in the Midwest through regional collaborations with state and local governments, utilities, industry, environmental and consumer groups and other stakeholders in a 13 state region (IA, IL, IN, KS, KY, MI, MN, MO, NE, ND, OH, SD and WI). MEEA collaborated with multiple Department of Energy (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EE) programs, including the Buildings Technologies Program (BTP), Office of Strategic Programs (OSP), Weatherization and Intergovernmental Programs (WIP), and Advanced Manufacturing Office (AMO) to further energy efficiency efforts in the Midwest. In addition, MEEA collaborated with other Regional Energy Efficiency Organizations (REEOs) such as the Northwest, Northeast, Southwest and Southeast REEOs. Such alignment among all REEOs and with DOE sought to build increased workforce capacities nationwide to design, plan, deliver and verify energy efficiency solutions and make individual REEOs more successful in reaching their objectives. The proposed work accelerated deployment of DOE initiatives in local and regional markets, as well as coordinated the activities of each REEO for the dissemination of best practices.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

Greenbelt Homes Pilot Program: Summary of Building Envelope Retrofits, Planned HVAC Equipment Upgrades, and Energy Savings

In the fall of 2010, a multiyear pilot energy efficiency retrofit project was undertaken by Greenbelt Homes, Inc, (GHI) a 1,566 home cooperative of circa 1930 and 1940 homes in Greenbelt, Maryland. GHI established this pilot project to serve as a basis for decision making for the rollout of a decade-long community-wide upgrade program that will incorporate energy efficiency improvements to the building envelope and mechanical equipment. It presents a unique opportunity to evaluate and prioritize the wide-range of benefits of high-performance retrofits based on member experience with and acceptance of the retrofit measures implemented during the pilot project. Addressing the complex interactions between benefits, trade-offs, construction methods, project management implications, realistic upfront costs, financing, and other considerations, serves as a case study for energy retrofit projects to include high-performance technologies based on the long-term value to the homeowner. The pilot project focused on identifying the added costs and energy savings benefits of improvements.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Site Sustainability Plan with FY2015 Performance Data

Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is both the largest science and energy laboratory in the US Department of Energy (DOE) complex and one of the oldest national laboratories still operating at its original site. ORNL implemented an aggressive modernization program in 2000, providing modern, energy-efficient facilities that help to support the growth of important national scientific missions while faced with the unique and challenging opportunity to integrate sustainability into legacy assets. ORNL is committed to leveraging the outcomes of DOE-sponsored research programs to maximize the efficient use of energy and natural resources across a diverse campus. ORNL leadership in conjunction with the Sustainable Campus Initiative (SCI) maintains a commitment to the integration of technical innovations into new and existing facilities, systems, and processes with a comprehensive approach to achieving DOE directives and the new Executive Order 13693. Energy efficiency, greenhouse gas reductions, climate change resiliency, and other pursuits toward integrated sustainability factor in all we do. ORNL continues to pursue and deploy innovative solutions and initiatives to advance regional, national, and worldwide sustainability and continues to transform its culture and engage employees in supporting sustainability at work, at home, and in the community.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Building Efficiency Targeting Tool for Energy Retrofits (BETTER) Application Programing Interface (API) (BETTER API) v1.0

The BETTER API allows advanced users and developers to access BETTER's analytical functionalities via HTTP requests from their own software platform without using the BETTER web-interface. API users prepare the input data and analysis configurations in a JSON format and send it to the web application via an HTTP request. The web application runs the analytical workflow on the back end and returns an HTTP response in JSON format. The user can then decide to render the results or further process it.

Szum, Carolyn↗

Data Center Energy Efficiency

Fact sheet describes how the Federal Energy Management Program helps federal agencies implement data center energy efficiency projects.

Kam, Kendall [US Department of Energy (USDOE) Fede↗

Advancing Efforts to Energize Native Alaska (Brochure)

This brochure describes key programs and initiatives of the DOE Office of Indian Energy Policy and Programs to advance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and energy infrastructure projects in Alaska Native villages.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Energy efficient engine: Low-pressure turbine subsonic cascade component development and integration program

A subsonic cascade test program was conducted to provide technical data for optimizing the blade and vane airfoil designs for the Energy Efficient Engine Low-Pressure Turbine component. The program consisted of three parts. The first involved an evaluation of the low-chamber inlet guide vane. The second, was an evaluation of two candidate aerodynamic loading philosophies for the fourth blade root section. The third part consisted of an evaluation of three candidate airfoil geometries for the fourth blade mean section. The performance of each candidate airfoil was evaluated in a linear cascade configuration. The overall results of this study indicate that the aft-loaded airfoil designs resulted in lower losses which substantiated Pratt & Whitney Aircraft's design philosophy for the Energy Efficient Engine low-pressure turbine component.

Sharma, O. P.↗

Analysis of US Industrial Assessment Centers (IACs) implementation

Industrial energy assessments are a fundamental action toward developing a decarbonization strategy at any level. They provide an understanding of where energy efficiency opportunities exist and help to make informed business decisions about the costs and benefits of implementing sustainable policies and practices. This paper examines the effectiveness of the Department of Energy's Industrial Assessment Centers Program at providing useful energy-efficiency audits as well as the barriers faced by the program and plans for future growth and improvement. This paper presents an analysis of the program between 1981 and 2022, covering 20,290 industrial assessments and 151,198 recommendations, with $2.6 billion of recommended savings. The analysis includes a breakdown of the IAC recommendations and implemented projects based on both the industrial subsectors according to the Standard Industrial Classification code, energy type, and systems evaluated. The results include a 47 % implementation rate, a gap analysis to understand the missed opportunities, and a discussion about reasons for recommendation rejection. A comparison of the IAC Program with other country-level energy auditing or assessment programs was conducted, and suggestions for improving implementation rates were mentioned.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

Highly Efficient Vacuum Smelting of Aluminum

The goal of this SBIR project was to develop and demonstrate an innovative aluminum smelting technology that will significantly increase the range of aluminum alloys that can be manufactured from recycling of scrap aluminum. This will result in reduction of need for primary aluminum with corresponding 95% energy and CO 2 emission benefits. The proposed melting of pre-sorted aluminum alloys using UHV’s patented high throughput sorter funded by ARPA-E METALS program in an energy efficient vacuum furnace avoids the typical 5% metal loss due to oxidation of molten metal. In addition, pre-sorting scrap into different categories (cast, wrought, extrusion and aerospace) allows lower cost production of high value aluminum alloys without the need for adding alloying elements to primary aluminum. During this SBIR project, pure aluminum and several different commercial alloys were procured and melted in a laboratory furnace in vacuum, CH4 and air environments. The slag and oxidation formation were measured using weight and cross-sectional scanning electron microscope. The results otained were mixed and did not show direct correlation between furnace pressure and oxidation. We believe that the results were tainted due to small furnace size and non-uniformity of oxidation layer. A more thorough investigation is required to prove the advantages of vacuum smelting which could not be performed due to the COVID-19 lockdowns during this project. The theoretical fact remains that in the absence of oxygen in the furnace, there should be no oxide after melting, however the team could not prove it experimentally, and thus decided to dis-continue the project.

36 MATERIALS SCIENCE↗