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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 91 records · Page 5
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2013

Performance House: A Cold Climate Challenge Home, Old Greenwich, Connecticut (Fact Sheet)

By working with builder partners on test homes, researchers from the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America program can vet whole-house building strategies and avoid potential unintended consequences of implementing untested solution packages on a production scale. To support this research, Building America team Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB) partnered with Preferred Builders Inc. on a high-performance test home in Old Greenwich, Connecticut. The philosophy and science behind the 2,700 ft2 "Performance House" was based on the premise that homes should be safe, healthy, comfortable, durable, efficient, and adaptable to the needs of homeowners. The technologies and strategies used in the "Performance House" were best practices rather than cutting edge, with a focus on simplicity in construction, maintenance, and operation. Achieving 30% source energy savings compared with a home built to the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code in the cold climate zone requires that nearly all components and systems be optimized. Careful planning and design are critical. The end result was a DOE Challenge Home that achieved a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index Score of 20 (43 without photovoltaics [PV]).

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DOE OSTI2013

DOE Zero Energy Ready Home Case Study: Mandalay Homes, Phoenix, Arizona

This builder built fourteen homes in the Gordon Estates subdivision that achieved Challenge Home certification with HERS 38–58 on an affordable budget for homeowners. Every Mandalay home in the development also met the National Green Building Standard gold level. The Gordon Estates subdivision is also serving as a showcase of energy efficiency, and Mandalay is hosting education workshops for realtors, state and local officials, other builders, students, potential homeowners, and the public. The builder won a 2013 Housing Innovation Award in the affordable builder category.

Building America↗
DOE OSTI2015

DOE ZERH Case Study: BPC Green Builders, Taft School, Watertown, CT

Case study of a DOE 2015 Housing Innovation Award winning custom home in the cold climate that got a HERS 33 without PV or HERS -14 with PV, with 8.5” double 2x4 walls with 8.5” (R-32) blown cellulose plus R-6 rigid foam, basement with 3” ccsf on interior plus 2x4 stud walls with R-13 blown cellulose, with R-20 around slab, R-38 under slab; a vented attic with R-100 blown cellulose; a central heat pump; HRV; heat pump water heater; 100% LED; and Passive House Institute U.S.+, LEED platinum, and Living Building Challenge certifications.

Building America↗
DOE OSTI2015

Implementing a Zero Energy Ready Home Multifamily Project

Building cost-effective, high-performance homes that provide superior comfort, health, and durability is the goal of the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program. Building America research and other innovative programs throughout the country have addressed many of the technical challenges of building to the ZERH standard. The cost-effectiveness of measure packages that result in 30% source energy savings compared to a code-compliant home have been demonstrated. However, additional challenges remain, particularly with respect to convincing production builders of the strong business case for ZERH. The Alliance for Residential Building Innovation (ARBI) team believes that the keys to successfully engaging builders and developers in the California market are to help them leverage development agreement requirements, code compliance requirements, incentives, and competitive market advantages of ZERH certification, and navigate through this process. A primary objective of this project was to gain a highly visible foothold for residential buildings that are built to the DOE ZERH specification that can be used to encourage participation by other California builders. This report briefly describes two single-family homes that were ZERH certified and focuses on the experience of working with developer Mutual Housing on a 62-unit multifamily community at the Spring Lake subdivision in Woodland, California. The Spring Lake project is expected to be the first ZERH-certified multifamily project in the country. This report discusses the challenges encountered, lessons learned, and how obstacles were overcome.

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DOE OSTI2013

Combining de novo and reference-guided assembly with scaffold_builder

Genome sequencing has become routine, however genome assembly still remains a challenge despite the computational advances in the last decade. In particular, the abundance of repeat elements in genomes makes it difficult to assemble them into a single complete sequence. Identical repeats shorter than the average read length can generally be assembled without issue. However, longer repeats such as ribosomal RNA operons cannot be accurately assembled using existing tools. The application Scaffold_builder was designed to generate scaffolds – super contigs of sequences joined by N-bases – based on the similarity to a closely related reference sequence. This is independent of mate-pair information and can be used complementarily for genome assembly, e.g. when matepairs are not available or have already been exploited. Scaffold_builder was evaluated using simulated pyrosequencing reads of the bacterial genomes Escherichia coli 042, Lactobacillus salivarius UCC118 and Salmonella enterica subsp. enterica serovar Typhi str. P-stx-12. Moreover, we sequenced two genomes from Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium LT2 G455 and Salmonella enterica serovar Typhimurium SDT1291 and show that Scaffold_builder decreases the number of contig sequences by 53% while more than doubling their average length. Scaffold_builder is written in Python and is available at http://edwards.sdsu.edu/scaffold_builder. A web-based implementation is additionally provided to allow users to submit a reference genome and a set of contigs to be scaffolded.

Salmonella enterica serovar typhimurium↗
DOE OSTI2012

Quality Assurance Strategy for Existing Homes: Final Quality Management Primer for High Performing Homes

Building high performing homes (HPH) that are energy efficient, durable, comfortable, and safe to live in does not simply require knowledge of building science principles. It also requires the ability to properly design, specify, and install new technologies and systems. Quality management systems (QMS) provide the infrastructure necessary to ensure repeatability as well as manage continual improvement to increase first time quality, reduce warranty, and increase customer satisfaction. As a result, QMS is needed as the industry shifts from building conventional to HPH and ultimately state-of-the-art homes such those meeting the DOE’s Challenge Home. This guide is designed to help a builder understand quality management and its role in transitioning from conventional to HPH building and remodeling. It addresses the typical quality management systems for new home construction, and also provides context for the use of quality management in existing homes. It explains what quality means, the value of QMS, the unique need for QMS when building HPH, and the first steps to a implementing a comprehensive QMS.

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DOE OSTI2021

U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Solar Decathlon® Design Challenge is a collegiate competition that challenges student teams to design high-performance buildings that push the boundaries of the industry. In the 2020 Design Challenge, DOE piloted the Design Partners Program, a low-risk opportunity for builders and building owners to harness student innovation and explore zero energy design for current or upcoming projects. Design Partners provide a student team of architects and engineers with project requirements. By the end of the Design Challenge, Design Partners receive a zero-energy design alternative and cost estimate for their project. The collaboration allows Design Partners to incorporate innovative concepts such as grid-interactivity, resilience, and low embodied carbon in a low-risk environment. It also provides the future generation of engineers and architects with invaluable experience designing a building for a client under real-world circumstances. This article summarizes the current policy, technology, health, and economic trends that make zero energy buildings desirable and feasible, and presents the value of the Solar Decathlon to industry. We highlight innovative solutions 2020 Design Partner pilot projects are bringing to the building industry.

30 DIRECT ENERGY CONVERSION↗
DOE OSTI2016

Modular Zero Energy. BrightBuilt Home

Kaplan Thompson Architects (KTA) has specialized in sustainable, energy-efficient buildings, and they have designed several custom, zero-energy homes in New England. These zero-energy projects have generally been high-end, custom homes with budgets that could accommodate advanced energy systems. In an attempt to make zero energy homes more affordable and accessible to a larger demographic, KTA explored modular construction as way to provide high-quality homes at lower costs. In the mid-2013, KTA formalized this concept when they launched BrightBuilt Home (BBH). The BBH mission is to offer a line of architect-designed, high-performance homes that are priced to offer substantial savings off the lifetime cost of a typical home and can be delivered in less time. For the past two years, CARB has worked with BBH and Keiser Homes (the primary modular manufacturer for BBH) to discuss challenges related to wall systems, HVAC, and quality control. In Spring of 2014, CARB and BBH began looking in detail on a home to be built in Lincolnville, ME by Black Bros. Builders. This report details the solution package specified for this modular plan and the challenges that arose during the project.

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DOE OSTI2016

Modular Zero Energy Ready Homes: Bright Built - Maine

Kaplan Thompson Architects (KTA) has specialized in sustainable, energy-efficient buildings, and they have designed several custom, zero-energy homes in New England. These zero-energy projects have generally been high-end, custom homes with budgets that could accommodate advanced energy systems. In an attempt to make zero energy homes more affordable and accessible to a larger demographic, KTA explored modular construction as way to provide high-quality homes at lower costs. In mid-2013, KTA formalized this concept when they launched BrightBuilt Home (BBH). The BBH mission is to offer "a line of architect-designed, high-performance homes that are priced to offer substantial savings off the lifetime cost of a typical home and can be delivered in less time." For the past two years, CARB has worked with BBH and Keiser Homes (the primary modular manufacturer for BBH) to discuss challenges related to wall systems, HVAC, and quality control. In Spring of 2014, CARB and BBH began looking in detail on a home to be built in Lincolnville, ME by Black Bros. Builders. This report details the solution package specified for this modular plan and the challenges that arose during the project.

air sealing↗
DOE OSTI2016

Building America Case Study: BrightBuilt Home, Modular Zero Energy, Portland, Maine

Kaplan Thompson Architects (KTA) has specialized in sustainable, energy-efficient buildings, and they have designed several custom, zero-energy homes in New England. These zero-energy projects have generally been high-end, custom homes with budgets that could accommodate advanced energy systems. In an attempt to make zero energy homes more affordable and accessible to a larger demographic, KTA explored modular construction as way to provide high-quality homes at lower costs. In mid-2013, KTA formalized this concept when they launched BrightBuilt Home (BBH). The BBH mission is to offer 'a line of architect-designed, high-performance homes that are priced to offer substantial savings off the lifetime cost of a typical home and can be delivered in less time.' For the past two years, CARB has worked with BBH and Keiser Homes (the primary modular manufacturer for BBH) to discuss challenges related to wall systems, HVAC, and quality control. In Spring of 2014, CARB and BBH began looking in detail on a home to be built in Lincolnville, Maine, by Black Bros. Builders. This report details the solution package specified for this modular plan and the challenges that arose during the project.

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NASA NTRS2006

Laboratory Astrophysics: Enabling Scientific Discovery and Understanding

NASA's Science Strategic Roadmap for Universe Exploration lays out a series of science objectives on a grand scale and discusses the various missions, over a wide range of wavelengths, which will enable discovery. Astronomical spectroscopy is arguably the most powerful tool we have for exploring the Universe. Experimental and theoretical studies in Laboratory Astrophysics convert "hard-won data into scientific understanding". However, the development of instruments with increasingly high spectroscopic resolution demands atomic and molecular data of unprecedented accuracy and completeness. How to meet these needs, in a time of severe budgetary constraints, poses a significant challenge both to NASA, the astronomical observers and model-builders, and the laboratory astrophysics community. I will discuss these issues, together with some recent examples of productive astronomy/lab astro collaborations.

Kirby, K.↗
DOE OSTI2014

Nexus EnergyHomes, Frederick, Maryland (Fact Sheet)

With this new home - which achieved the highest rating possible under the National Green Building Standard - Nexus EnergyHomes demonstrated that green and affordable can go hand in hand. The mixed-humid climate builder, along with the U.S. Department of Energy Building America team Partnership for Home Innovation, embraced the challenge to create a new duplex home in downtown Frederick, Maryland, that successfully combines affordability with state-of-the-art efficiency and indoor environmental quality. To limit costs, the builder designed a simple rectangular shape and kept interesting architectural features such as porches outside the building's structure. This strategy avoided the common pitfall of creating potential air leakage where architectural features are connected to the structure before the building is sealed against air infiltration. To speed construction and limit costs, the company chose factory-assembled components such as structural insulated panel walls and floor and roof trusses. Factory-built elements were key in achieving continuous insulation around the entire structure. Open-cell spray foam at the rim joist and attic roofline completed the insulation package, and kept the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system in conditioned space.

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DOE OSTI2014

New Whole-House Solutions Case Study: Nexus EnergyHomes, Frederick, Maryland

With this new home—which achieved the highest rating possible under the National Green Building Standard—Nexus EnergyHomes demonstrated that green and affordable can go hand in hand. The mixed-humid climate builder, along with the U.S. Department of Energy Building America team Partnership for Home Innovation, embraced the challenge to create a new duplex home in downtown Frederick, Maryland, that successfully combines affordability with state-of-the-art efficiency and indoor environmental quality. To limit costs, the builder designed a simple rectangular shape and kept interesting architectural features such as porches outside the building’s structure. This strategy avoided the common pitfall of creating potential air leakage where architectural features are connected to the structure before the building is sealed against air infiltration. To speed construction and limit costs, the company chose factory-assembled components such as structural insulated panel walls and floor and roof trusses. Factory-built elements were key in achieving continuous insulation around the entire structure. Open-cell spray foam at the rim joist and attic roofline completed the insulation package, and kept the heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning system in conditioned space.

affordable↗
NASA NTRS1996

Role of Communications Satellites in the National and Global Information Infrastructure

Early in 1995, the Satellite Industry Task Force (SITF) was initiated by executives of the satellite industry to define the role for communication satellites in the National and Global Information Infrastructure (NII/GII). Satellites are essential to this information network because they offer ubiquitous coverage and less time to market. SITF, which was chaired by Dr. Thomas Brackey of the Hughes Space and Communication Division, grew out of a series of workshops held during the summer of 1994 by the communication industry, NASA, and the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA). Experts were convened from 20 companies representing satellite and terrestrial network builders, operators, and users. For 8 months they worked to identify challenges for the satellite industry to play a pivotal role in the National and Global Information Infrastructure. NASA Lewis Research Center personnel helped out with technical and policy matters.

Source record↗
DOE OSTI2012

Measure Guideline: Air Sealing Attics in Multifamily Buildings

This Building America Measure Guideline is intended for owners, builders, contractors, homeowners, and other stakeholders in the multifamily building industry, and focuses on challenges found in existing buildings for a variety of housing types. It explains why air sealing is desirable, explores related health and safety issues, and identifies common air leakage points in multifamily buildingattics. In addition, it also gives an overview of materials and techniques typically used to perform air sealing work.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2014

Taking the Challenge at Singer Village. A Cold Climate Zero Energy Ready Home

After progressively incorporating ENERGY STAR® for Homes Versions 1, 2, and 3 into its standard practices over the years, this builder, Brookside Development, was seeking to build an even more sustainable product that would further increase energy efficiency, while also addressing indoor air quality, water conservation, renewable-ready, and resiliency. These objectives align with the framework of the DOE Challenge Home program, which "builds upon the comprehensive building science requirements of ENERGY STAR for Homes Version 3, along with proven Building America innovations and best practices. Other special attribute programs are incorporated to help builders reach unparalleled levels of performance with homes designed to last hundreds of years." Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB) partnered with Brookside Development on the design optimization and construction of the first home in a small development of seven planned new homes being built on the old Singer Estate in Derby, CT.

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