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DOE OSTI2016

Building America Case Study: Quantifying the Financial Benefits of Multifamily Retrofits, Chicago, Illinois

Increasing the adoption of energy efficient building practices will require the energy sector to increase their understanding of the way that retrofits affect multifamily financial performance as well as how those indicators are interpreted by the lending and appraisal industries. This project analyzed building, energy, and financial program data as well as other public and private data to examine the relationship between energy efficiency retrofits and financial performance on three levels: building, city, and community. The project goals were to increase the data and analysis in the growing body of multifamily financial benefits work as well provide a framework for other geographies to produce similar characterization. The goals are accomplished through three tasks: Task one: A pre- and post-retrofit analysis of thirteen Chicago multifamily buildings. Task two: A comparison of Chicago income and expenses to two national datasets. Task three: An in-depth look at multifamily market sales data and the subsequent impact of buildings that undergo retrofits.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2010

Energy Efficiency Trends in Residential and Commercial Buildings - August 2010

This report overviews trends in the construction industry, including profiles of buildings and the resulting impacts on energy consumption. It begins with an executive summary of the key findings found in the body of the report, so some of the data and charts are replicated in this section. Its intent is to provide in a concise place key data points and conclusions. The remainder of the report provides a specific profile of the construction industry and patterns of energy use followed by sections providing product and market insights and information on policy efforts, such as taxes and regulations, which are intended to influence building energy use. Information on voluntary programs is also offered.

commercial buildings↗

DOE OSTI2011

Light Duty Efficient, Clean Combustion (Final Report)

Cummins has successfully completed the Light Duty Efficient Clean Combustion (LDECC) cooperative program with DoE. This program was established in 2007 in support of the Department of Energy's Vehicles Technologies Advanced Combustion and Emissions Control initiative to remove critical barriers to the commercialization of advanced, high efficiency, emissions compliant internal combustion (IC) engines for light duty vehicles. Work in this area expanded the fundamental knowledge of engine combustion to new regimes and advanced the knowledge of fuel requirements for these diesel engines to realize their full potential. All of the following objectives were met with fuel efficiency improvement targets exceeded: (1) Improve light duty vehicle (5000 lb. test weight) fuel efficiency by 10.5% over today's state-of-the-art diesel engine on the FTP city drive cycle; (2) Develop and design an advanced combustion system plus aftertreatment system that synergistically meets Tier 2 Bin 5 NOx and PM emissions standards while demonstrating the efficiency improvements; (3) Maintain power density comparable to that of current conventional engines for the applicable vehicle class; and (4) Evaluate different fuel components and ensure combustion system compatibility with commercially available biofuels. Key accomplishments include: (1) A 25% improvement in fuel efficiency was achieved with the advanced LDECC engine equipped with a novel SCR aftertreatment system compared to the 10.5% target; (2) An 11% improvement in fuel efficiency was achieved with the advanced LDECC engine and no NOx aftertreamtent system; (3) Tier 2 Bin 5 and SFTP II emissions regulations were met with the advanced LDECC engine equipped with a novel SCR aftertreatment system; (4) Tier 2 Bin 5 emissions regulations were met with the advanced LDECC engine and no NOx aftertreatment, but SFTP II emissions regulations were not met for the US06 test cycle - Additional technical barriers exist for the no NOx aftertreatment engine; (5) Emissions and efficiency targets were reached with the use of biodiesel. A variety of biofuel feedstocks (soy, rapeseed, etc.) was investigated; (6) The advanced LDECC engine with low temperature combustion was compatible with commercially available biofuels as evaluated by engine performance testing and not durability testing; (7) The advanced LDECC engine equipped with a novel SCR aftertreatment system is the engine system architecture that is being further developed by the Cummins product development organization. Cost reduction and system robustness activities have been identified for future deployment; (8) The new engine and aftertreatment component technologies are being developed by the Cummins Component Business units (e.g. fuel system, turbomachinery, aftertreatment, electronics, etc.) to ensure commercial viability and deployment; (9) Cummins has demonstrated that the technologies developed for this program are scalable across the complete light duty engine product offerings (2.8L to 6.7L engines); and (10) Key subsystems developed include - sequential two stage turbo, combustions system for low temperature combustion, novel SCR aftertreatment system with feedback control, and high pressure common rail fuel system. An important element of the success of this project was leveraging Cummins engine component technologies. Innovation in component technology coupled with system integration is enabling Cummins to move forward with the development of high efficiency clean diesel products with a long term goal of reaching a 40% improvement in thermal efficiency for the engine plus aftertreatment system. The 40% improvement is in-line with the current light duty vehicle efficiency targets set by the 2010 DoE Vehicle Technologies MYPP and supported through co-operative projects such as the Cummins Advanced Technology Powertrains for Light-Duty Vehicles (ATP-LD) started in 2010.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗

DOE OSTI2014

CALIFA, a Dedicated Calorimeter for the R{sup 3}B/FAIR

The R{sup 3}B experiment (Reactions with Relativistic Radioactive Beams) at FAIR (Facility for Antiproton and Ion Research) is a versatile setup dedicated to the study of reactions induced by high-energy radioactive beams. It will provide kinematically complete measurements with high efficiency, acceptance and resolution, making possible a broad physics program with rare-isotopes. CALIFA (CALorimeter for In-Flight detection of gamma-rays and high energy charged pArticles), is a complex detector based on scintillation crystals, that will surround the target of the R{sup 3}B experiment. CALIFA will act as a total absorption gamma-calorimeter and spectrometer, as well as identifier of charged particles from target residues. This versatility is its most challenging requirement, demanding a huge dynamic range, to cover from low energy gamma-rays up to 300 MeV protons. This fact, along with the high-energy of the beams determine the conceptual design of the detector, presented in this paper, together with the technical solutions proposed for its construction.

73 NUCLEAR PHYSICS AND RADIATION PHYSICS↗

DOE OSTI2023

AI-Driven Smart Community Control for Accelerating PV Adoption and Enhancing Grid Resilience

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a Connected Communities program that supports projects that expand DOE's network of grid-interactive, efficient building communities nationwide. As an early pilot of Connected Communities, the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) and its partners have developed and demonstrated a community-scale, hierarchical control solution to address the potential grid issues arising from high penetration of solar photovoltaics (PV) as well as to improve grid reliability and resilience in this residential community. A field pilot study has been performed at an affordable housing development called the Basalt Vista Community, which was built for school teachers and other professionals in the local workforce and represents an autonomous energy grid with all-electric, energy-efficient homes. With no natural gas line in the community, this is the first all-electric net-zero community in rural Colorado. In the field pilot study, NREL has validated the performance of the hierarchical control solution, which consists of NREL's foresee home energy management systems (HEMS) and community aggregators, in increasing demand flexibility and self-consuming PV, reducing potential over-voltages, and supporting critical loads during emergency events. In this presentation, we will present the methodology, simulation and field pilot results, and lessons learned from the project.

all-electric community↗

DOE OSTI2022

The Essential Role of Nuclear Energy in Achieving Economy-wide Net-Zero Solutions

Governments and private industry around the world have established aggressive goals to achieve net-zero emissions for the power, industrial, and transportation sectors by 2050. These aggressive goals demand immediate action if we are to be successful, and they require us to think more holistically about our clean energy options. Programs within the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) are addressing these holistic solutions. Traditionally, electricity generation and management and meeting energy demands for industry and transportation are considered independently. As we seek to achieve net-zero, we need to reassess energy demands. When we consider overall energy use, only one-third is in the form of electricity. Additional energy demands are in the form of heat or steam for industrial processes, as well as transportation. These sectors are much harder to abate, and electrification may not be the best option. Reducing environmental emissions at an affordable cost, while maintaining grid reliability and resilience, will require us to use all of the clean energy resources that we have available. That means coordinating the use of nuclear, renewables, and fossil fuels with carbon capture to meet growing demands for electricity, industrial applications, and mobility. The DOE Office of Nuclear Energy (DOE-NE) program on Integrated Energy Systems (IES) is led by researchers at Idaho National Laboratory (INL) and work is conducted in partnership with an array of other DOE laboratories, industry, and academia. The primary focus of IES research is to assess the technical and economic potential of IES to enhance the flexibility and utilization of nuclear reactors working alongside renewable generators to meet an array of energy demands—thereby maximizing the utilization of clean energy resources across all energy sectors. Various energy applications and product streams beyond electricity are being evaluated, ranging from generation of potable water to production of hydrogen, fertilizers, synthetic fuels, and chemicals. The DOE-NE program additionally partners with the Hydrogen and Fuel Cell Technologies Office under the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy to jointly fund the development of analysis tools, technologies, and nuclear-integrated hydrogen demonstration projects. This presentation highlights the wide array of R&D being conducted across multiple DOE-funded programs to develop and deploy nuclear-based IES that will be key to achieving our net-zero goals. By working with key collaborators in the nuclear industry, analytical studies are now becoming a reality in demonstration projects.

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2022

Advancing Nuclear Energy to Support Economy-wide Net-zero Solutions: Challenges and Opportunities

22 GENERAL STUDIES OF NUCLEAR REACTORS↗

DOE OSTI2012

Understanding Nitrogen Fixation

The purpose of our program is to explore fundamental chemistry relevant to the discovery of energy efficient methods for the conversion of atmospheric nitrogen (N 2 ) into more value-added nitrogen-containing organic molecules. Such transformations are key for domestic energy security and the reduction of fossil fuel dependencies. With DOE support, we have synthesized families of zirconium and hafnium dinitrogen complexes with elongated and activated N-N bonds that exhibit rich N 2 functionalization chemistry. Having elucidated new methods for N-H bond formation from dihydrogen, C-H bonds and Broensted acids, we have since turned our attention to N-C bond construction. These reactions are particularly important for the synthesis of amines, heterocycles and hydrazines with a range of applications in the fine and commodity chemicals industries and as fuels. One recent highlight was the discovery of a new N 2 cleavage reaction upon addition of carbon monoxide which resulted in the synthesis of an important fertilizer, oxamide, from the diatomics with the two strongest bonds in chemistry.

03 NATURAL GAS↗

DOE OSTI2012

Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals Project (Fact Sheet)

The U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) was created in 1976 and has weatherized more than 7.3 million households since its inception. Throughout the years, private industry, public utilities, municipalities, and states have also implemented numerous home energy upgrade programs in the market—making weatherization efforts a staple in their energy efficiency portfolios.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

DOE OSTI2020

ENERGY STAR for Tenants: An Online Energy Estimation Tool for Commercial Office Building Tenants

The commercial building sector consumes over 18% of the total energy in the United States. According to the 2012 Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), office buildings comprise nearly 16 billion square feet of floor space and consume 253 billion kWh of energy annually. Office buildings represent nearly one-fifth of the energy consumed by commercial buildings, more than any other building type. Therefore, monitoring and reducing energy consumption in office buildings has become an increasingly important focus across the United States. The goal of the ENERGY STAR for Tenants program is to recognize office building tenants who demonstrate commitment to energy efficiency and environmental stewardship. Tenants seeking recognition must complete five major steps: estimate energy use, meter energy use, use efficient lighting, use efficient equipment, and share data. NREL is responsible for the underlying analysis performed for step one, estimating energy use. An online survey was developed for tenants to input information about their office space and its internal loads. NREL performed a parametric analysis across a large parameter space of office buildings. The analysis results were processed to map the user inputs to output energy ranges. The mappings enable the web tool to provide users with instant energy usage estimates based on a limited number of inputs.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗

NASA NTRS1987

Smart Houses

GWS takes plans for a new home and subjects them to intensive computerized analysis that does 10,000 calculations relative to expected heat loss and heat gain, then provides specifications designed specifically for each structure as to heating, cooling, ventilation and insulation. As construction progresses, GWS inspects the work of the electrical, plumbing and insulation contractors and installs its own Smart House Radiant Barrier. On completion of the home, GWS technicians use a machine that creates a vacuum in the house and enables computer calculation of the air exchanged, a measure of energy efficiency. Key factor is the radiant barrier, borrowed from the Apollo program. This is an adaptation of a highly effective aluminized heat shield as a radiation barrier holding in or keeping out heat, cold air and water vapor.

Source record↗

NASA NTRS2010

NASA's Exploration Technology Development Program Energy Storage Project Battery Technology Development

Technical Interchange Meeting was held at Saft America s Research and Development facility in Cockeysville, Maryland on Sept 28th-29th, 2010. The meeting was attended by Saft, contractors who are developing battery component materials under contracts awarded through a NASA Research Announcement (NRA), and NASA. This briefing presents an overview of the components being developed by the contractor attendees for the NASA s High Energy (HE) and Ultra High Energy (UHE) cells. The transition of the advanced lithium-ion cell development project at NASA from the Exploration Technology Development Program Energy Storage Project to the Enabling Technology Development and Demonstration High Efficiency Space Power Systems Project, changes to deliverable hardware and schedule due to a reduced budget, and our roadmap to develop cells and provide periodic off-ramps for cell technology for demonstrations are discussed. This meeting gave the materials and cell developers the opportunity to discuss the intricacies of their materials and determine strategies to address any particulars of the technology.

Reid, Concha M.↗

DOE OSTI2011

LED Frequently Asked Questions

Solid-state lighting program technology fact sheet that provides an overview of what retailers, energy efficiency advocates, and consumers need to know to make informed LED buying decisions.

LED, FAQ, SSL, energy efficient, cost, quality, li↗

DOE OSTI2013

Advanced Natural Gas Reciprocating Engine(s)

Energy independence and fuel savings are hallmarks of the nation’s energy strategy. The advancement of natural gas reciprocating engine power generation technology is critical to the nation’s future. A new engine platform that meets the efficiency, emissions, fuel flexibility, cost and reliability/maintainability targets will enable American manufacturers to have highly competitive products that provide substantial environmental and economic benefits in the US and in international markets. Along with Cummins and Waukesha, Caterpillar participated in a multiyear cooperative agreement with the Department of Energy to create a 50% efficiency natural gas powered reciprocating engine system with a 95% reduction in NOx emissions by the year 2013. This platform developed under this agreement will be a significant contributor to the US energy strategy and will enable gas engine technology to remain a highly competitive choice, meeting customer cost of electricity targets, and regulatory environmental standard. Engine development under the Advanced Reciprocating Engine System (ARES) program was divided into phases, with the ultimate goal being approached in a series of incremental steps. This incremental approach would promote the commercialization of ARES technologies as soon as they emerged from development and would provide a technical and commercial foundation of later-developing technologies. Demonstrations of the Phase I and Phase II technology were completed in 2004 and 2008, respectively. Program tasks in Phase III included component and system development and testing from 2009-2012. Two advanced ignition technology evaluations were investigated under the ARES program: laser ignition and distributed ignition (DIGN). In collaboration with Colorado State University (CSU), a laser ignition system was developed to provide ignition at lean burn and high boost conditions. Much work has been performed in Caterpillar’s DIGN program under the ARES program. This work has consisted of both modeling and single cylinder engine experiments to quantify DIGN performance. The air handling systems of natural gas engines dissipate a percentage of available energy as a result of both flow losses and turbomachinery inefficiencies. An analytical study was initiated to increase compressor efficiency by employing a 2-stage inter-cooled compressor. Caterpillar also studied a turbo-compound system that employs a power turbine to recover energy from the exhaust gases for improved engine efficiency. Several other component and system investigations were undertaken during the final phase of the program to reach the ultimate ARES goals. An intake valve actuation system was developed and tested to improve engine efficiency, durability and load acceptance. Analytical modeling and materials testing were performed to evaluate the performance of steel pistons and compacted graphite iron cylinder head. Effort was made to improve the detonation sensing system by studying and comparing the performance of different pressure sensors. To reduce unburned hydrocarbon emissions, different camshafts were designed and built to investigate the effect of exhaust valve opening timing and value overlap. 1-D & 3-D coupled simulation was used to study intake and exhaust manifold dynamics with the goal of reducing load in-balance between cylinders. Selective catalytic reduction with on-board reductant generation to reduce NOx emissions was also engine tested. An effective mean to successfully deploy ARES technologies into the energy markets is to deploy demonstration projects in the field. In 2010, NETL and Caterpillar agreed to include a new “opportunity fuel” deliverable and two field demonstrations in the ARES program. An Organic Rankine Cycle system was designed with production intent incorporating lessons learned from the Phase II demonstration. Unfortunately, business conditions caused Caterpillar to cancel this demonstration in 2011. Nonetheless, Caterpillar partnered with a local dealer to deploy an ARES class engine using syngas from a biomass gasifier as the DE-FC26-01CH11079 primary combustion fuel in Gleason, TN. Upon the successful start-up and commissioning of the demonstration unit, ownership of the system was transferred to the dealer. In order to further our understanding of syngas combustion, a fundamental combustion study on syngas combustion at high pressure and lean condition was conducted through the collaboration with University of Southern California. A Methane program was also developed to rate engine performance for various compositions of syngas using empirical data obtained at CSU. While much work remains in terms of extending and integrating these developments into commercial products, it is evident that engine manufacturers on our own or through private consortium efforts could not have overcome the financial hurdles to drive these improvements into reciprocating engine and system capabilities, helping maintain the natural gas reciprocating engine power generation technology as a strong option for electric power markets, both in the United States and worldwide.

20 FOSSIL-FUELED POWER PLANTS↗

NASA NTRS2013

70 Years of Aeropropulsion Research at NASA Glenn Research Center

This paper presents a brief overview of air-breathing propulsion research conducted at the NASA Glenn Research Center (GRC) over the past 70 years. It includes a historical perspective of the center and its various stages of propulsion research in response to the countrys different periods of crises and growth opportunities. GRCs research and technology development covered a broad spectrum, from a short-term focus on improving the energy efficiency of aircraft engines to advancing the frontier technologies of high-speed aviation in the supersonic and hypersonic speed regimes. This paper highlights major research programs, showing their impact on industry and aircraft propulsion, and briefly discusses current research programs and future aeropropulsion technology trends in related areas

turbojet↗

DOE OSTI2022

Industrial Assessment Center – integration of education and practice. Final progress report

The goal of the DOE’s Industrial Assessment Center (IAC) program is twofold: first, to help US manufacturing competitiveness by providing assessments and recommendations for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) on energy efficiency, productivity, sustainability and competitiveness – including measuring the impacts of these recommendations on reducing greenhouse gas emissions; and second, to address a growing shortage of engineering professionals with applied energy and manufacturing-related skills by training a diverse cross-section of engineering students through hands-on involvement in these assessments. IUPUI has an IAC, which was established in 2011, in the Department of Mechanical and Energy Engineering, Purdue School of Engineering and Technology, IUPUI. The IAC has won the awards twice. We have built the center that has the expertise and infrastructure for quality energy assessments to manufactures and commercial building owners and aligned our current research and teaching activities to the DOE’ training mission with programs to train the next generation of industrial energy efficiency experts, with theory and hands-on experience in conducting energy assessment for small and median manufacturing enterprises. We have made recommendations that have the potential to save about $20M annually. We also initiated research projects to meet DOE priorities, specifically in the areas of smart manufacturing and cybersecurity. On the energy assessment side, the Center has provided energy assessments to 144 qualified companies, primarily located in Indiana. On the training side, the center has trained students in various programs, such as the department’s Bachelor of Science (BS) programs in Mechanical Engineering (ME) and BS in Energy Engineering (EEN), both are ABET accredited engineering programs, as well as a graduate level Energy Management and Assessment certificate program. At the present, the center has trained 95 students, 43 or them received the DOE issued certificates. Research projects were developed within the center to advance energy efficiency related technologies, which provided excellent opportunities for our trainees. The center has also been building a professional network with utilities, Manufacturing Extension Partnership (MEP), government agencies, and manufacturing companies, to increase our client base and promote collaborations. The center received the 2019 Center of Excellence of the Year Award and three students received the “Outstanding Achievement in Energy Engineering by an IAC Student” awards in the past five years.

42 ENGINEERING↗

DOE OSTI2024

Transforming Energy Through Computational Excellence: NREL HPC Resources for High Performance Computing for Energy Innovation (HPC4EI) Program

NREL hosts computing facilities for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). In 2024, NREL introduced Kestrel, the 3rd generation, EERE-sponsored supercomputer dedicated to renewable energy and energy efficiency research. Kestrel has already been used for hundreds of research projects by NREL, other national laboratories, and university partners. This includes HPC4EI-sponsored industrial partnerships.

high-performance computing↗

DOE OSTI2010

American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, Federal Energy Management Program, Technical Assistance Project 228 - US Army Installation Management Command - Pacific Region, Honolulu, Hawaii

This report documents the activities of a resource efficiency manager that served the US Army Installation Management Command - Pacific Region during the period November 23, 2009 and August 31, 2010.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗