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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 37 records · Page 2
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DOE OSTI2025

JUSTIFI: Software for Improving Performance Objectives via Energy Efficiency

With growing energy supply concerns and rising costs, energy efficiency is a critical component of industrial energy resilience and competitiveness by directly reducing energy operating costs. Energy efficiency projects in manufacturing also yield valuable benefits to other key metrics, such as improved quality, reduced maintenance costs, improved safety, decreased pollution, and enhanced productivity. However, it is difficult to receive approval for energy efficiency projects, so implementation rates are low, even when meeting capital project payback period criteria. The inclusion and quantification of non-energy benefits (NEBs) in the decision-making process for energy efficiency projects can improve the overall financial payback period while demonstrating a positive impact on the firm's key performance metrics and business strategy. Despite their significant financial and strategic value, NEBs are rarely factored into decision-making due to lack of tools to effectively identify and quantify them. Therefore, a comprehensive and integrative approach is needed for the rapidly evolving energy landscape. To address these challenges, through funding from U.S. Department of Energy, our new assessment methodology integrates common continuous improvement six sigma concepts, such as the DMAIC process, and a protocol of guiding questions, into energy efficiency assessments to identify NEBs. We have also developed open-source software, JUSTIFI, to guide users through this process, data collection, and quantification. It is designed to be used concurrently with DOE energy system analysis software suite, MEASUR. Our methodology and tools inform energy assessors, firm engineering, decision makers, and workforce seeking to increase energy resilience and to maximize benefits aligned with performance metrics.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2026

JUSTIFI: Software for Improving Performance Objectives via Energy Efficiency

With growing energy supply concerns and rising costs, energy efficiency is a critical component of industrial energy resilience and competitiveness by directly reducing energy operating costs. Energy efficiency projects in manufacturing also yield valuable benefits to other key metrics, such as improved quality, reduced maintenance costs, improved safety, decreased pollution, and enhanced productivity. However, it is difficult to receive approval for energy efficiency projects, so implementation rates are low, even when meeting capital project payback period criteria. The inclusion and quantification of non-energy benefits (NEBs) in the decision-making process for energy efficiency projects can improve the overall financial payback period while demonstrating a positive impact on the firm's key performance metrics and business strategy. Despite their significant financial and strategic value, NEBs are rarely factored into decision-making due to lack of tools to effectively identify and quantify them. Therefore, a comprehensive and integrative approach is needed for the rapidly evolving energy landscape. To address these challenges, through funding from U.S. Department of Energy, our new assessment methodology integrates common continuous improvement six sigma concepts, such as the DMAIC process, and a protocol of guiding questions, into energy efficiency assessments to identify NEBs. We have also developed open-source software, JUSTIFI, to guide users through this process, data collection, and quantification. It is designed to be used concurrently with DOE energy system analysis software suite, MEASUR. Our methodology and tools inform energy assessors, firm engineering, decision makers, and workforce seeking to increase energy resilience and to maximize benefits aligned with performance metrics.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2021

Energy-efficient Mott activation neuron for full-hardware implementation of neural networks

To circumvent the von Neumann bottleneck, substantial progress has been made towards in-memory computing with synaptic devices. However, compact nanodevices implementing non-linear activation functions are required for efficient full-hardware implementation of deep neural networks. Here, in this work, we present an energy-efficient and compact Mott activation neuron based on vanadium dioxide and its successful integration with a conductive bridge random access memory (CBRAM) crossbar array in hardware. The Mott activation neuron implements the rectified linear unit function in the analogue domain. The neuron devices consume substantially less energy and occupy two orders of magnitude smaller area than those of analogue complementary metal–oxide semiconductor implementations. The LeNet-5 network with Mott activation neurons achieves 98.38% accuracy on the MNIST dataset, close to the ideal software accuracy. We perform large-scale image edge detection using the Mott activation neurons integrated with a CBRAM crossbar array. Our findings provide a solution towards large-scale, highly parallel and energy-efficient in-memory computing systems for neural networks.

electrical and electronic engineering↗
DOE OSTI2025

Reimagining Energy Efficiency Resource Standards

Energy Efficiency Resource Standards (EERS) are a long-standing policy used to advance state goals and priorities, such as reliability, affordability and decarbonization. They ensure cost-effective energy efficiency is used to lower energy consumption, reduce peak demand, and enable grid flexibility. Adapting EERS through strategic design, and integrating EERS into broader energy plans and policies, can help states optimize their approach to meet modern and evolving power system needs and achieve sustainable energy outcomes. This report examines how states consider energy efficiency in the context of four policy priorities: providing grid benefits, addressing load growth, reducing emissions, and promoting affordability. It provides examples of states that are pursuing these priorities, reviews the role of energy efficiency in them and identifies opportunities to further promote energy efficiency alongside the priorities. Decisionmakers and stakeholders can draw directly from these examples and findings to design an EERS that maximizes co-benefits, captures synergies, and promotes consideration of the all the possible solutions to advance their goals.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2022

Why is it still too warm or cold in my house? Examining the relationships between energy efficient capital and household energy insecurity

Here, this paper examines the relationships between energy efficient (EE) capital technology and household energy insecurity in the United States. The theoretical model of these relationships employs household production theory to capture the demand for and production of household energy services, and a stochastic production frontier approach to describe how having access to and the usage intensity of EE capital technology could help alleviate inefficiency in the production of household energy services. A working hypothesis formulated from the theoretical model posits that having EE capital technology in the home will reduce the level of household energy insecurity experienced. The extent of energy insecurity experienced is inferred from an energy insecurity index value assigned to each household, generated via the application of a dichotomous Rasch model to questions contained in the 2015 Residential Energy Consumption Survey. Noting the potential simultaneous relationship that exists between a household having access to and the usage intensity of EE capital technology and the experience of being energy insecure, an instrumental variables approach was employed to estimate a series of ordered logit models. Results suggest access to EE capital technology in the form of Energy Star® appliances, Energy Star® windows, or a SMART thermostat does not reduce the probability of experiencing a greater level of energy insecurity. Nor does the usage intensity of EE capital. Thus, policy instruments designed to alleviate household energy insecurity may need to go beyond simply helping households obtain EE capital technology.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2026

Enhancing Building Resilience: Maintaining Energy Efficiency and Thermal Comfort During Power Outages in Cold Climates

The increasing frequency and intensity of extreme weather events, such as heatwaves and cold snaps, present significant challenges to building energy performance and occupant comfort. Highly correlated with climate events are widespread long duration power interruptions that may affect thousands of buildings and millions of customers. This study evaluates the impact of building energy performance and occupant thermal comfort in medium-sized office buildings in a cold climate region. Using energy models representing pre-1980 and 2019 vintages, simulations were conducted to assess energy performance under typical weather conditions and occupant thermal comfort during power interrupted extreme cold snap and heatwave climate events under both current 2020s and future 2050s weather conditions. The results show a projected 33% increase in cooling energy demand and a 19% reduction in heating energy by 2050. Findings reveal that older buildings are more susceptible to cold discomfort during cold snaps, while modern airtight buildings are more vulnerable to overheating during heatwaves. Various passive energy efficiency measures, such as improved infiltration control, thermal windows, solar-controlled windows, and cool envelopes, were evaluated for their ability to mitigate thermal discomforts. Solar controlled windows and weatherstripping contribute to reducing cold thermal discomfort by 21% during a power-interrupted cold snap. Solar-controlled windows were found to reduce hot thermal discomfort by 34% during a future power-interrupted heatwave. The study highlights the importance of targeted retrofitting strategies to enhance thermal resilience, especially during power outages, to ensure occupant safety and comfort during extreme climate events.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2021

Who is participating in residential energy efficiency programs? Exploring demographic and other household characteristics of participants in utility customer-funded energy efficiency programs

In addition to benefiting all customers by reducing the total electric system cost, utility customer-funded energy efficiency programs provide direct benefits to the participants. Understanding the current demographic and household characteristics of participants will help assess the extent of inequities in program participation and figure out what characteristics need to be targeted to achieve equitable outcomes. This report describes how 11 demographic and household characteristics including income, race and ethnicity, and education affect participation in residential utility customer-funded energy efficiency programs. It compiles previous work on this topic and adds new primary analysis of four datasets with different levels of detail from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), two New England states, and a Midwestern state.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Community-Scale Energy Efficiency Assessment for Zero Net Energy Using the URBANopt Simulation Platform: Preprint

This project explored an innovative modeling approach for assessing the energy efficiency potential of the existing low-income Oceano neighborhood, in unincorporated San Luis Obispo County, and its effects on renewable generation requirements for achieving zero net energy (ZNE). One particular challenge faced was ascertaining the technical energy savings potential across a large neighborhood in a timely manner. The project overcame this challenge through the use of the URBANopt simulation platform, developed at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. URBANopt manages the automated model creation, simulation, and result aggregation for different design scenarios of existing or candidate buildings in a large neighborhood. Customized energy efficiency packages considered for the residential and commercial sector in the neighborhood included lighting, HVAC, plug load, water heating, envelope, and energy education measures. As a result of the analysis for the Oceano community, energy efficiency measures that are available through incentive programs may provide a 7.4% reduction in the required distributed energy resource (DER) size, corresponding to a 25,000 ft2 decrease in PV array area, to achieve ZNE. Through this work, a computational tool was developed and is being leveraged by the County of San Luis Obispo (CoSLO). The tool has enabled the CoSLO staff to perform similar analysis of the technical potential for energy efficiency, and an understanding of the DER asset requirements and potential savings in other communities within the county.

building energy modeling↗
DOE OSTI2020

Metrics and Analytical Frameworks for Valuing Energy Efficiency and Distributed Energy Resources in the Built Environment: Preprint

This paper summarizes efforts to develop new—and enhance existing—analytical frameworks and metrics to quantify the value that grid-interactive efficient homes with solar (GEB-solar homes) can provide. Industry is working to characterize and understand these capabilities and benefits, but existing analytical frameworks for evaluating energy efficiency (EE) are often siloed from those that evaluate distributed energy resources (DERs). Five metrics were adapted from an extensive literature review and applied to case studies of a modeled home in Riverside, California: ramp up/down, cover factor demand/supply, and curtailable load. Eight different technology scenarios were analyzed using a more tightly connected suite of building-to-grid models (BEopt, REopt, ReEDS, and PLEXOS). Additionally, an initial version of the Cambium tool was developed, characterizing the marginal prices and emissions from NREL’s 2018 Standard Scenarios. These grid costs were extended to a time-varying proxy retail rate and applied as part of a new grid alignment metric. In the results, a more integrated combination of GEB-solar technologies led to a higher cover factor demand—the percentage of gross home load covered by on-site solar—however, a benchmark was required to determine what range of cover factor was “best” for given grid conditions. To that end, a grid alignment cost metric was applied to the case study scenarios. The average cost to serve the net load of the home decreased from a median of ~$0.24/kWh to ~$0.10/kWh when the most integrated technology scenario was optimized towards the grid pricing proxy versus the time-of-use (TOU) rate.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Integrating Energy-Efficient Computing with Computational Research to Accelerate Energy Technology

NREL's computational sciences center hosts the largest high performance computing (HPC) capabilities dedicated to energy research while functioning as a living laboratory for energy-efficient computing. NREL's HPC capabilities support the research needs of the Department of Energy's Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE). In ten years of operation, HPC use in EERE-sponsored research has grown by a factor of 30, including work in electricity generation, energy efficiency, transportation, and energy system modeling. This paper analyzes this research portfolio, providing examples of individual use cases. The paper documents NREL's history of operating one of the world's most energy-efficient data centers while examining pathways to reduce economic and environmental impact beyond reduction of Power Usage Efficiency (PUE). This paper concludes by examining the unique opportunities created for accelerating improvements in data center efficiency created by combining an HPC system dedicated to energy research and a research program in energy-efficient computing.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2023

Experimental and theoretical investigations of rotating algae biofilm reactors (RABRs): Areal productivity, nutrient recovery, and energy efficiency

Microalgae biofilms have been demonstrated to recover nutrients from wastewater and serve as biomass feedstock for bioproducts. However, there is a need to develop a platform to quantitatively describe microalgae biofilm production, which can provide guidance and insights for improving biomass areal productivity and nutrient uptake efficiency. Here, this paper proposes a unified experimental and theoretical framework to investigate algae biofilm growth on a rotating algae biofilm reactor (RABR). Experimental laboratory setups are used to conduct controlled experiments on testing environmental and operational factors for RABRs. We propose a differential–integral equation‐based mathematical model for microalgae biofilm cultivation guided by laboratory experimental findings. The predictive mathematical model development is coordinated with laboratory experiments of biofilm areal productivity associated with ammonia and inorganic phosphorus uptake by RABRs. The unified experimental and theoretical tool is used to investigate the effects of RABR rotating velocity, duty cycle (DC), and light intensity on algae biofilm growth, areal productivity, nutrient uptake efficiency, and energy efficiency in wastewater treatment. Our framework indicates that maintaining a reasonable light intensity range improves biomass areal productivity and nutrient uptake efficiency. Our framework also indicates that faster RABR rotation benefits biomass areal productivity. However, maximizing the nutrient uptake efficiency requires a reasonably low RABR rotating speed. Energy efficiency is strongly correlated with RABR rotating speed and DC.

09 BIOMASS FUELS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Providence Performing Arts Center (PPAC): Energy Efficient Upgrades

The Energy Efficient Upgrades project at the Providence Performing Arts Center represents a significant investment in modernizing infrastructure, enhancing performance capabilities and improving visitor experience, all while promoting sustainability. The project’s primary goals included the installation of building-wide WIFI coverage, replacement of the outdated theatrical lighting system with energy-efficient alternatives, upgrades to the telephone systems and enhancements to the internal sound systems, both backstage and in the lobby.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Route Optimization for Energy Efficient Airport Shuttle Operations - A Case Study from Dallas Fort Worth International Airport

Air travel and requisite surface traffic supporting passenger arrival/departure constitutes a significant portion of travel and emissions in cities with large airports. An airport trip can segment into three parts namely: i) travel from a location in the city to the airport; ii) travel from a parking lot or rental car center to the terminal (i.e., within the airport premises), and iii) travel inside the terminal. Depending on the airport access mode all or a part of these legs comprise a traveler’s journey to the airport. The priority of airport ground transport management teams is to provide passengers with a seamless travel experience within the airport, so it is understandable that within airport shuttle routes might not be optimized for minimizing energy consumption. Solutions that meet the dual objective of reducing energy consumption from airport shuttle operations without compromising on passenger travel experience are key to improving system efficiency. There is currently a dearth of research and tools that can inform airports in making such decisions. Addressing this need, this research effort puts forth an optimization model that generates optimal shuttle routes for a given set of constraints, and a discrete-event simulator that evaluates the optimal solutions in a stochastic environment to understand the tradeoffs between passenger wait times, and within airport shuttle energy consumption. The proposed set of tools are tested in the context of optimizing airport shuttles routes within the Dallas Fort Worth International Airport (DFW). In addition to shuttle spatial positioning, and passenger demand information, high-fidelity vehicle data was collected using data loggers installed on DFW shuttles. Results show that 20% energy reduction in shuttle operations is possible with a modest two-minute increase in average passenger wait times. The tools developed in this research effort are designed to be generalizable and can help optimize shuttle operations planning at any major airport.

air travel↗
DOE OSTI2022

Mapping the Opportunity Space to Model the Circular Economy Using Tools Funded by the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

An increasing rate of material consumption and a growing population mean that the Earth's supply of natural resources is witnessing an unsustainable and unprecedented demand. This forces us to find solutions that ensure the availability of resources for sustenance of our society in the years to come. Actors from various backgrounds are addressing these challenges from their own perspectives: engineers are developing efficient manufacturing processes, designers are creating lightweight and durable products, educators are incorporating sustainable thinking in their curricula, policymakers are finding interdisciplinary solutions that benefit society at large, etc. Circular economy (CE) is one such approach to resource use that aims to move away from the linear material use framework of "take-make-waste" to a more circular and interdependent system where product, material and resource use is maximized to avoid unnecessary social, economic, and environmental costs. The purpose of this report is to explain how to approach evaluating the circular economy and to help researchers identify existing tools that can be used or that can serve as starting points for their research needs.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2023

Modeled Results of Four Residential Energy Efficiency Measure Packages for Deriving Advanced Building Construction Research Targets

The Advanced Building Construction (ABC) Initiative from the U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Office is working to accelerate industrialized construction innovations for decarbonizing buildings. To inform performance and cost targets for research under the ABC Initiative, this analysis used the ResStock™ tool to evaluate the energy savings, utility bill impacts, and carbon emissions impacts of four simulated upgrade packages with specific target performance levels on a large sample of residential dwelling units (approximately 550,000) representative of the U.S. housing stock.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Deployment of Energy Efficiency and Clean Energy on Indians Lands – A Community Solar Project

The Eastern Band of Cherokee Indians (EBCI or Tribe) is a federally recognized Indian Tribe located on ancestral homelands in western North Carolina. The Tribe is comprised of just over 16,000 enrolled members, with an estimated 8,000 – 10,000 residing on tribal lands. The Qualla Boundary is comprised of over 56,000 acres of contiguous trust land adjacent to the Great Smoky Mountain National Park. The EBCI also possess an assortment of scattered parcels of varying sizes across western North Carolina, some in trust status and others in deeded or fee simple. This project was implemented on a trust parcel in Cherokee County, NC. The Tribe was awarded the maximum amount of $\$ $1,000,000 for the installation of a 705.6 kilowatt (kW) solar PV array to supplement the power consumed and reduce annual utility costs at the Harrah’s Cherokee Valley River (HCVR) casino and hotel in Murphy, NC. The casino is a tribal entity of the Tribe. The total cost of the project was $\$ $2.364 million. The system was officially commissioned on April 12, 2019. For the purpose of calculating the amount of power produced and reduction in utility costs, the time frame assessed is May 2019 through April 2020. All power generated was consumed onsite.Based on the first full year of data, the project achieved the estimated 8.3% reduction in utility costs. A total of six casino and tribal staff were trained and received a North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certification, giving our staff the resources and skills to manage and operate the solar PV array. Based on the Tribal match of $\$ $1,377,797 and estimated net annual benefit of $89,000, the estimated return on investment (ROI) is 15.48 years.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

LEED: A Lightwave Energy-Efficient Datacenter

The Lightwave Energy-Efficient Datacenter (LEED) program is a disruptive “green-field” approach that provides a quantum leap in the energy efficiency of datacenters. LEED’s fundamental value proposition is that a novel and re-architected optical network—RotorNet— can deliver “more bandwidth per buck” as well as unique system-level attributes that significantly improve overall datacenter energy efficiency and performance. LEED has developed three system-level testbeds. The first testbed uses calibrated hardware and software power measurements to determine server energy efficiency as a function of network bandwidth and workload. These measurements have shown that increasing network communications bandwidth dramatically increases server energy efficiency providing a realistic path to the overall ENLITENED program goal of doubling the number of transactions per joule. The second testbed demonstrates key hardware: a prototype low-loss, high-port count optical “selector switch”. This switch was fabricated, racked, and tested. Measured switch characteristics include loss, bandwidth, crosstalk, switch time, system-level switch time (including the transceivers), and bit error rate. The third testbed demonstrates a fully working and manufactured pinwheel design which dramatically lowers the cost of design, while delivering high switch radix and low reconfiguration times. The LEED project has tied these three novel photonic switch prototypes together with production servers and software through the development of a novel FPGA-based NIC platform called Corundum. Corundum ensures that the packet-switched protocols supported by commodity operating systems and devices can interface with the Rotor switch design. The LEED group has used this combined hardware and software prototype to characterize applications running at a commercially relevant scale. The project has used a combination of enhanced optical modulation amplitude (OMA) modulators, broadband multiplexers and demultiplexers, avalanche photodiodes, and a novel burst-mode receivers to enable the insertion of LEED-developed optical switches without the need for expensive optical amplification. Our modeling has shown that measured LEED-developed device characteristics can achieve link characteristics of 2 pJ/bit including both transceivers and the Rotor switch. In summary, the LEED program has demonstrated a credible and practical path, through novel hardware and software, to realize the program objectives of ENLITENED. The net result will ensure that the United States maintains its strength in the crucial sector of Information Technology, which is vital to both our economic security and our national security.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗