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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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All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

Packages of Distributed Energy Technologies Demonstrating Demand Flexibility at Community Scale

The combination of increased electric load growth across all sectors, deferred electrical infrastructure investment, and other factors resulting in variable electric power supply, has created technical challenges to maintaining a resilient and reliable grid. Many federal, regional, and local efforts are in play to modernize the electric grid, including advancing building technologies and distributed energy resources (DERs) that are utilizing smarter controls to become responsive to both occupant and grid needs. This report reviews ten pilot projects demonstrating how groups of buildings combined with behind-the-meter (BTM) DERs such as electric vehicle (EV) charging, battery storage, flexible HVAC and domestic hot water systems, and photovoltaic systems can reliably and cost effectively provide grid services. Each of the ten pilot projects aim to deliver both energy efficiency and demand flexibility (DF) while supporting load growth. The ten demonstration teams are piloting flexible DER packages across diverse communities of residential and commercial buildings to address a variety of regional grid needs. The outcomes of these pilot projects will be used to inform future scaling through utility program development. This paper characterizes the ten teams, showcasing the decision-making process used by each group to develop their packages (Section 2), the grid services they plan to deliver (Section 3), the types of DER packages selected for deployment within building sectors (Section 4) and trends between building sector, DER types, and grid services In order to achieve community scale benefits, the pilot projects must utilize aggregated control mechanisms for coordinating buildings and DERs together. Several types of coordinated control architectures have evolved amongst the teams, influenced by use type, existing market conditions, and integration type. Three coordinated controls architectures have been characterized, highlighting their use cases, benefits, challenges, and tradeoffs in their design. These insights can aid utilities, control vendors, and developers in scaling community-level energy systems (Paul, 2024). Ultimately, the technology packages selected by the ten teams will be coordinated to provide power system services, also known as grid services. Insights from these demonstrations will be useful for grid operators, regulators, aggregators and other stakeholders as they look to deploy demand flexible resources as grid services in the future. The grid services that each team is targeting for demonstration are described in Section 3 and Section 4. Methods for evaluating the grid services have been described in the paper Metrics for Evaluating Grid Service Provision from Communities of Grid-interactive and Efficient Buildings and other DER (MacDonald, 2023). To identify technology packages for demonstration, Section 2 shows that project teams used a range of analysis approaches, including building energy modeling, AMI data analysis, cost-benefit frameworks, and utility pilot data. Some teams emphasized technical modeling to quantify grid impacts and demand reduction potential, while others prioritized economic evaluations, stakeholder input, or exploratory pilots to inform deployment decisions. This diversity reflects the need to tailor selection methods to project goals, available data, and organizational context. Section 5 discusses trends between the DER technologies deployed and the grid service provisions from each team. Residential buildings (multifamily and single family) lean towards technologies that enhance energy efficiency (e.g. weatherization upgrades, smart thermostats) and onsite power generation integration (e.g. solar PV). Commercial building demonstrations prioritize technologies that ensure operational reliability (e.g. battery storage) and centralized energy management systems and optimization solutions. Teams that are deploying controllable storage-based technologies are more likely to provide grid services that require a near real-time response. Teams incorporating load shifting technologies like smart thermostats with HEMs are likely to include energy markets participation and customer bill management offerings. Campus demonstrations are adopting diverse sets of DERs to emphasize renewable generation, paired with centralized control. This section also describes technologies that were considered during project planning but ultimately excluded from final deployment. These demonstrations reveal that effective DER package design should be tailored to building type, customer segment, and construction vintage. Multifamily buildings benefit from centralized HVAC upgrades and supervisory controls, while single-family homes are well-suited for individualized technologies like solar, storage, and smart home energy monitors. Commercial and campus settings prioritize EMIS integration and load optimization. New construction enables cost-effective integration of DER-ready infrastructure, whereas retrofits require deployments aligned with owner and tenant value streams. For utility program planners, early coordination with developers and building owners, paired with segmented and modular program offerings, can improve adoption, scalability, and grid impact.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
NASA NTRS1978

Design data brochure: Solar hot water system

A design calculation is detailed for a single-family residence housing a family of four in a nonspecific geographical area. The solar water heater system is designed to provide 80 gallons of 140 F hot water per day.

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DOE OSTI2024

The power reliability event simulator tool (PRESTO): A novel approach to distribution system reliability analysis and applications

The growing interest in onsite solar photovoltaic and energy storage systems is partially motivated by customer concerns regarding grid reliability. However, accurately assessing the effectiveness of PVESS in mitigating these interruptions requires a comprehensive understanding of location-specific outage patterns and the ability to simulate realistic scenarios. To address the gap, we introduce the Power Reliability Event Simulation TOol (PRESTO), the first publicly available tool that simulates location-specific power interruptions at the county level. PRESTO allows for a more realistic assessment of system reliability by considering the unpredictability and location-specific patterns of power interruptions. We applied PRESTO in a case study of a single-family home across three U.S. counties, examining the performance of a solar photovoltaic system with 10kWh of battery storage during short-duration power interruptions. Our findings show that this system reliably met 93% of energy demand for essential non-heating and cooling loads, fully serving these loads in 84% of events, despite the constraints of daily time-of-use bill management which limits the battery's state-of-charge reserve. However, when heating and cooling loads were included, system performance decreased significantly, with only 70% of demand met and full service in 43% of events. These results highlight the challenges of using solar photovoltaic and energy storage systems for short-duration outages, emphasizing the need to consider factors like battery size and grid charging strategies to improve reliability. Our study demonstrates the practical applications of PRESTO, providing valuable insights into potential mitigation strategies including grid charging and optimizing battery size.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

EMPOWERED Distributed Energy Resources Permit Accelerator Pilot

This report summarizes the EMPOWERED Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Permit Accelerator Pilot project. Its primary objective was to streamline the design, installation, permitting, and inspections of targeted Distributed Energy Resource (DER) solutions. Streamlining these processes is critical to strengthening and accelerating the adoption of DER solutions nationwide. Moreover, streamlined processes help expedite the clean energy transition and expand energy resilience by improving understanding and capability among key stakeholders like property owners, code officials, and the general workforce. The project team accomplished this by developing and deploying a set of design and permitting guides for simple DER solutions, which they rolled out via a permitting pilot program. The project team developed nine permitting and inspection guides for simple DER solutions, as follows: 1. Single-Family and Duplex: Electric Vehicle Service Equipment (EVSE), and Storage, Solar + Storage (each in two code cycles) 2. Multi-family and Office: EVSE, Storage, Solar + Storage (each in two code cycles) 3. A permitting process guide to support the implementation of the permitting guides. The guides cover key code requirements via plan review and field inspection checklists for code officials and building owners to follow to streamline the permitting and inspections process for DER solutions. Following the development of the initial set of guides, the project team formed two cohorts, each made up of four jurisdictions, to participate in the Permit Accelerator Pilot. Each cohort received training and technical assistance to support them in incorporating the guides into use. The project successfully engaged jurisdictions in two disparate US regions: Chelsea, Somerville, Natick, and Norwood in metro Boston; and Pima County, Town of Gilbert, Flagstaff, and Sedona in Arizona. Feedback gathered from the project was valuable in refining the guides to better address jurisdictional needs. After the pilot period, the project team developed final versions of the guides based on extensive feedback from the cohorts and from external technical peer review. Feedback included needs and barriers related to implementation, as well as detailed technical improvements from external peer review. The final guides were presented in a series of webinars with a national reach, with 192 attendees from 35 states in the live session of the final webinar, and the final guides are posted online and available for use nationwide. Key findings: • The most receptive jurisdictions were those adjacent to other jurisdictions that had already adopted similar initiatives. The least receptive jurisdictions were those in the midst of adopting new code cycles. • The most common barrier to jurisdictional adoption of new guidelines were internal administrative and process delays, more so than technical barriers. • The main technical barrier to adoption proved to be the concern of fire hazard risks posed by energy storage systems. There is some apprehension in the code enforcement community about the safety of the batteries. Education coordinated with fire and safety services will help alleviate concerns and increase confidence in the acceptance of innovative technologies. • Opportunities to further leverage and advance the guides and related resources include outreach, education, and jurisdictional support; updates to the resources to align with code cycle changes and local requirements; and advancements supporting emerging technologies.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1978

Prototype solar-heating system

Complete air-collector system to meet needs of single-family dwelling is designed to operate in any region of United States except extreme north and south. Design can be scaled up or down to accomodate wide range of heating and hot-water requirements for single-family, multi-family, or commercial buildings without significantly changing design concept.

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NASA NTRS1980

Solar-heating and cooling system design package

Package of information includes design data, performance specifications, drawings, hazard analysis, and spare parts list for commercially produced system installed in single-family dwelling in Akron, Ohio. System uses air flat-plate collectors, 12000 kg rock storage and backup heat pump. Solar portion requires 0.7 kW, and provides 35% of average total heating load including hot water. Information aids persons considering installing solar home-heating systems.

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NASA NTRS1978

Solar heating and cooling system design and development

The progress of the program during the sixth program quarter is reported. The program calls for the development and delivery of eight prototype solar heating and cooling systems for installation and operational test. The William O'Brien single-family heating system was installed and is operational. The New Castle single-family heating residence is under construction. The Kansas University (KU) system is in the final design stages. The 25 ton cooling subsystem for KU is the debugging stage. Pressure drops that were greater than anticipated were encountered. The 3 ton simulation work is being finalized and the design parameters for the Rankine system were determined from simulation output.

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NASA NTRS1980

Solar energy system performance evaluation: Seasonal report for fern, Tunkhannock, Pennsylvania

The operational and thermal performance of a variety of solar systems installed in operational test sites are described. The analysis is based on instrumented system data monitored and collected for at least one full season of operation. The long-term field performance of the installed system is reported, and technical contributions to the definition of techniques and requirements for solar energy system design are made. The solar energy system was designed to supply space heating and domestic hot water for single-family residences. The system consists of air flat plate collectors, storage tank, pumps, heat exchangers, associated plumbing, and controls.

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NASA NTRS1981

Five-city economics of a solar hot-water-system

Report projects energy savings and system costs for five sites using analysis of actual solar energy installation performance in Togus, Maine. Maine system supplies 75 percent of hot water needed for single-family residence; economic payback period is 19 years. Benefits for all sites depend on maintenance or decrease of initial investment required and continuing increase in cost of conventional energy. Report includes analysis weighing potential changes in variables used to evaluate system profitability.

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NASA NTRS1981

Residential solar-heating system uses pyramidal optics

Report describes reflective panels which optimize annual solar energy collection in attic installation. Subunits include collection, storage, distribution, and 4-mode control systems. Pyramid optical system heats single-family and multi-family dwellings.

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NASA NTRS1978

SIMS prototype system 4: Design data brochure

A pre-package prototype unit having domestic hot water and room solar heating capability that uses air as the collector fluid is described. This system is designed to be used with a small single-family dwelling where a roof mounted collector array is not feasible. The prototype unit is an assemble containing 203 square feet of effective collector surface with 113 cubic feet of rock storage. The design of structure and storage is modular, which permits expansion and reduction of the collector array and storage bed in 68 square feet and 37 cubic feet increments respectively. The system is designed to be transportable. This permitted assemble and certification testing in one area and installation in another area without tear down and reassemble. Design, installation, operation, performance and maintenance of this system are described.

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DOE OSTI2024

Residential Solar-Adopter Income and Demographic Trends: 2024 Update [Slides]

The report describes income, demographic, and other socio-economic trends among U.S. residential rooftop solar adopters. The report is based on address-level data for roughly 4.1 million residential rooftop solar systems installed through 2023, representing 87% of all U.S. systems. With its unique size, geographic scope, and level of detail, this report is intended to serve as a foundational reference document for policy-makers, industry stakeholders, and researchers. Key findings include the following: -The median income of households that installed solar in 2023 was about $\$$115k/year, compared to a U.S. median of $\$$75k/year for all households and $\$$94k/year for all U.S. owner-occupied households. -Compared to owner-occupied households in the same state, 2023 solar-adopter incomes were 7% higher in the median case, and in 10 states, median solar-adopter incomes were below the corresponding median income for all owner-occupied households. -Roughly 49% of solar adopters in 2023 had incomes below 120% of their area median income (AMI), a threshold sometimes used to define “low-and-moderate income” (or LMI), while 26% were below 80% of AMI, often used to define “low-income”. -Solar adoption continues to shift toward less affluent households over time, with the median present-day income of solar adopters dropping from $\$$141k for households that installed systems in 2010 to $\$$115k in 2023. -PV systems installed in 2023 by households earning less than $\$$50k had a median size of 6.4 kW, 33% were third-party owned, and 6% included battery storage, compared to corresponding values of 8.0 kW, 18%, and 14% for households earning more than $\$$200k. -Compared to all households in their respective state, solar adopters in 2023 were slightly more likely to be college educated and to live in rural areas; had higher home values; and were more likely to live outside a disadvantaged community (DAC), be middle-aged, identify as non-Hispanic white, work in a business or financial occupation, and own a single-family home. In conjunction with the report, Berkeley Lab has published an updated accompanying set of online data visualizations that allow users to further explore the underlying data. Berkeley Lab is also offering related analytical support to states, local agencies, and other organizations on issues related to solar adoption among low-to-moderate income households; requests for analytical support may be submitted through this online form.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
NASA NTRS1981

Winter performance of a domestic solar-heating system--Duffield, Virginia

Sunlight supplies 39 percent of heat load, saving 9 barrels of fuel oil in one heating season. Report describes system installation in two-story, single-family residence. Energy is collected with roof-mounted air flat-plate collectors, stored in rock bin, and transferred to water preheat tank whenever system is storing energy; heat pump supplies heat to house.

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NASA NTRS1978

System Design Package for SIMS Prototype System 3, Solar Heating and Domestic Hot Water

A collation of documents and drawings are presented that describe a prototype solar heating and hot water system using liquid flat plate collectors and a gas or electric furnace energy subsystem. The system was designed for installation into a single-family dwelling. The description, performance specification, subsystem drawings, verification plan/procedure, and hazard analysis of the system are packaged for evaluation of the system with information sufficient to assemble a similar system.

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NASA NTRS1981

Economic evaluation of a solar hot-water-system

Analysis shows economic benefits at six representative sites using actual data from Tempe, Arizona and San Diego, California installations. Model is two-tank cascade water heater with flat-plate collector array for single-family residences. Performances are forecast for Albuquerque, New Mexico; Fort Worth, Texas; Madison, Wisconsin; and Washington, D.C. Costs are compared to net energy savings using variables for each site's environmental conditions, loads, fuel costs, and other economic factors; uncertainty analysis is included.

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NASA NTRS1977

Preliminary design package for solar heating and hot water system

The preliminary design review on the development of two prototype solar heating and hot water systems is presented. The information contained in this report includes system certification, system functional description, system configuration, system specification, system performance and other documents pertaining to the progress and the design of the system. This system, which is intended for use in the normal single-family residence, consists of the following subsystems: collector, storage, control, transport, and Government-furnished Site Data Acquisition.

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NASA NTRS1978

Preliminary design package for residential heating/cooling system: Rankine air conditioner redesign

A summary of the preliminary redesign and development of a marketable single family heating and cooling system is presented. The interim design and schedule status of the residential (3-ton) redesign, problem areas and solutions, and the definition of plans for future design and development activities were discussed. The proposed system for a single-family residential heating and cooling system is a single-loop, solar-assisted, hydronic-to-warm-air heating subsystem with solar-assisted domestic water heating and a Rankine-driven expansion air-conditioning subsystem.

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