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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 127 records · Page 7
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2024

Consumer Benefits of Clean Energy: The resilience value of residential solar + storage systems in the continental U.S.

Meeting national and state decarbonization goals requires a transition to clean energy technologies. Energy efficiency, demand flexibility, renewable energy and storage can reduce consumers’ electricity bills, lower total electricity system costs, and provide health and resilience benefits. Berkeley Lab developed a series of briefs that explore these consumer benefits of a clean energy transition. Clean energy resources that are located behind the meter have the potential to benefit the hosting customers by providing affordability, environmental, and reliability and resilience value. Solar plus storage systems (PVESS) are clean energy resources that can supply backup power without requiring fuel resupply or increasing local emissions. This report examines the regional value of PVESS for resilience by calculating a benefit-cost ratio (BCR) that considers the annual resiliency benefits of PVESS and the annualized cost of the investment. In addition, we estimate the expected technical mitigation potential of PVESS systems at the county-level to these expected events, and characterize the customer interruption costs by determining the value of lost load at the state level.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Consumer Benefits of Clean Energy: Renewable Energy

Meeting national and state decarbonization goals requires a transition to clean energy technologies. Energy efficiency, demand flexibility, renewable energy and storage can reduce consumers’ electricity bills, lower total electricity system costs, and provide health and resilience benefits. Berkeley Lab developed a series of briefs that explore these consumer benefits of a clean energy transition. This brief discusses some of the possible consumer benefits of utility-scale and behind the meter renewable energy, with a focus on how these resources can contribute to a low-cost electricity system. It begins with a literature review of modeled impacts, primarily considering consumer benefits, of the Inflation Reduction Act and Bipartisan Infrastructure Law. Next, it discusses how utility-scale renewable energy can contribute to a low-cost electricity system (e.g., in some cases, low resource costs relative to other alternatives). It concludes with a discussion of behind-the-meter renewable energy consumer benefits (e.g., reduced host electricity bill, increased property value, resilience).

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2024

Consumer Benefits of Clean Energy: Energy Efficiency

Meeting national and state decarbonization goals requires a transition to clean energy technologies. Energy efficiency, demand flexibility, renewable energy and storage can reduce consumers’ electricity bills, lower total electricity system costs, and provide health and resilience benefits. Berkeley Lab developed a series of briefs that explore these consumer benefits of a clean energy transition. This brief focuses on energy efficiency benefits, and builds on prior analysis from Berkeley Lab’s Cost of Saved Energy database. We show that energy efficiency remains a low-cost energy and capacity resource; the levelized cost of saving energy for the programs included in the analysis is $\$0.02$/kilowatt-hour and the cost of saving peak demand is less $\$120$/kilowatt. Understanding the impact of the program mix, portfolio size, and duration of implementation for customer-funded energy efficiency portfolios can guide regulatory oversight of these programs, help utilities better utilize energy efficiency as a resource, and inform building energy decarbonization policies.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2026

Dual Purpose – Heating & Cooling – Thermal Battery for Flexible and Energy-Efficient Heat Pump Systems

The integration of heat pumps with thermal energy storage (HP-TES) systems is gaining attention as a viable solution for managing peak building demand driven by immense cooling and heating loads. With growing reliance on renewable energy sources, thermal energy storage offers an excellent opportunity to mitigate mismatches in thermal load between energy supply and demand. The use of phase-change material (PCM) TES is especially promising, as PCMs offer significant latent energy storage capacity with smaller temperature glides in smaller volumes compared to other TES technologies. However, challenges arise because current HP-TES architectures can load-shift only cooling or heating, not both, requiring two systems and thus doubling cost, weight, and footprint. Furthermore, current research efforts lack specific tools and techniques to advance integrated systems from concept design to end-user application, focusing on only discharge performance. To address these challenges, this research proposes a dual-mode (heating and cooling) integrated HP-TES system that uses room-temperature PCM-TES as a high-temperature heat source in heating mode and a low-temperature heat sink in cooling mode, thereby reducing temperature lifts and compressor power. Design criteria for PCM-TES heat exchangers were developed, balancing thermal-hydraulic performance with practical constraints such as available building space and weight requirements along with PCM selection considerations such as shipping conditions, moisture exposure, and number of available cycles. A detailed transient model for HP-TES systems was developed to enable rapid annual performance assessments in any US climate zone.

42 ENGINEERING↗
DOE OSTI2021

Design of flexible proton beam imaging energy spectrometers (PROBIES)

A simple repeating step-filtered structure has been designed and deployed for the detection of MeV-energy proton beams produced from high-intensity short-pulse laser-driven experiments. Due to the diagnostic's ability to recover energy-resolved images of proton beams, it is called the proton beam imager and energy spectrometer (or PROBIES). The flexible design has two useful applications. First, it can be fielded in a configuration with a scintillator and imaging setup in order to collect proton beam information in high-repetition rate experiments. Here we show a configuration that collects the equivalent of a nine-film radiochromic film (RCF) stack, and a technique for using a neural network (NN) to rapidly analyze the images on millisecond time-scales. Second, when using RCF stacks as the detector, the energy resolution capability is greatly increased compared to traditional RCF stacks, while simultaneously reducing the total number of films required to make each measurement. We demonstrate a configuration that provides up to 90 spatially- and energy-resolved datapoints using just ten films. Both designs presented here can be easily customized for anticipated experimental outputs and manufactured at low cost. Such designs allow for rapid prototyping using modern high-accuracy 3D printers or on-demand computer numerical control machining to reduce the reliance on time-consuming film media, analysis, or bulky electro-magnetically dispersing spectrometers. The analysis of data is discussed and a methodology for constructing a NN that is capable of rapidly analyzing data on-the-fly with greater than 95% accuracy is presented.

70 PLASMA PHYSICS AND FUSION TECHNOLOGY↗
DOE OSTI2023

A flexible proton beam imaging energy spectrometer (PROBIES) for high repetition rate or single-shot high energy density (HED) experiments (invited)

The PROBIES diagnostic is a new, highly flexible, imaging and energy spectrometer designed for laser-accelerated protons. The diagnostic can detect low-mode spatial variations in the proton beam profile while resolving multiple energies on a single detector or more. When a radiochromic film stack is employed for “single-shot mode,” the energy resolution of the stack can be greatly increased while reducing the need for large numbers of films; for example, a recently deployed version allowed for 180 unique energy measurements spanning ~3 to 75 MeV with <0.4 MeV resolution using just 20 films vs 180 for a comparable traditional film and filter stack. When utilized with a scintillator, the diagnostic can be run in high-rep-rate (>Hz rate) mode to recover nine proton energy bins. Here, we also demonstrate a deep learning-based method to analyze data from synthetic PROBIES images with greater than 95% accuracy on sub-millisecond timescales and retrained with experimental data to analyze real-world images on sub-millisecond time-scales with comparable accuracy.

3D printing↗
DOE OSTI2021

Community-scale interaction of energy efficiency and demand flexibility in residential buildings

Demand-side management (DSM) strategies, including energy efficiency (EE) and demand flexibility (DF), contribute to cost-effective operation of the electricity grid. From a system-level perspective, such programs reduce costs, enhance reliability, and reduce network issues. Similarly, DSM programs help participating customers reduce utility bills while maintaining occupant comfort. Understanding the relationship between EE and DF is key to realizing the full potential of DSM programs. In this study, we modeled an all-electric residential community based on a 498-home community that is planned for construction in Fort Collins, Colorado in the United States. We used this community model to study the relationship between different EE measures, including building envelope upgrades and smart appliances, and DF enabled by a home energy management system (HEMS) responding to a time-varying tariff. Various EE levels in the homes – code-minimum, zero energy ready, and even higher levels of envelope efficiency – were simulated. DF is enabled by the HEMS, which coordinates behind-the-meter resources, including flexible building loads, PV, and home battery systems, to minimize utility bills while maintaining occupant comfort. When comparing to the code-minimum homes, EE upgrades alone reduce HVAC energy use during peak hours by up to 50% and the HVAC utility bill by up to $312/year. With the addition of HEMS, the average daily peak demand can be reduced by up to 0.58 MW or 1.2 kW/home in the higher envelope efficiency homes. The combination of EE upgrades, HEMS, and home battery systems is expected to save homeowners up to $590/year while increasing community load flexibility. However, HEMS and home battery systems are less effective in increasing the DF in the more efficient homes due to the lower load.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2020

Smart and Efficient Building Envelopes: Thermal Switches and Thermal Storage for Energy Savings and Load Flexibility

The building envelope has traditionally been seen as a static component. Much of the past thermal advancements in building envelopes has consisted of developing higher R/inch insulation. While a suitable approach for static situations, it does not consider the dynamic nature of the ambient environment or the varying needs of the electrical grid. This paper will examine three possible ways that building envelopes can be actively managed: 1. thermal switches, 2. thermal storage, and 3. the coupling of the two. Spurring innovation to make building envelopes smarter will help reduce building energy consumption and peak energy usage and contribute to flexibility in energy demand in the future.

Mumme, Sven↗
DOE OSTI2026

Joint modeling of water and energy for resilience and flexibility

This white paper addresses the intersection of energy and water resources for potable water, considering energy-for-water through joint systems modeling. Specifically, we focus on the opportunities to promote joint resilience in water and power systems through coupled modeling to inform decision-makers.

29 ENERGY PLANNING, POLICY, AND ECONOMY↗
DOE OSTI2020

Quantification of Load Flexibility in Residential Buildings Using Home Energy Management Systems

With increasing penetration of renewable energy resources, the flexibility of operating behind-the-meter (BTM) resources plays a key role in enhancing grid reliability and resilience. Residential buildings with home energy management systems (HEMS) can provide desired flexibility for the distribution system operator (DSO) while considering customer comfort and preferences. This paper discusses a methodology to quantify the flexibility of BTM resources of residential buildings using HEMS. First, we propose a model predictive control framework to formulate the flexibility band comprising nominal, upper, and lower demand profiles. Second, the paper proposes a dispatch method for HEMS to compute the control signals for each BTM resource (e.g., air conditioner, water heater, home battery system) upon receiving a flexibility service request from the DSO. The case study provides insight into the flexibility provided at the whole-home level with different user preferences and seasons. The results demonstrate that HEMS is capable of providing flexibility service at the request of the DSO while delivering primary services to the building occupants.

41 EE - Solar Energy Technologies Office (EE-4S)↗
DOE OSTI2024

Innovating the next generation of commercial smart building software

Nearly 30% of commercial building energy use is wasted due to equipment faults and HVAC controls problems. The result is increased emissions, compromised comfort and productivity, and less reliable coordination of building power needs with a clean grid. The energy impact alone represents $17 billion in potential savings. Today’s smart building software provides a robust solution to address these operational deficiencies. Energy management and information systems (EMIS) are saving up to 9% on average, with two-year paybacks. They are being incorporated into energy management processes, commissioning services, and utility programs. As effective as they are, two barriers prevent even deeper benefits; limited personnel to fix problems once they are identified, and the expense and time to manually implement changes in control systems. In partnership with the research community, the EMIS industry is developing new capabilities to overcome these barriers. Moving beyond siloed products for either fault detection and diagnostics, or optimal control, these new capabilities empower users to not only automatically identify faults, but also to push corrective action, and control improvements to their buildings. In this paper, several areas for enhancements are documented: ‘one-time’ correction of faults such as setpoints, schedules, and economizer lockouts; short-term active testing for automated proportional integral derivative (PID) loop tuning and functional testing; and continuous supervisory control for demand flexibility and year-round efficiency. Results are presented from a pair of partner implementations out of a dozen providers integrating these enhancements into their products, including field tests from across the country, and insights into operator acceptance and integration into operations and maintenance practices.

Casillas, Armando↗
DOE OSTI2021

Distributed Embedded Energy Converters for Ocean Wave Energy Harvesting: Enabling a Domain of Transformative Flexible Technologies

Distributed embedded energy conversion technology (DEEC-Tec) is a very promising - but underdeveloped - domain in marine renewable energy research. The technology utilizes small distributed embedded energy converters (DEECs) that, in aggregate, form a much larger energy harvesting-converting structure. Each DEEC is a small transducer - an individual mechanism that converts one form of energy into another. A transducer's specific mode of operation can be based upon any number of physical phenomena, including variable capacitance, variable magnetic fields, or piezoelectrics. It is the dynamic deformation of a structure made from such DEECs (a DEEC-Tec structure) that provides the needed physical phenomena (the external energy source) for the underlying transducers to intake and convert energy into another form, such as electricity. DEEC-Tec structures designed specifically to dynamically deform in the presence of ocean wave energy - for the purpose of harvesting and converting that energy - can be called flexWECs. A flexWEC's gross shape (topology) and its compliant characteristics (morphologies) are chiefly determined by how the DEECs making up its structure are arranged and implemented. In turn, those corresponding topologies and morphologies will largely determine how a flexWEC interacts with - and dynamically deforms within - the presence of ocean wave energy. FlexWECs appear to have many attractive features, including broad-banded ocean energy conversion, in situ energy conversion throughout an entire flexWEC structure, inherent redundancy, and appealing material and manufacturing costs. To this end, the design and development of any particular flexWEC or flexWEC feature is a revolutionary opportunity for how we conceptualize and envision the future of ocean wave energy conversion.

DEEC↗
DOE OSTI2021

The Demand-Side Opportunity: The Roles of Distributed Solar and Building Energy Systems in a Decarbonized Grid

Building energy systems represent a significant and largely untapped demand-side grid resource. Buildings use about 75% of electricity in the United States, including around 80% of peak demand, meaning that changes in building energy use have significant implications for grid operations. Building energy technologies-including energy-efficient devices, flexible loads, and energy storage-can be coordinated and aggregated to perform similar functions as centralized grid assets. Recent advances in information and communication (ICT) technologies have significantly improved building energy technology automation, coordination, and aggregation capabilities. With declining costs and technological advances, building energy systems can increasingly compete with conventional grid assets such as natural gas plants. Building energy technologies enable the deployment of distributed solar photovoltaics (DPV). Energy-efficient buildings allow DPV to meet greater shares of building load while flexible loads and energy storage can reshape building load profiles to optimize the on-site use of DPV. Optimized on-site use of DPV increases the value proposition for DPV adoption and can help utilities cost-effectively integrate higher levels of DPV penetration. Together, DPV and building energy technologies could help grids achieve deep decarbonization more quickly and cost-effectively.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2024

A Dynamic Model of Refrigerator with Thermal Energy Storage for Demand Flexibility

A refrigerator is an essential appliance for both commercial and residential applications. Thermal (Cold) energy storage can effectively reduce the carbon emission from refrigerators. This preliminary study investigated the demand flexibility of a domestic refrigerator using thermal (cold) energy storage through dynamic modeling and controls. The models include both fresh and frozen compartments, a vapor compression cycle loop, and thermal storage panels. Results show that thermal energy storage can effectively achieve temperature control of the compartments within the 4-hour time window. The load reduction and cost savings (46.3%) were achieved through the TES using TOU rates.

Gao, Zhiming↗
DOE OSTI2025

Spokane Eco-District Campus Performance Under Alternative Electricity Rates: Benefits for virtual power plant participants and suppliers

Here, the respective benefits for virtual power plant participants and suppliers are revealed and compared under alternative electricity rate structures, including conventional large commercial electricity rates, large commercial electricity rates with special rates for demand-side generation, and dynamic hourly transactive prices. These three scenarios were explored using the capabilities of the Eco-District campus, a virtual power plant in Spokane, Washington, that is supplied electricity by Avista Utilities. The Eco-District Campus was modeled to host solar power generation, battery energy storage, and thermal energy resources that must be coordinated with building heating and cooling needs. First, the electricity supplier’s costs for energy, infrastructure, and energy losses were modeled. Then, the virtual power plant’s performance was modeled while presuming that its manager would minimize its costs under its electricity rate structure. The demand charges of conventional commercial electricity rates managed monthly peak, as would be expected, but hourly dynamic transactive pricing resulted in a striking alignment between the costs incurred by the supplier and the virtual power plant’s energy costs.

Electricity rates↗
DOE OSTI2023

Accuracy of hourly energy predictions for demand flexibility applications

Decarbonization goals in the United States electricity sector are increasing the levels of renewable energy generation in the electricity supply system, and are driving increased attention to building electrification, which will increase the magnitude and shift the timing of the electricity system peak. These changes are motivating new approaches to coordinate building electricity demand with low-carbon renewable generation, elevating the importance of demand flexibility (DF) in buildings and the need to quantify the temporal impacts of DF. In this paper, we first characterize the hourly predictive accuracy of six commonly used baseline models in an application context of quantifying building-level load shift. Our analysis revealed insights such as hours of the day (afternoons), periods of the week (weekends), and seasons (summer) that were predicted with more accuracy than other time periods. In addition, the analysis showed tendencies toward overprediction or underprediction of load. Secondly, we provide the first published investigation of baseline erosion from repeated dispatch of building load shifting. We observed that as the baseline period is pushed back further from the prediction day, the distribution of errors across baseline model predictions increases, with notable inflection points near the three-week erosion point for two of the three models.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Flexible Nuclear-Based Integrated Energy System

Presentation on a conceptual study of combining a small modular nuclear reactor (SMR) with a solid oxide fuel cell, solid oxide electrolysis cell, and a gas turbine as an integrated energy system with high operational flexibility and rapid load following. Virtually presented at the MILLENNIUM CLEAN and SUSTAINABLE POWER workshop 2025, University of Genoa, Italy.

flexibility↗