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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 145 records · Page 8
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2025

DOE Zero Energy Ready Manufactured Housing: Subject Matter Expert Technical Assistance Summary

Manufactured homes offer American consumers an affordable option for decent single-family detached housing. For working-class American families in many U.S. markets, manufactured homes are the first step toward home ownership. They now make up 10% of all new homes constructed in the United States, with higher percentages in the south and in rural communities. To help encourage the production of homes that are more durable, healthy, efficient, and disaster resistant, the U.S. Department of Energy is bringing its building science research to the manufactured housing industry through DOE’s Zero Energy Ready Manufactured Home (ZER-MH) program, which provides technical assistance and voluntary guidelines to manufactured home builders. Homes built to these guidelines are better able to handle power outages and less likely to experience moisture issues, offering a better product option for American families. This higher quality is evidenced by energy modeling which shows homes manufactured to these voluntary guidelines will typically use half the energy of manufactured homes built to the current minimum requirements of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)’s Manufactured Housing and Construction Safety Standard (MHCSS). These homes can also reduce critical energy demand during the busiest hours of the day, typically late afternoon and early evening in the summer when air conditioning demand is highest and mornings in the winter when furnaces and heaters are heating up. Reducing electricity demand during these peak periods when electricity rates are at their highest reduces costs for American families while freeing up capacity on overburdened energy distribution networks. Builders participating in the DOE ZER-MH program are eligible for a tax incentive via the 45L tax credit, which helps to offset the costs of ZER-MH upgrades, enabling builders to offer these certified homes at no additional cost. Together these factors enable manufactured homes to offer home buyers a housing option that is both affordable to finance and affordable to operate, with lower monthly mortgage payments and lower monthly energy bills.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

National Climate Database (NCDB)

The National Climate Database (NCDB) is a high resolution, bias-corrected climate dataset consisting of the three most widely used variables of solar radiation- global horizontal (GHI), direct normal (DNI), and diffuse horizontal irradiance (DHI)- as well as other meteorological data. The goal of the NCDB is to provide unbiased high temporal and spatial resolution climate data needed for renewable energy modeling. The NCDB is modeled using a statistical downscaling approach with Regional Climate Model (RCM)-based climate projections obtained from the North American Coordinated Regional Climate Downscaling Experiment (NA-CORDEX; linked below). Daily climate projections simulated by the Canadian Regional Climate Model 4 (CanRCM4) forced by the second-generation Canadian Earth System Model (CanESM2) for two Representative Concentration Pathways (RCP4.5 or moderate emissions scenario and RCP8.5 or highest baseline emission scenario) are selected as inputs to the statistical downscaling models. The National Solar Radiation Database (NSRDB) is used to build and calibrate statistical models.

Array↗
DOE OSTI2026

Ambient and Initial Temperature Effects on Energy Consumption Rate Modeled in FASTSim

Ambient and initial temperatures significantly impact the energy consumption rate (ECR) of battery electric vehicles (BEVs) due to auxiliary loads and the temperature dependence of battery efficiency. This study introduces a streamlined, physics-based thermal modeling approach within the FASTSim tool that bridges the gap between oversimplified constant-load models and computationally expensive high-fidelity simulations. By employing a lumped thermal mass framework, the model captures fundamental energy balances and critical non-linear energy penalties while maintaining the computational efficiency required for expansive sensitivity studies. The simulations evaluated a compact BEV hatchback with a resistive heater over city (UDDS) and highway (HWFET) test cycles. Compared to a 22 degrees Celsius initial and ambient temperature baseline, a -7 degrees Celsius initial/ambient temperature resulted in a 221% increase in the ECR for the city cycle and a 100% increase for the highway cycle. Conversely, a 45 degrees Celsius initial / 40 degrees Celsius ambient temperature resulted in a 40% increase for UDDS and an 18% increase for HWFET. These results demonstrate that while cold conditions impose the most severe energy penalties due to resistive heating, the impact is consistently more pronounced in city driving where auxiliary loads represent a larger proportion of total energy. This lightweight yet robust framework enables researchers to rapidly quantify BEV thermal sensitivity across diverse climates without the need for high-overhead simulation environments.

33 ADVANCED PROPULSION SYSTEMS↗
DOE OSTI2025

Techno-economic feasibility of borehole thermal energy storage system connected to geothermal heat pumps for seasonal heating load of two buildings in Fairbanks, Alaska

Borehole thermal energy storage (BTES) is an effective solution for managing imbalanced heating and cooling loads in cold regions. This study evaluated the long-term feasibility of a BTES system in the Fairbanks area, Alaska, through building energy modeling, resource characterization, and numerical modeling. The system was designed to store waste heat from a nearby coal power plant during summer and provide thermal energy during winter to geothermal heat pumps supplying heating loads in two buildings. Heating load profiles were modeled for the buildings using EnergyPlus, and the results indicated the annual heating load was 5.6 times greater than the cooling load. 40 borehole heat exchangers were pre-designed approximately 100 m away from the two buildings in terms of land availability and regulatorily optimized depth. The 20-year performance of the designed BTES system under two operational scenarios—one with a 5-year preheating period and one without—was numerically modeled using subsurface temperature and properties characterized through the literature review and thermal response tests. Both scenarios demonstrated that the BTES has the capacity to fully cover the heating loads in the two buildings throughout the 20-year lifetime. Production temperatures at central wells were 33 % higher on average than at outer wells in both scenarios. The 5-year preheating period increased subsurface and extraction temperatures, and correspondingly annual average and total thermal energy production was higher for 8 years than in the scenario without the preheating period. These results highlight the long-term reliability and sustainability of the BTES system in meeting heating demands over its lifetime, with the preheating period offering potential performance improvements. Implementing the BTES system in cold regions with high heating demand, such as Fairbanks, Alaska, could provide a long-term, sustainable energy solution for managing imbalanced heating and cooling loads.

15 GEOTHERMAL ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2025

Benefits Of Automated Construction And Energy Efficiency Measures In Modular Homes

This article builds on and adds to a Buildings XV publication that introduced the Transformative Efficiency and Automation in Modular Homes (TEAMH) project. The TEAMH project sought to develop a scalable solution for producing modular homes with 20-50% energy savings and similar cost relative to site-fabricated single-family home construction. A key aspect of the project was assessing the potential for labor cost reductions through automation-assisted construction using light gauge steel (LGS). To quantify the advantages of this approach, side-by-side comparisons were made between traditional wood-framed construction and automation-assisted LGS construction. This demonstration involved constructing one wood-framed wall and several LGS test walls, accompanied by a time-and-motion study. The results indicated that automation assistance could decrease construction time and associated labor costs by as much as 46%. High-performance envelope technologies for exterior insulation and air sealing were evaluated to compare modular homes with site-built homes that meet the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). A key technology considered was vacuum insulation panels (VIPs) with fiberglass cores. Guarded hot box testing of multiple full-scale wall assemblies containing different combinations of exterior continuous insulation systems containing phenolic foam and VIPs. Testing on various full-scale wall assemblies revealed that, with LGS construction, cavity insulation had minimal impact on exterior wall performance. Omitting cavity insulation can reduce labor and material costs while streamlining manufacturing, as its installation is labor-intensive and not easily automated due to the need for precise placement around wiring and other internal components. Guarded hot box tests of multiple LGS test walls with foam and VIP-based exterior insulation systems achieved R-values of up to 31 hr-ft2-°F/Btu. Finally, building energy modeling of multiple modular home designs indicated that the upgraded envelope assemblies can yield heating energy savings of up to 50% and cooling energy savings of up to 30% compared to IECC 2018 standards.

Shrestha, Som [ORNL] (ORCID:0000000183993797)↗
DOE OSTI2025

Structural uncertainty assessment for low-Mach wall-resolved large-eddy simulations: Plane Channel and Periodic Hill Use Cases

A structural uncertainty assessment is provided for a set of wall-resolved large-eddy simulations (WRLES) using a turbulent channel flow (𝑅𝑒 𝜏 395) and a periodic hill in the turbulent regime (𝑅𝑒 𝑏 2800) validation suite. The standard one-equation subgrid scale turbulent kinetic energy model (𝑘 𝑠𝑔𝑠 ) using both a static and dynamic coefficient approach along with Wall Adapting Local Eddy Viscosity (WALE) are exercised. The 𝑘 𝑠𝑔𝑠 model activated in this study also allows for a correction that supports theoretical turbulent viscosity and total kinetic energy scaling (cubit and quadratic, respectively) in the near-wall regime. Channel and hill results showcase very good agreement between prediction and simulation for the WALE and the dynamic coefficient 𝑘 𝑠𝑔𝑠 model. The study also demonstrates that near-wall damping improves predictivity for the static coefficient 𝑘 𝑠𝑔𝑠 model, while proving an unnecessary additional contribution for the dynamic coefficient 𝑘 𝑠𝑔𝑠 model as near-wall scaling is naturally captured. Overall conclusions are that this suite of WRLES models are well suited for production usage in the Sierra-based low-Mach codes.

97 MATHEMATICS AND COMPUTING↗
DOE OSTI2025

Heating Ventilation Air-Conditioning (HVAC) System Analysis and Optimization for Revit with the OpenStudio Analytical Framework (CRADA Final Report)

This project proposes to integrate the NREL-developed OpenStudio (OS) and its accompanying Analytical Framework (OSAF) into Autodesk’s (ADSK’s) market leading suite of building information modeling (BIM) tools. As a result, BIM users will gain access to advanced (but user-friendly) building energy modeling (BEM), calibration, and design optimization capabilities. Following integration, the BIM software will automatically generate a consistent OS-based BEM model, allowing users to develop projects in an integrated manner, moving back and forth between architectural and engineering perspectives without redundancy or data loss, saving time and effort.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2025

Resilient Communities, Maryland (RCM): A Framework for Community-Driven Energy Resilience (Final Technical Report)

The Resilient Communities, Maryland (RCM) project integrates community-based participatory research (CBPR) approaches into energy resilience planning. The combination of qualitative, community-driven data and quantitative utility data improves both the effectiveness and efficiency of assessing the impacts of disruptions to energy infrastructure. Centered around a metric of critical services access, RCM created a repeatable framework for evaluating and modeling energy resilience in communities and promoted community engagement, resulting in more equitable stakeholder participation and improved decision-making processes for siting infrastructure to improve community energy resilience.

14 SOLAR ENERGY↗
DOE OSTI2026

High-Resolution WRF-Based Downscaling of Earth System Model Projections for Energy Applications across CONUS

Evaluating energy resources under future scenarios requires meteorological information that adequately resolves regional-scale variability and is suitable for regional energy system studies. Although Earth system model (ESM) outputs provide essential large-scale context, their coarse resolution and inherent biases limit direct use in energy system applications. This work presents a high-resolution dynamical downscaling framework using the Weather Research and Forecasting (WRF) model to generate energy-relevant regional fields for future scenarios over the contiguous United States (CONUS). The framework first identifies an optimal WRF configuration through sensitivity experiments, then evaluates raw and bias-corrected ESM initial and boundary conditions, with soil moisture and soil temperature bias correction implemented as an integral component of the bias-corrected ESM atmospheric forcing prior to WRF dynamical downscaling to improve land-atmosphere interactions. Simulations performed at 4-km resolution show that uncorrected ESM forcing leads to systematically dry and cold soil states, which propagate into elevated near-surface air temperature and solar irradiance biases, particularly during summer for the period 2000-2014. Incorporating bias-corrected atmospheric forcing together with soil state bias correction substantially reduces these errors and improves the representation of surface energy processes in WRF simulations. The results highlight the importance of bias-aware initialization strategies in high-resolution dynamical downscaling for future energy system analysis and planning.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2024

Electric Vehicle Charging for Residential and Commercial Energy Codes: Technical Brief

Numerous studies show that sales of electric vehicles (EVs) have grown consistently over recent years in the U.S. The U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) estimated 3 million EVs were on the road in 2022, and the Edison Electric Institute (EEI) forecasts a total of 26.4 million EVs on the road by 2030. Based on this forecast, EEI projects the need for an additional 12.9 million EV charge ports by 2030. If EV charging infrastructure fails to keep pace with sales of EVs it could result in consumers stranded without options to power their vehicles. EVs are capable of providing substantial benefits to the consumers. EVs are less expensive to operate than conventional internal combustion engine vehicles, have lower maintenance costs, and have the convenience of fueling (charging) at home or work. Studies conducted in California show that costs associated with installing EV charging infrastructure can be substantially more expensive for retrofit scenarios compared to new construction, making inclusion of EV infrastructure in new construction codes a cost-effective policy option to increase infrastructure to meet growing demands. PNNL tracks adoption of mandatory EV provisions across the U.S. As of December 20, 2024, 12 states (California, Oregon, Washington, Colorado, New Mexico, Illinois, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, Rhode Island, Massachusetts and Vermont) and 53 local governments have added EV provisions to their building codes, local ordinances and zoning requirements. Originally published in 2022, this tech brief has been revised to align with recent model energy code committee discussions and published EV infrastructure code language. This technical brief summarizes market trends, costs and benefits, and provides sample code language for EV charging infrastructure for consideration to be included in model codes, such as the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and ANSI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1, as well as directly by states and local governments in their building codes. The technical brief summarizes related efforts undertaken by states and local governments, and builds upon language considered during the 2021 and 2024 IECC development cycles.

2021 IECC↗
DOE OSTI2025

BuildingSync® v.2.7.0 (released 9.11.2025) [SWR-18-28]

BuildingSync® is a building data exchange schema to better enable integration between software tools and building data workflows. The schema's original use case was focused on commercial building energy audits; however, several additional use cases have been realized including building energy modeling and more high-level generic building data exchange. Version 2.7.0 adds new elements for file attachment feature and FederalBuilding, and generalizes usage of Optional Elements (e.g. EquipmentCondition, EquipmentID) to all assets/systems. BuildingSync helps streamline the data exchange process, improving the value of the data, minimizing duplication of effort for subsequent building data collection efforts (including audits), and facilitating the achievement of greater energy efficiency. This in done in part by standardizing on (a) reporting audits in an electronic format, (b) tracking proposed, implemented, and discarded energy conservation measures, and (c) storing building characteristics (at multiple levels) for audits, benchmarking, and building energy analysis. BuildingSync has several documents and tools available to help users understand how to best leverage BuildingSync. The list below are only a subset of the resources available. If new resources are discovered, then feel free to create a new pull request with the additions. Generic BuildingSync information is available on the DOE website and the project website. BuildingSync Examples - These examples are kept up to date and show a wide range of implementations. Any new update to BuildingSync is required to pass validation on these example files. BuildingSync Use Case Validator allows for users to determine if their instance complies with a specific use case for BuildingSync by checking if the required elements are implemented in an uploaded instance. An API is also provided for automated integration into other tools. Also, the website contains an easy way to view the entirety of the schema and how elements relate to the Building Exchange Data Exchange Specification. The Validator is open sourced here Use Case TestSuite provides a Python package for easier generation of BuildingSync use cases. BuildingSync use cases depend on the generation of schematron documents, which is time-consuming and difficult to implement well. The TestSuite allows users to define a use case using a more palatable CSV template, which it then turns into a Schematron document. The source code is available here. BuildingSync to OpenStudio/EnergyPlus. The translator is open sourced here. This project will translate a Level 1 (and partial Level 2) ASHRAE Energy Audit to a fully defined OpenStudio and EnergyPlus model. This project is in early Beta testing and any feedback is welcome!

Long, Nicholas [National Renewable Energy Lab. (NR↗
DOE OSTI2026

Effects of B 2 O 3 on the Growth, Structural, and Magneto-Optical Properties of Yttrium Iron Garnet Single-Crystal Fibers

This study explores the fabrication of yttrium iron garnet (YIG) single crystal fibers using the laser heated pedestal growth (LHPG) method with the experimental addition of B 2 O 3 . The incorporation of B 2 O 3 facilitates the fiber fabrication process by lowering the required growth temperatures and likely modifying melt viscosity behavior, consistent with the established fluxing behavior of B2O3 and the comparative viscosity trend observed in the TMA−VFT analysis, thereby improving process efficiency while maintaining fiber quality. Structural characterization using EBSD and SC-XRD reveals a transition from polycrystalline to single-crystal behavior, with improved alignment along the [111] direction without altering the garnet structure. Magnetic measurements show increases in saturation magnetization in B 2 O 3 -assisted fibers. Three-dimensional anisotropy energy modeling, based on EBSD-derived Euler angles, indicates that the enhanced crystallinity and orientation contribute to reorientation of MCA energy distribution due to improved crystallographic alignment. Faraday rotation measurements show that the B 2 O 3 -assisted sample exhibits a rotation angle closer to reported values for high-quality YIG, suggesting improved phase purity and crystallographic quality. These findings demonstrate that B 2 O 3 -assisted LHPG growth is a scalable and nontoxic approach to producing high-performance YIG fibers for integrated photonic and magnetic field sensing applications.

Crystal structure↗
DOE OSTI2024

Grid Integration of Renewable Energy and Energy Storage

Grid integration of renewable energy and energy storage requires forward-looking planning process, and increased emphasizes on reliability, resilience, and equity. Power-electronics based energy generation including solar, wind, distributed energy resources (DERs), and various types of grid-tied energy storage and emerging loads, are reshaping grid operator's understanding on interconnection level performance and responses. This paper will present the ongoing work at PNNL related to power electronics R&D, energy modeling and analysis, and a wide spectrum of grid stability studies and technologies in support of grid integration of renewable energy and energy storage.

Power Electronics, grid integration of renewable e↗
DOE OSTI2024

Long-lived oscillations of metastable states in neutral atom systems

Metastable states arise in a range of quantum systems and can be observed in various dynamical scenarios, including decay, bubble nucleation, and long-lived oscillations. The phenomenology of metastable states has been examined in quantum many-body systems, notably in one-dimensional (1D) ferromagnetic Ising spin systems and superfluids. Here, in this paper, we study long-lived oscillations of metastable and ground states in 1D antiferromagnetic neutral atom chains with long-range Rydberg interactions. We use a staggered local detuning field to achieve confinement. Using theoretical and numerical models, we identify novel spectral signatures of quasiparticle oscillations distinct to antiferromagnetic neutral atom systems and interpret them using a classical energy model of short-range meson repulsion. Finally, we evaluate the experimental accessibility of our proposed setup on current neutral-Atom platforms and discuss experimental feasibility and constraints.

75 CONDENSED MATTER PHYSICS, SUPERCONDUCTIVITY AND↗
DOE OSTI2024

Model Formulations: Integrating Distributed Energy Resources (DER) using Advanced Unit Commitment Models and DER Aggregation Methodologies

A distribution energy resource aggregator (DERA) constitutes a group of distribution energy resources with small generation capacities which meet the threshold to participate in the electricity wholesale market. This document provides the proposed DERA model formulation that will be implemented in the SCUC simulation’s architecture for the SCUC-DER project. Different economical assessment methodologies have been developed to incorporated bids for individual distributed resources, which include solar cost dispatch and cost model, BESS opportunity cost offer algorithm, and price sensitive demand response model. Detailed methods are proposed to aggregate individual cost offers to a DERA cost curve to bid in SCUC market while three methods are proposed to simulate DER actual dispatch. Based on the DERA models in this document, the SCUC-DER project will be able to assess the impacts of DERA on the distribution system’s operation and reliability.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2025

A framework to evaluate machine learning crystal stability predictions

The rapid adoption of machine learning in various scientific domains calls for the development of best practices and community agreed-upon benchmarking tasks and metrics. We present Matbench Discovery as an example evaluation framework for machine learning energy models, here applied as pre-filters to first-principles computed data in a high-throughput search for stable inorganic crystals. We address the disconnect between (1) thermodynamic stability and formation energy and (2) retrospective and prospective benchmarking for materials discovery. Alongside this paper, we publish a Python package to aid with future model submissions and a growing online leaderboard with adaptive user-defined weighting of various performance metrics allowing researchers to prioritize the metrics they value most. To answer the question of which machine learning methodology performs best at materials discovery, our initial release includes random forests, graph neural networks, one-shot predictors, iterative Bayesian optimizers and universal interatomic potentials. We highlight a misalignment between commonly used regression metrics and more task-relevant classification metrics for materials discovery. Accurate regressors are susceptible to unexpectedly high false-positive rates if those accurate predictions lie close to the decision boundary at 0 eV per atom above the convex hull. The benchmark results demonstrate that universal interatomic potentials have advanced sufficiently to effectively and cheaply pre-screen thermodynamic stable hypothetical materials in future expansions of high-throughput materials databases.

Riebesell, Janosh↗