Search NASA⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search NASA

Results for “building application”

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.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 19 records
All sourcesNASA NTRSDOE OSTI
DOE OSTI2023

Development of Building Design Optimization Methodology: Residential Building Applications

Building design optimization is a highly complex problem, requiring long computational running processes because of the many options that exist when a building is being designed. This paper introduces an integrated approach through which to perform this optimization within an acceptable time frame. The approach includes the methods of variable selection, model simplification, and a sequential optimization process. Using singular value decomposition, a large number of design variables is reduced to a smaller subset that can be solved more quickly through the optimization algorithm. To expedite the variable selection process, a modeling approach that quickly simulates annual energy consumption was developed to replace full annual energy simulations. The developed methodology was applied to two residential buildings in the US, and the results are discussed herein. To assess the accuracy of the integrated optimization methodology, the optimized life cycle costs are compaa variables demonstrating the strongest contributions in the optimization study were identified. The proposed methodology significantly shortened the time requirements for the optimization processes of the two case studies by 74% and 84%; the optimized life cycle costs were within 0.05% and 0.06%, respectively, of the optimum point.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2023

SeeQ: A Programming Model for Portable Data-Driven Building Applications

This paper introduces SeeQ, a programming model and an abstraction framework that facilitates the development of portable data- driven building applications. Data-driven approaches can provide insights into building operations and guide decision-making to achieve operational objectives. Yet the configuration of such applications per building requires extensive effort and tacit knowledge. In SeeQ, we propose a portable programming model and build a software system that enables self-configuration and execution across diverse buildings. The configuration of each building is captured in a unified data model - in this paper, we work with the Brick ontology without loss of generality. SeeQ focuses on the distinction between the application logic and the configuration of an application against building-specific data inputs and systems. We test the proposed approach by configuring and deploying a diverse range of applications across five heterogeneous real-world buildings. The analysis shows the potential of SeeQ to significantly reduce the efforts associated with the delivery of building analytics.

analytics↗
DOE OSTI2022

Methods and systems for thermal energy storage and their use in buildings applications

The present disclosure relates to particle-based thermal energy storage (TES) systems employed for the heating and cooling applications for residential and/or commercial buildings. Particle-based TES systems may store thermal energy in the particles during off-peak times (i.e., when electricity demand and/or costs are relatively low) and remove the stored thermal energy for heating or cooling applications for buildings during peak times (i.e., when electricity demand and/or costs are relatively high).

Ma, Zhiwen↗
DOE OSTI2023

Laboratory testing methods to evaluate the reliability of occupancy sensors for commercial building applications

The energy performance of commercial buildings is greatly influenced by occupants which are highly variable and among the most unpredictable components of a building's operation. While most building control systems use fixed, predetermined occupancy schedules, these fixed occupancy levels can be quite different from actual occupancy. This can cause unnecessary energy consumption, particularly from heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) and lighting systems which are responsible for approximately 60% of commercial buildings' energy use. The use of occupancy counting sensor systems integrated with building management system controls is one method that can be used to improve the energy-consuming performance of buildings. However, there is no standardized universal methodology and metrics to evaluate their reliability. The aim of this research is to develop a uniform evaluation methodology to assess the reliability of occupancy counting sensor systems in a controlled laboratory environment. The developed testing methodology includes both “typical” scenarios representing the occupancy scenarios of a typical commercial building, and “failure” testing scenarios which represent a range of potential scenarios that may impact a sensor system's reliability. These methods were then implemented in a case study to evaluate the performance of two novel occupancy counting sensor systems (i.e., door-centric, and camera-based). Results suggest that typical testing results can be used to compare the overall performance of the occupancy counting sensor systems; however, failure testing is also important to understand the weaknesses of the sensor system in order to select the suitable one for the intended use of the commercial building. In addition, the proposed methodology includes a modified confusion matrix which enables the ability to identify if failures are caused by over or under counting occupants and to what extent this occurs over the testing period.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2024

Development of a micro-combined heat and power powered by an opposed-piston engine in building applications

Residential homes and light commercial buildings usually require substantial heat and electricity simultaneously. A combined heat and power system enables more efficient and environmentally friendly energy usage than that achieved when heat and electricity are produced in separate processes. However, due to financial and space constraints, residential and light commercial buildings often limit the use of traditional large-scale industrial equipment. Here we develop a micro–combined heat and power system powered by an opposed-piston engine to simultaneously generate electricity and provide heat to residential homes or light commercial buildings. The developed prototype attains the maximum AC electrical efficiency of 35.2%. The electrical efficiency breaks the typical upper boundary of 30% for micro–combined heat and power systems using small internal combustion engines (i.e., <10 kW). Moreover, the developed prototype enables maximum combined electrical and thermal efficiencies greater than 93%. The prototype is optimally designed for natural gas but can also run renewable biogas and hydrogen, supporting the transition from current conventional fossil fuels to zero carbon emissions in the future. The analysis of the unit’s decarbonization and cost-saving potential indicate that, except for specific locations, the developed prototype might excel in achieving decarbonization and cost savings primarily in US northern and middle climate zones.

24 POWER TRANSMISSION AND DISTRIBUTION↗
DOE OSTI2023

System modeling for grid-interactive efficient building applications

Despite the abundance of research applications of system modeling in grid-interactive efficient buildings (GEBs), the transfer of those applications to real-world practices is still in its early stages. This is partially due to the lack of a summary on how system modeling should be established for a given application of GEBs. Here, we fill this gap by providing an extensive survey of the literature on system modeling for different GEBs that have been produced in the past decade. This survey involves over 300 relevant journal articles from the building community, the power system community, and the society of control. Specifically, we first identified key requirements of system modeling for GEBs based on various types of applications discussed in those publications. We then summarized the system modeling applications from those publications, in terms of their assumptions, modeling approach, and simulation. After that, we analyzed different assumptions made for various applications, the extent to which those modeling approaches satisfied the key requirements, and how those approaches can be scaled up for large-scale applications, which are quite common in GEBs. In addition, we gave insights on how to use system modeling for different applications in GEBs. At the end, we provided recommended directions for future studies to fully unleash the potentials of system modeling to support GEBs.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2026

Ten questions concerning Large Language Models (LLMs) for building applications

Large Language Models (LLMs) are emerging as powerful AI tools capable of transforming how building information is collected, processed, analyzed, and applied across diverse research areas. Their capabilities can help building operators, facility managers and other stakeholders such as designers, architects and engineers by providing actionable insights for decision-making across planning, construction, operations, and maintenance of buildings and facilities. This paper explores ten key questions concerning the role of LLMs in shaping sustainable, intelligent, and human-centric buildings. From fundamental definitions to advanced applications, we examine how LLMs facilitate decision-making across the life cycle of buildings and energy systems. LLMs can enhance life cycle assessments (LCA), building energy simulations, and real-time data integration, empowering more efficient and adaptive human-AI environments. They can also contribute to streamlining regulatory compliance, improving post-occupancy evaluations, and fostering more inclusive and participatory design processes. Additionally, this paper addresses the ethical challenges posed by LLMs, such as bias, data privacy, and environmental impacts, and explores their potentials in advancing intelligent digital twins (DT) for ongoing building operations and maintenance. Built upon our applied research using LLMs and the review of tools, datasets, and research gaps, we provide a forward-looking perspective on how LLMs can drive innovation, collaboration, and productivity in the built environment while supporting ethical and effective implementation.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2026

Thermal property characterization of phase change materials in building applications: A systematic review of fundamentals, recent progress, and future directions

Phase change materials (PCMs) can reduce building peak loads and enable demand-responsive thermal energy storage (TES), but their deployment depends on reliable measurement and interpretation of thermal properties across laboratory, intermediate, and application scales. Here, this review systematically examines characterization methods, testing protocols, and recent advances for neat PCMs and PCM composites, emphasizing thermal conductivity, enthalpy-related properties (phase change temperature, latent heat, specific heat), and cycling stability. For thermal conductivity, we compare steady-state and transient techniques and note limitations when phase transition and contact resistance affect measurements. For enthalpy–temperature characterization, we discuss differential scanning calorimetry together with intermediate- and bulk-scale methods, including T-history, heat flow meter testing, and three-layer calorimetry (3LC), to generate application-relevant enthalpy–temperature profiles. Cycling stability is organized into four experimental families: thermoelectric–air, fully thermoelectric, water-bath, and in situ chamber approaches, with attention to separating reversible supercooling from true degradation such as phase segregation. We highlight emerging noncontact diagnostics, including infrared thermography and embedded sensing, for spatially resolved validation and multiscale interpretation. Finally, we review the growing use of AI and machine learning for property prediction, inverse characterization from experimental signals, and real-time state estimation in building-integrated TES. Key needs include harmonized protocols, interlaboratory benchmarking, uncertainty reporting, and metadata-rich datasets to accelerate reproducible PCM qualification for grid-flexible buildings.

AI↗
DOE OSTI2022

Novel Functional Thermal Energy Storage Materials for Buildings Applications

The leakage of solid-liquid phase change materials (PCMs) tremendously limits their long-term application in thermal energy storage (TES). In this work, we present durable and form-stable shape-stabilized PCMs (ss-PCMs) for TES in building envelopes. These ss-PCMs are fabricated by encapsulating polyethylene glycol (PEG) consisting of different molecular weights within mesoporous magnesium oxide and silica dioxide. For the first time, the phase transition temperature (Tt) of ss-PCMs has been fine-tuned synthetically to be comfortable to building occupants by utilizing PEG blends with molecular weights of 600 and 800 g/mol. Several parameters, including surface hydrophilicity/hydrophobicity, surface area, and PCM loading percentage, have been studied to maximize the latent heat enthalpy for high energy efficiency and maintain form stability. The best ss-PCM candidate with suitable Tt and appreciable latent heat enthalpy exhibits a repeatable phase change behavior for up to 1,000 thermal cycles without leakage, which provides a promising solution for durable TES in buildings. The Tt tunability extends its application over a wider temperature range beyond buildings.

building envelope↗
DOE OSTI2022

Development of a water source heat pump hardware-in-the-loop (HIL) testing facility for smart building applications

Over the last decade, the global fight against climate change through electrification has led to an increase in research on building heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) systems that utilize intelligent control algorithms to provide demand-side grid service while maintaining the thermal comfort of building occupants. As the pivotalpoint between building electricity consumption and indoor thermal comfort, high-efficiency electrical heatpumps are at the center of these emerging studies, and various grid-interactive and occupant-comfort control algorithms have been developed for them. The impact of these algorithms on the heatpump operation andperformance under different weather, building load, and grid requests calls for investigation and verification via experimental tests with actual heat pumps integrated with real-time building and grid responses. This study presents a Water-Source Heat Pump Hardware-in-The-Loop (HIL) Test Facility developed with the capability to perform such tests. The hardware configuration for this testfacility introduces a hydronic system that emulates the conditions for the heat pump water-side, and a duct system that emulates conditions for the heat pump airside. Both data acquisition and emulator control are implemented through the National Instruments (NI) LabVIEW software running on an NI PXIplatform. The HIL mechanism based on the hardware-software integration that allows the testbed to communicate with a generic simulation environment is also discussed. Currently, the test facility setup includes a single heatpump and virtual building model in EnergyPlus coupled with an occupant behavioral model in MATLAB. Preliminary test results of the current setup demonstrate the building load emulator's ability to track the simulated gone temperature with a Root Mean Square Deviation (RSME) below 0.12°C (0.216°F). An uncertainty analysis based on sensor accuracies shows that the heat pump coefficient of performance (COP) can be measured with a relative uncertainty of 10.4% in cooling and 3.7% in heating. Apartfrom the current testing on a single heat pump, the test facility also provides the flexibility to include additional heat pumps to form a heat pump cluster, as well as coupling the heat pump with active thermal storage to provide enhanced demandflexibility.

Calfa, Caleb↗
DOE OSTI2026

Cradle-to-gate life cycle assessment of advanced composite panels incorporating CO 2 -derived multi-walled carbon nanotubes and hemp fiber for sustainable building applications

Advanced composite panels represent a promising pathway to reducing carbon emissions in the construction industry, yet comprehensive environmental impact assessments remain limited. Here, in this study, we conduct a life cycle assessment (LCA) to evaluate the environmental impacts of innovative composite panels produced from multi-walled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs), hemp fiber (HF), recycled carbon fiber (rCF), and recycled polypropylene (PP), exploring their potential as baseline structural equivalents to conventional gypsum board. MWCNTs and HF play a critical role in sequestering carbon during raw material production, while the recycling processes for CF and PP generally require less energy compared to virgin material production. The LCA evaluates environmental performance using the TRACI 2.1 method, covering global warming potential (GWP), ozone depletion, smog formation, acidification, eutrophication, carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic effects, respiratory impacts, ecotoxicity, and fossil fuel depletion. Compositional variations—resin type (virgin vs. recycled), rCF content (9–29 wt%), and HF content (10–30 wt%)—are introduced for sensitivity and hotspot analyses. Results demonstrate that, when compared on the basis of preliminary structural equivalence, increasing recycled PP, rCF, and HF content can significantly reduce global warming potential compared to gypsum board. Beyond carbon reduction, the composite panels show trade-offs across other environmental categories. With the growing demand for composite materials in interior panels, ceiling systems, and exterior claddings, these findings highlight the environmental benefits and potential trade-offs of the proposed composites, establishing a foundational framework to support their continued development toward full building-system integration.

Advanced composite manufacturing↗
DOE OSTI2024

Enhancement of the Physical and Mechanical Properties of Cellulose Nanofibril-Reinforced Lignocellulosic Foams for Packaging and Building Applications

Biobased foams have the potential to serve as eco-friendly alternatives to petroleum-based foams, provided they achieve comparable thermomechanical and physical properties. We propose a facile approach to fabricate eco-friendly cellulose nanofibril (CNF)-reinforced thermomechanical pulp (TMP) fiber-based foams via an oven-drying process with thermal conductivity as low as 0.036 W/(m·K) at a 34.4 kg/m3 density. Acrodur®, iron chloride (FeCl3), and cationic polyacrylamide (CPAM) were used to improve the foam properties. Acrodur® did not have any significant effect on the foamability and density of the foams. Mechanical, thermal, cushioning, and water absorption properties of the foams were dependent on the density and interactions of the additives with the fibers. Due to their high density, foams with CPAM and FeCl3 at a 1% additive dosage had significantly higher compressive properties at the expense of slightly higher thermal conductivity. There was slight increase in compressive properties with the addition of Acrodur®. All additives improved the water stability of the foams, rendering them stable even after 24 h of water absorption.

Chemistry↗
DOE OSTI2021

Metadata Schemas and Ontologies for Building Energy Applications: A Critical Review and Use Case Analysis

With the increasing digitalization of processes throughout the lifecycle of buildings, data exchanged between stakeholders and between building systems has grown significantly. However, a lack of semantic interoperability between data in different systems is still prevalent, hindering the development of applications that can be reused across buildings and limiting the scalability of innovative solutions. Semantics refers to the description of the meaning of the data in a way that can be consistently understood by applications. Recently, several competing initiatives have been developing metadata schemas and ontologies to express this semantic information for different applications in the building domain. This paper systematically reviews these schemas and conducts an analysis of five of them to evaluate their applicability to three high-value use cases for building operations: energy audits, automated fault detection and diagnostics and optimal control. The survey finds 40 schemas published in the last 10 years but but their actual use in industry is difficult to estimate. Among the five selected ontologies, several gaps are highlighted in relation to the three use cases. Recommendations for the future include better harmonization of these initiatives, more centralized repositories and search engines for these schemas as well as better industry engagement to facilitate their adoption.

Smart Building, Sematic, Metadata, Ontology, Data ↗
DOE OSTI2021

Grey-box modeling and application for building energy simulations - A critical review

Grey-box modeling, as one of the three fundamental modeling techniques for building energy models, has many advantages compared with black-box modeling and white-box modeling. Additionally, it has been widely applied to solve problems of building technologies, such as building load estimation, control and optimization, and building-grid integration. However, a thorough review of grey-box modeling is not available. This review study systematically investigated various aspects of grey-box modeling for buildings. First, the fundamental aspects of grey-box modeling are presented, including the theoretical background, modeling of building elements, modeling order, modeling diagram, and order reduction. Second, the detailed modeling approaches are discussed. Third, multiple applications of grey-box modeling are investigated for building energy domain, which are categorized into the following groups: heat dynamics analysis, thermal load estimation, building control and optimization, district/urban scale energy modeling, and building-grid integration. Finally, the available software packages for grey-box modeling are compared. Overall, the challenges of using grey-box modeling can be summarized as follows: (1) the theoretical limitations and assumptions of grey-box modeling are unclear; (2) grey-box model naming convention and structure are confusing; (3) grey-box model creation is vague; (4) suitable applications of grey-box models are unknown; and (5) grey-box models lack unified software solutions for wider adoption.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗
DOE OSTI2026

Sand-Based Thermal Storage for Building Heating Applications: A District Energy Case Study

Buildings account for 40% of global energy consumption and contribute to 30% of global carbon emissions. As energy from renewable sources increases in availability and building designers push for increased electrification, thermal energy storage (TES) systems will play a crucial role in extending the usable time horizon of renewable energy. While water, molten salt, and phase change materials are typically used for building TES heating applications, silica-sand has emerged as an alternative medium for concentrated solar power applications due to its low cost, wide availability, and comparable system efficiency. This paper proposes a new silica-sand particle-based TES system for building heating applications. In this work, a novel steam plant for district heating applications is first designed to utilize silica-sand TES, which can be used for different district energy systems. To demonstrate the silica-sand TES plant performance, the design is modelled in Modelica based on a case study on the University of Colorado Boulder’s campus. The simulation results show that the sand TES plant is more costly to operate than a gas-boiler based plant due to the low cost of natural gas, while the site EUI and carbon intensity can be improved. This novel system shows initial promise as a low-carbon alternative to conventional natural gas steam boilers but will require further modelling and follow-up research to improve its energy efficiency. An eventual rise in natural gas prices, and reduction of electricity prices, could improve the economic viability of this system.

32 ENERGY CONSERVATION, CONSUMPTION, AND UTILIZATI↗