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  1. Research
  2. Sustainable Energy
  3. Energy Efficiency
  4. Commercial Buildings

Commercial Buildings

Efficiency, energy savings

PNNL supports efforts to better understand the energy use of commercial buildings and provides expertise and technology solutions that lead to improved efficiency. 

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Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) advances and helps achieve the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) vision of high-performing commercial buildings that use substantially less energy.

Many types of structures fit the definition of commercial buildings—offices, schools, hospitals, retail stores, warehouses, large multi-family residences, and more. America’s commercial buildings reflect a variety of ages, construction types, and configurations, from single-level structures to skyscrapers. These buildings collectively contain tens of billions of square feet of floor space and consume greater than one-third of the nation’s electricity. Each year, new structures are added to the nation’s commercial building stock.

Experts contend that most commercial buildings use more energy than they need. Consumption can be reduced through the adoption of new efficiency-focused methods and technologies. Such improvements also can save money, help protect the environment, and generate economic benefits.

The DOE Building Technologies Office (BTO), through its Commercial Buildings Integration program, develops and advances innovative energy-saving measures that deliver impactful, cost-effective results.

PNNL partners with BTO to understand and remove potential barriers for promising new methods, as well as verify and validate the performance of technologies and systems. Specifically, researchers draw on longstanding, buildings-related capabilities and contributions to deliver expertise and tools that  

  • Assess the physical and structural energy efficiency of existing commercial buildings and identify improvements
  • Sharpen understanding of building locations, footprints, and other characteristics to better assess energy consumption and efficiency potential
  • Help realize the ultralow-energy buildings of the future through testing and evaluation of promising technologies
  • Combine energy efficiency with renewable on-site energy generation to make buildings as self-sufficient as possible.

Recent News

MAY 9, 2022
Staff Accomplishment

Katipamula and Underhill Featured in New National Building Operations Training Course

Read
Ron Underhill and Srinivas Katipamula
APRIL 26, 2022
Feature

Smart Lighting Controls Primed for Data Mining

Read
Tunable Lighting Generates Button Press Data
MARCH 1, 2022
Staff Accomplishment

BOPTEST Paper Earns Journal Award

Read
PNNL team members who worked on BOPTEST paper
SEE MORE RELATED NEWS

Facilities

Advanced Building Controls Laboratory Connected Lighting Test Bed Environmental Chambers Integrated Building Assets Lab Homes Lighting Metrology Laboratory Lumen Maintenance Test Facility Power Electronics Laboratory Systems Engineering Building Thermal Energy Storage System

Related Divisions

Electricity Infrastructure and Buildings Division

Related Links

What are Green Buildings?Clean Energy and Transactive Campus ProjectEconomic DispatchIntelligent Load ControlRooftop Unit Comparison CalculatorTransactive Systems ProgramVOLTTRON

Contacts

Dennis Stiles
Sector Lead, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
dennis.stiles@pnnl.gov
Shannon Bates
Advisor
shannon.bates@pnnl.gov

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