Researchers at PNNL devised a new workflow for integrating life cycle analysis into building design, aided by a computational method that adapts existing software to net-zero energy, carbon-negative homes.
GUV can reduce transmission of airborne disease while reducing energy use and carbon emissions. But fulfilling that promise depends on having accurate and verifiable performance data.
Researchers from PNNL have been assessing installation and use of electric heat pumps in an Alaskan community that relies on fuel oil for heat. The resulting information could advance electrification in cold rural areas across the nation.
PNNL helps deliver efficiency-related rules and requirements that steadily improve performance of America’s buildings, saving energy and costs and reducing carbon emissions.
Mandy Mahoney, director of the DOE Building Technologies Office, visited PNNL in late November. One key agenda item involved meeting with staff for a discussion of effective equity and justice integration in buildings-related research.
From air-sealing windows and checking for leaky ducts to insulating the attic, PNNL researchers offer tips on how to keep a home warm in winter weather.
A larger HVAC workforce with training on modern heat pump technology will be pivotal to achieving the mass-scale electrification of household HVAC systems needed to meet building decarbonization goals.
Leaders from the DOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy visited PNNL October 19–20 for a firsthand look at capabilities and research progress.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and Launch Point CDC, Inc. are developing a framework to empower disadvantaged communities with clean energy technology—along with a set of resources to give other community organizations a head start.
PNNL’s Andrea Mengual co-chaired a working group that produced Building Performance Standards: A Technical Resource Guide. PNNL’s Kim Cheslak, Bing Liu, and Jian Zhang contributed to the effort.
PNNL is at the midpoint of a study focused on the installation of electric heat pump water heaters in New Orleans homes. The efficient water heaters offer a unique capability that could help speed the transition from fossil fuels.
Through collaboration with the Department of Homeland Security Soft Target Engineering to Neutralize the Threat Reality Center of Excellence, PNNL is advancing research and development of tools and methodologies to protect crowded places.
The PNNL-managed Building America Solution Center translates research into actionable considerations for homeowners and builders to provide two solutions in one: increasing energy efficiency while also enhancing disaster resistance.
A PNNL team’s analysis of new-housing data concludes that single-family homes in lower-income counties are less energy-code-compliant than in higher-income counties, a finding that could shape strategies for enhanced code adoption.
