PNNL has developed a decision tool that provides contractors and installers with the information they need to properly select and install cold climate heat pumps, which are a key technology for achieving decarbonization.
PNNL and collaborators developed new models—recently approved by the U.S. Western Electricity Coordinating Council (WECC)—to help utilities understand how new grid-forming inverter technology will enhance grid stability.
Tennessee State University received Department of Energy funding to establish an academy focused on preparing students and professionals to work in an emerging field: clean energy systems. PNNL is helping with that effort and others.
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.
Understanding the risk of compound energy droughts—times when the sun doesn’t shine and the wind doesn’t blow—will help grid planners understand where energy storage is needed most.
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.
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.
PNNL led one of five Pathway Summer School programs nationwide, with a specific focus on engaging students from Native American or Indigenous backgrounds.
