Building Technologies

Sam Harward kneels beside a thermal exchanger module connected to a prototype ventless heat pump washer-dryer system inside a laboratory at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

Where Buildings Meet Energy Innovation

Reducing the energy consumption of the nation’s buildings is essential to achieving a secure energy future. To address the enormous challenge, Oak Ridge National Laboratory is focused on developing new building technologies enabling grid-interactive efficient buildings that provide beneficial effects to energy security and affordability, resilience, and the U.S. economy.

There are over 120 million buildings in the nation that account for approximately 40% of the nation’s total primary energy, 73% of electricity, and 55% of natural gas (34% of natural gas excluding gas used to generate electricity consumed in buildings). The DOE’s Building Technologies Office’s long-term goal is to reduce this energy consumption of U.S. buildings by 50% and ORNL is contributing to the goal through delivering scientific discoveries and technical breakthroughs to accelerate affordable building energy efficiency solutions from materials, components, and systems to whole building and community integration.

Advanced heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) test systems are staged in a laboratory in Building 3144 at Oak Ridge National Laboratory.

ORNL’s building technologies R&D efforts include the development of current and next-generation technologies encompassing building equipment, passive and dynamic envelopes, advanced energy storage, building energy modeling, sensors, transactive controls, and improved energy management and market transformation in all these areas.

An innovative robotic system to optimize the installation of interior spray foam insulation on walls. The all-in-one autonomous robot, located at the Maximum Building Energy Efficiency Research Laboratory, MAXLAB, streamlines the entire process by integrating transportation, power supply and operation of robotic systems, proportioners, air handling systems and support equipment. It is engineered to automatically adapt to structural irregularities and obstacles such as windows, vent openings, and doors.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

1 Bethel Valley Road

Oak Ridge, TN 37830

(+1) 865.576.7658