The U.S. Department of Energy awarded $82.6 million in funding to 44 projects that will lower Americans’ energy bills and help meet President Biden’s goal of net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 by investing in new energy efficient building technologies, construction practices, and the U.S. buildings-sector workforce.
None of the projects are in Oklahoma but one is in New Mexico and a handful are located in Colorado.
“Americans spend about $100 billion every year on wasted energy from buildings, heating and cooling units, and more – increasing energy bills and needless emissions that dirty our air and worsen the climate crisis,” said Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “By pursuing advancements that make both existing and newly constructed buildings more energy efficient, we can save consumers money and reduce the climate impacts of the places we live and work.”
DOE’s Building Technologies Office competitively selected these projects from its Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) funding opportunity announcement.
The New Mexico Energy, Minerals and Natural Resources Department in Santa Fe will develop, deliver, and evaluate continuing education and training on New Mexico’s updated energy efficiency codes and policies. This training will allow the state’s energy workforce to adapt to the new policies and better take advantage of the increasing demand for energy-efficient building technologies.
Alpen High-Performance Products Inc. in Louisville, Colorado received funding to demonstrate the ability to fabricate dynamic glazing with insulation performance greater than R-6 in a decentralized fashion, allowing it to access economies of scale that can reduce its price.
The DOE funded Tynt Technologies in Boulder, Colorado to develop market-ready dynamic windows manufactured with reversible metal electrodeposition. This process is much cheaper than current dynamic window manufacturing methods and has the potential to reduce the sale price of dynamic windows by more than 50%.
The University of Colorado Boulder received government funding to develop thin-film monolithic mesoporous metamaterials that can be applied to new ultrahigh-efficiency glazing solutions. These materials can be used to construct windows with insulating capabilities equal to or greater than conventional walls, allowing buildings to take advantage of daylighting without compromising thermal efficiency.
The Architectural Solar Association in Boulder, Colorado received government financing to develop a continuing education program for the design, construction, and economics of integrating solar energy generating equipment into a building’s structure. The program will connect solar and building industry stakeholders to promote architectural solar innovation and deployment.
Source: DOE press release