The General Services Administration and the U.S. Department of Energy have selected 17 innovative building technologies to evaluate in real-world settings throughout GSA’s real estate portfolio.
This year, field validation will be conducted on five of these technologies that will support commercial buildings decarbonization and the implementation of DOE’s recently released Decarbonizing the U.S. Economy by 2050: A National Blueprint for the Buildings Sector. The technologies include modular ice-based energy storage from Nostromo Energy, a modular cold-climate air-source heat pump from Trane Technologies, an air conditioning system incorporating a liquid desiccant and evaporative cooling from Blue Frontier, a refrigerant life cycle management strategy from êffecterra, and an internet-of-things based building management system from 75F.
The evaluation will consider how well products reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions. HVAC in commercial buildings consumes up to 44% of on-site energy, according to a DOE news release.
GSA anticipates that the results of this year’s evaluations will be available in 2026. DOE and GSA have partnered through the same program since 2015. Since 2011, the program has evaluated 107 technologies, 23 of which have been deployed across more than a third of GSA’s federally owned portfolio.
Related Stories
| Jun 18, 2014
Pittsboro, N.C., approves massive new development plan
The Pittsboro, N.C., Board of Commissioners approved the master plan for Chatham Park, a massive residential and commercial project that could bring 60,000 people to Pittsboro over several decades.
| Jun 11, 2014
AGC to study causes of construction deaths, injuries
The Associated General Contractors of America is conducting a new study to make job sites safer and search for ways to lower the number of injuries and deaths in the construction industry.
| Jun 11, 2014
U.S. infrastructure quality ranks only 19th in the world
The quality of infrastructure in the U.S. ranks just 19th in the world, trailing countries such as Oman, Portugal, and Spain, according to the World Economic Forum’s Global Competitiveness Report.
| Jun 11, 2014
ISO releases standards for comparing city services worldwide
The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) has created the first standards to compare services of the world’s cities.
| Jun 11, 2014
Federal bill would promote shifting to energy-efficient roofs
A bipartisan proposal from U.S. Reps. Tom Reed, R-N.Y., and Bill Pascrell, D-N.J., would make roof replacement cost less and would help commercial building owners adopt energy-efficient systems.
| Jun 5, 2014
Over budget Homeland Security headquarters project may be canceled
A massive new headquarters for the Department of Homeland Security is more than $1.5 billion over budget, 11 years behind schedule, and may never be completed.
| Jun 5, 2014
Insurance giant sues nearly 200 Illinois communities for failing to prepare for climate change
Farmers Insurance filed nine class action suits against nearly 200 communities in the Chicago area, saying that local governments should have prepared for rising global temperatures that have led to heavier rains and flooding.
| Jun 4, 2014
Dikes, water pumps, and parks will help New York City area be more resilient
The Obama Administration has pledged $1 billion in federal funding to protect the New York City region from flooding like the area experienced from Superstorm Sandy.
| Jun 4, 2014
Green initiative may scuttle high-rise projects in Berkeley, California, critics charge
Volunteers in Berkeley, Calif., are collecting signatures for the “Green Downtown & Public Commons Initiative,” a controversial measure that critics charge would halt some development in the city.
| Jun 2, 2014
Parking structures group launches LEED-type program for parking garages
The Green Parking Council, an affiliate of the International Parking Institute, has launched the Green Garage Certification program, the parking industry equivalent of LEED certification.
