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
Building Team | Oct 12, 2022
Real estate development practices worsened impact of Hurricane Ian
A century ago, the southwest Florida coast was mostly swamps and shoals, prone to frequent flooding and almost impossible to navigate by boat.
Standards | Oct 11, 2022
Peter Templeton named new USGBC and GBCI president and CEO
The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) appointed Peter Templeton as president and CEO.
Legislation | Oct 10, 2022
Chicago’s updated building energy code provides incentives for smart HVAC, water appliances
The Chicago City Council recently passed the 2022 Chicago Energy Transformation Code that is intended to align with the city’s goal of reducing carbon emissions by 62% from 2017 levels by 2040.
Contractors | Oct 6, 2022
Modular construction gets boost from impacts of the pandemic
The impact of the Covid pandemic on the construction industry appears to be fueling demand for modular construction methods, especially in the western U.S. and Canada.
Fire and Life Safety | Oct 4, 2022
Fire safety considerations for cantilevered buildings
Bold cantilevered designs are prevalent today, as developers and architects strive to maximize space, views, and natural light in buildings. Cantilevered structures, however, present a host of challenges for building teams, according to José R. Rivera, PE, Associate Principal and Director of Plumbing and Fire Protection with Lilker.
Resiliency | Sep 30, 2022
Designing buildings for wildfire defensibility
Wold Architects and Engineers' Senior Planner Ryan Downs, AIA, talks about how to make structures and communities more fire-resistant.
| Sep 30, 2022
Lab-grown bricks offer potential low-carbon building material
A team of students at the University of Waterloo in Canada have developed a process to grow bricks using bacteria.
| Sep 27, 2022
New Buildings Institute released the Existing Building Decarbonization Code
New Buildings Institute (NBI) has released the Existing Building Decarbonization Code.
| Sep 22, 2022
Gainesville, Fla., ordinance requires Home Energy Score during rental inspections
The city of Gainesville, Florida was recently recognized by the U.S. Dept. of Energy for an adopted ordinance that requires rental housing to receive a Home Energy Score during rental inspections.
| Sep 19, 2022
New York City construction site inspections, enforcement found ‘inadequate’
A new report by the New York State Comptroller found that New York City construction site inspections and regulation enforcement need improvement.
