U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Office: Energy Efficiency R&D

The U.S. Department of Energy, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, Building Technologies Office (BTO), supports research and development in building energy efficiency through the Emerging Technologies (ET) Program. The ET Program, along with the Commercial Building Integration, Residential Building Integration, Appliance Standards, and Building Codes Programs within BTO, work together to achieve the goal of reducing primary energy consumption in U.S. buildings within the next two decades. The ET team focuses on supporting research and development of high-impact technologies, or those that demonstrate potential for achieving significant energy savings cost effectively. Currently supported technologies include HVAC, water heating, building envelope, windows, sensors and controls, solid-state lighting, and building energy modeling. This presentation will provide a brief overview of BTO, projects currently supported by ET, and funding opportunities in building energy efficiency.

About the Speaker

Patrick Phelan received his B.S. degree from Tulane University in New Orleans, his M.S. degree from MIT, and his Ph.D. from UC Berkeley, all in mechanical engineering. Following a two-year post-doctoral fellowship at the Tokyo Institute of Technology, he started his academic career as an assistant professor at the University of Hawaii in 1992. In 1996 he moved to Arizona State University (ASU), where he is a Professor of Mechanical & Aerospace Engineering, and a Senior Sustainability Scientist. While on leave from ASU he served as the Director of the NSF Thermal Transport Processes Program from 2006 to 2008. He is again on leave from ASU, and through July 2016 is the Program Manager for Emerging Technologies in the Building Technologies Office, Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, U.S. Department of Energy.