​Buildings & Energy
Lowering energy consumption while improving occupant comfort

The building energy systems platform optimizes the integration of solar energy equipment into buildings (BIPV) and addresses vehicle-to-home (V2H) convergence. The platform develops, integrates, and characterizes building components to lower their actual energy consumption and improve comfort for building occupants. The platform aims to reduce energy losses at the building envelope; facilitate the integration of renewable energy and, especially, solar; improve equipment performance and yields; and develop a holistic approach to the building in its environment by integrating components optimally. 

And, with a 1:1 scale testing facility, the platform gives OEMs and systems integrators the resources they need to test innovative solutions with the capacity to boost building energy performance. 

The platform is home to: 

• A 1:1 outdoor testing lab for characterization of building envelope constructions and components; this area includes four instrumented test homes, a building for testing facade implementations, and fourteen modular rooftops
  

• A controlled atmosphere testing area
  

In addition to these labs, the platform also has multiphysics, multi-scale numerical analysis capabilities.