News

January 16, 2024
Recordings from the annual Building Efficiency for Sustainable Tomorrow (BEST) Center National Institute, held January 4–5, are now available. The theme of this year’s two-day, online event was “Less Carbon, More Action! Strategies for Better Buildings & Tech Education.” The 2024 National Institute, which was co-hosted by BEST and Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab),... Read more
August 4, 2023
Mary Ann Piette, whose research has been foundational to improving energy efficiency of existing buildings and integrating flexible building technologies with the electric grid, has been appointed Associate Laboratory Director (ALD) of the Energy Technologies Area (ETA). The appointment, which took effect August 2, follows a national search. Piette has served as the interim ALD of ETA since... Read more
July 18, 2023
Researchers are hard at work on ways to make buildings more energy-efficient and user-friendly as part of net zero carbon emissions energy systems. That means things like windows and walls that take advantage of nature to heat and cool, better batteries to store and deliver energy when needed, and systems that can adapt to changes from the electrical grid. What would it look like to combine all of... Read more
June 7, 2023
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) recently hosted a summit to showcase the benefits of vacuum insulated glazing (VIG) — a type of highly insulated window glazing that utilizes a vacuum as an insulating layer between window panes — and the likely challenges preventing its widespread adoption on the market. A wide cross-section of stakeholders was present at the summit,... Read more
May 9, 2023
When it comes to energy efficiency in California buildings, windows are a weak link. About half of the state’s homes still have inadequate, single-pane windows. A significant portion of these homes are in communities throughout the state that may have more vulnerable populations. Windows pose a key opportunity both to reduce carbon emissions from California’s buildings and to boost energy... Read more
November 1, 2022
Smart fenestration systems such as automated shades or smart windows can autonomously manage glare and solar heat gains which not only reduces electricity bills by up to 30% while cutting peak demand in half, but also improves the health and well-being of occupants. Now, Berkeley Lab researchers have launched a key component for making these systems easier to install in buildings. That key... Read more
July 16, 2021
Windows make up 7% of the envelope area of a home but can account for 47% of the envelope heat loss. High-performance windows thus represent a significant opportunity for consumers to be more comfortable and save money – and help reduce energy demand and greenhouse gas emissions while doing so. Now Berkeley Lab is teaming up with the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA), the Pacific... Read more
March 12, 2021
After several years of a research and development relationship, one of the largest window and door replacement companies in the U.S. announced the national launch of a new high-performance glass option for select replacement windows. The new glass option offers a “thin-glass” triple-pane glazing element that makes the window five times more insulating than a single-pane window, based upon a... Read more
August 19, 2020
Researchers from the windows group have developed, in partnership with colleagues at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory and the California Institute for Energy and the Environment, an analysis of the research that is needed for facades and lighting systems to better work in concert to reduce energy use and increase comfort for building occupants.A workshop with a diverse group of stakeholders,... Read more
June 30, 2020
A grant of nearly $2 million was recently awarded to install energy-saving, thin-glass triple-pane windows in low-income communities in California. Thanks to years of investment and support from the California Energy Commission (CEC) and the Department of Energy (DOE), this project will work with industry partners to deploy superior windows in California homes. Windows are often referred to as the... Read more
June 15, 2020
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Technology Commercialization Fund has awarded $1 million to four projects from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) to further collaborative research with industry partners on biofuels, bioproducts, energy microgrid technology, and renewable energy technology.Two of those projects are from Berkeley Lab’s Energy Technologies Area: Expand Access to... Read more
April 21, 2020
Smart windows that track the position of the sun and automatically dim to block out glare and heat sound futuristic, but many architects and engineers are already starting to integrate them into the design of new homes and commercial buildings. San Francisco International Airport, for example, is installing one of the largest dynamic window installations in an airport in the world. Researchers... Read more
May 6, 2019
A leading energy efficiency group recently highlighted research from Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (Berkeley Lab) as part of a blog post about new in-store labels for window coverings. The labels for attachments such as blinds and shades are informed by a product rating and certification program developed via extensive modeling and research at Berkeley Lab. The text from the American Council for... Read more
July 19, 2018
After serving four years as Berkeley Lab's Associate Director for Energy Technologies, Ramamoorthy Ramesh will be returning to his research in ultra low-power electronics while also helping to lead a major Berkeley Lab research initiative in next-generation, energy-efficient microelectronics.This new initiative has been dubbed "Beyond Moore's Law," as it seeks the solution to what will happen when... Read more
July 19, 2018
Ravi Prasher has been appointed Associate Laboratory Director for Energy Technologies at the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab). The announcement follows an international search.Prasher, an internationally renowned scientist in the field of thermal energy science and technologies, has been director of Berkeley Lab's Energy Storage and Distributed Resources... Read more
June 5, 2018
About $20 billion worth of energy leaks out of windows in the United States each winter – and that’s with double-paned insulating windows installed on a majority of buildings. The Department of Energy’s Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) is now working with manufacturers to bring to market a “super window” that is at least twice as insulating as 99 percent of the... Read more
April 9, 2018
Scientists said they were experimenting with using white paint over black asphalt as a way of cutting temperatures in the Phoenix area. Ronnen Levinson of the Energy Technologies Area said it could possibly reduce the heat island effect, a term given to urban areas that are hotter than nearby rural areas. Read the full article at ktar.com.... Read more
April 2, 2018
A “Living Lab” model led by ETA’s Eleanor Lee received a Climate Leadership Award from the Center for Climate and Energy Solutions. The award recognizes a “Living Lab” partnership between Goldman Sachs, Berkeley Lab, and the Building Energy Exchange. Goldman Sachs reduced energy use by nearly 80 percent in some areas, via smart use of lighting and shading. Read the original "LIving Lab"... Read more
September 6, 2017
R&D Magazine's R&D 100 Awards, established 54 years ago, recognize 100 technologies and services introduced in the previous year deemed most significant by an independent panel of judges. This year's winners received the awards at a November 3 event in Washington, D.C.The Cool Roof Time Machine simulates soiling and weathering processes in the lab, reproducing in less than three days the... Read more
July 12, 2017
By using advanced lighting and automated shades, scientists from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) found that occupants on one floor of a high-rise office building in New York City were able to reduce lighting energy usage by nearly 80 percent in some areas.The dramatic results emerged at a "living laboratory" set up to test four sets of technologies... Read more
May 18, 2017
Berkeley Lab finds that the choice of pavement material can significantly impact carbon emissions, creates decision tool for cities to useCool pavements can help keep cities cool, right? Yes, but according to new research from the Department of Energy's Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab), many reflective pavements have some unexpected drawbacks relative to conventional pavements... Read more
April 26, 2017
For the past 40 years, Lawrence Berkeley National Lab (LBNL) has been partnered with the window industry to help save American consumers money in energy costs by pioneering new energy-efficient windows, design tools, and window-rating systems.The lab worked closely with window manufacturers and the building industry to develop, produce, validate, and deploy energy-saving low-emissivity or "low-E"... Read more
December 9, 2016
Researchers from the United States and Brazil have developed a new device that can reduce energy losses in buildings by measuring and assessing the energy performance of windows without removing them from their site. The Portable Window Energy Meter, still in prototype stage, was developed by researchers from Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) and from Brazil’s Federal University of... Read more
November 9, 2016
Two projects within the Energy Technologies Area won honors at the 2016 R&D 100 Awards, an international science and technology competition. The research — Cool Roof Time Machine and Sustainable and Affordable Fluoride Removal (SAFR)—joins three other Berkeley Lab projects recognized among the past year's "most technologically significant products," according to R&D Magazine."Winning... Read more
November 1, 2016
One Sunday evening, in 2007, Christian Kohler and his dinner date, Jina Shah, were presented with a most unusual check at Karma Kitchen, a monthly experiment in "pay it forward" dining served by volunteers at the Taste of the Himalayas, an Indian/Nepalese restaurant in downtown Berkeley.The price of their meal? Zero dollars. But it came with a karmic twist. They could pay it forward by paying for... Read more