The Department of Energy’s (DOE) Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE), on behalf of the Buildings Technologies Office (BTO), announces the Funding Opportunity Announcement “Building America Industry Partnerships for High Performance Housing Innovation” with funding up to $5.5 million. The Building America Research Program is the Residential Building Integration (RBI) Program’s premier applied research program. The Program is responsible for over 40 housing innovations to date that have enabled technology and market advancements in residential energy efficiency.
With this FOA, RBI will select additional building science teams in 2016 for the Building America Research Program. This FOA builds on work begun in the 2015 Building America FOA.
Awardees will conduct applied research, development and demonstration (RD&D) in real world houses of cost-effective technologies and practices that can help reduce the energy use intensity (EUI) of new single-family homes by 60% and existing single-family homes by 40%, relative to the 2010 average home EUI in each climate zone, by 2025, with a focus on reducing heating and cooling loads.
This FOA has 2 topics:
Topic 1: Building America Technology to Market Roadmap Projects
Topic 1 addresses three integrated technology gaps focused on achieving high performance residential buildings and overcoming market barriers to adoption at scale, including:
A) High Performance Moisture-Managed Building Envelope Systems;
B) Optimized Comfort Systems for Low-Load Homes; and
C) High Performance Ventilation Systems & IAQ Strategies.
Topic 2: Home Improvement RD&D Projects
Topic 2 addresses RD&D related to innovative energy efficiency upgrade opportunities for trade contractors during home improvements. Topic 2 projects must offer significant potential for increasing the energy efficiency of existing homes by addressing cost and/or market entry barriers related to home improvement trades adding energy efficiency measures during typical home improvement transactions. Applicants may propose RD&D projects in the following home improvement sectors:
Envelope upgrades (i.e., roofing, siding, & window replacements, foundation repairs, or other home envelope improvements related to achieving energy savings)
Mechanical system upgrades (i.e., HVAC service & replacements with the potential for significant energy savings above standard practice)
In addition, DOE will also consider Topic 2 project proposals that develop and/or demonstrate:
Innovative, cost saving methods/technologies for assessing home performance, either during inspections or real time operation.
On November 30, 3:00PM EST there will be an informational webinar about the FOA. Register at: https://attendee.gotowebinar.com/register/3467376259542266370