The U.S. Department of Energy’s recent round of energy efficiency grants include funding for technology related to grid-interactive efficient buildings. The grid-interactive efficient building projects will focus on linking buildings to one another across the internet and the power grid. This would enable more flexibility over conventional buildings to reschedule operations to periods of the day when energy is cheaper and more efficient to use.
Those projects are also required to address the cybersecurity of flexible buildings and verify the performance of their equipment. DOE has selected national labs, universities, and businesses for total of $74 million in funding to be distributed to 63 different projects.
Other projects will focus on developing novel thermal energy storage materials, advancements in non-vapor compression HVAC technologies, fuel-driven building equipment, and solid-state lighting.
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