ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle 

for the US Department of Energy

ORNL’s JUMP 

Challenge: JUMP 

in to Advance 

Tech Innovation!

November 17, 2015

Melissa Voss Lapsa

Group Leader, Whole-Building and 

Community Integration
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Why use Crowdsourcing for Innovation?

“While only a fraction of Americans are formally 

trained as professional scientists and engineers, 

everyone can contribute to science, 

engineering, and technology through open science 

and innovation approaches, such as citizen 

science and crowdsourcing projects.” – White 

House blog on Sep 30,2015

“..The Smartest People don’t all work for you!” –

Dr. David Danielson, U.S. DOE Assistant Secretary

“Co-create a new world of 

home appliances”

– firstbuild by General Electric

“Make your mark on history 

and help build the world's first 

road-ready 3D-printed car.” 

Local Motors
3

The Beginning: ORNL’s ‘15 Buildings Crowdsourcing Efforts

Taking it Forward: Launch v2.0 “JUMP”

Join in discussion Unveil innovation Motivate transformation Promote technology to market

5

Create a community that links ORNL researchers 

to industry partners, small businesses, innovators and end-users 

to hasten the market transformation curve of energy efficient technologies. 

Vision

4

Rapid Innovation

 Opportunity to 

participate in 

SBV 

 One of the 

winners is 

discussing a 

potential CRADA 

with ORNL

Campaigns & Stats 

 3 Campaigns: 

Envelope, 

Equipment , 

Sensors & Control 

 5,000+ Unique 

visitors

 70+ Valid ideas

1

Award Recognition

 Each of the 

winners presented 

their ideas and 

explore 

partnership 

opportunities with 

300 participants

 One idea 3-d 

printed

3

Community Engagement to Advance Best Ideas

* Subject to funding availability

Judging 

 9 Independent 

Judges. Ideas 

evaluated based 

on their technical 

feasibility, 

potential for 

energy savings, 

and novelty

2
4

Crowdsourcing v2.0 - JUMP

Designed to engage industry partners in co-developing campaigns relevant to the 

most pressing industry challenges, to accelerate Tech2Market

 JUMP was launched end of September in 

partnership with GE, UTRC, A.O. Smith, and 

Honeywell at web.ornl.gov/JUMP 

 General Electric is providing $3 K cash 

award for winners 

 Potential in-kind technical support from 

ORNL for validation, testing, and 

prototyping of winning ideas ($10-15 K)

 Linkage to the SBV pilot, with in-kind 

technical support of up to $300K (if 

approved)

 Opportunity to discuss future 

collaboration with ORNL and/or industry 

partners

 DOE leadership is excited that JUMP is 

targeting subtle problems that are truly 

relevant to Industry Partners! 
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How JUMP works?

Phase One – Idea Generation and Exchange

Phase 

One 

Duration: 

8 to 10 

weeks

ORNL Review Funnel of 

Feasibility:

• Technical 

• Economic

• Market ready

• Customer interest or 

need

Innovator(s) 

send in 

ideas

ORNL review, 

ideas are 

posted to JUMP

JUMP 

Community

• Votes

• Discuss 

and 

comments

1. 

3. 

2. 

4.
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Phase Two – Identifying the Best of the Best

ORNL, DOE, and Industry Partners convene Judging Panels around 

Campaign topics to identify the Best Ideas

Best 

Ideas

Channel to SBV Application Process

Facilitate matchmaking with Industry Partners

Recognition at Demonstration Events

Advancing Best Ideas and Rewards

Duration: 

4 weeks

Duration: 

6 to 8 

weeks

5. 

6. 
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Negotiating Intellectual Property

Innovator owns and protects 

their IP

Phase One – Idea Generation

and Exchange

ORNL 

Review 

Funnel of 

Feasibility

Innovator(s) 

send in 

ideas

Ideas posted to JUMP

JUMP 

Community 

Voting & 

Discussion

Potential point for negotiation of IP with 

ORNL and/or Industry Partners

Phase Two – Identifying the Best of the Best

ORNL, DOE, and Industry Partners convene Judging Panels around 

Campaign topics to identify the Best Ideas

Best 

Ideas

Channel to SBV Application Process

Facilitate matchmaking with Industry Partners

Recognition at Demonstration Events

Advancing Best Ideas and Rewards

Innovators will own their contributions to IP solely or jointly when:

• ORNL adds to the idea through technical support or the SBV process

• Industry Partner adds to the idea through co-design, co-build, and/or 

co-development
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Get Involved in Current Campaigns

Join us for JUMP 

Webinars

• Tuesday, Nov. 17, 3-4pm 

EST – Topic: lowtemperature and low-cost 

refrigerator defrost system

• Wednesday, Nov. 18, 2-

3pm EST – Topic: Lowcost btu sensor for building 

HVAC control systems

• Wednesday, Nov. 18, 3-4 

pm EST – Topic: 

Improving thermal energy 

storage for water heaters 

challenge

Register:

web.ornl.gov/jump
Imagination at work

GE JUMP Challenge 

Webinar

3:00 PM - 4:00 PM November 17, 2015 
See tutorial regarding confidentiality 

disclosures. Delete if not needed.

What a defrost heater does

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When moist air enters a refrigerator and is cooled, it becomes saturated and the 

moisture condenses and forms water droplets or frost. 

Because the evaporator is the coldest component inside a frost free refrigerator, 

much of the water collects on the surface of this heat exchanger.

The frost insulates the evaporator and blocks airflow. Periodically this frost needs to 

be removed.

The typical method to remove frost involves shutting off the cooling system and 

airflow and operating a heater. This heater melts the frost, the water is then collected 

in a drain pan. From the drain pan the water flows out of the compartment through a 

drain tube. 

Fig 1: Front View with 

Evap Cover in place Fig 2: Front View with 

Evap Cover Removed

Fig 3: Radiant Heater
See tutorial regarding confidentiality 

disclosures. Delete if not needed.

Where a defrost heater is located 

11

Heaters are often at the bottom of the evaporator because this is where much 

of the frost accumulates. This location also provides some heat to the drain 

pan to prevent the drain tube from freezing 

GE top mount Spine fin evaporator, 

Heater is between the bottom passes 

Plate and tube evaporator, 

typical of many frost free 

refrigerators
See tutorial regarding confidentiality 

disclosures. Delete if not needed.

Types of defrost heaters 

12

Aluminum 

sheathed electric 

heater 

Steel sheathed 

electric heater

These heaters have a nickel chromium wire, 

ceramic insulation and metal sheath. 

This heater has a thin heater wire in a silicone rubber sheath that is then 

placed in an aluminum tube. These heaters have a low watt density to 

avoid overheating the silicone. For this reason it is usually longer than 

other heater types. But the low surface temperature allow these heaters to 

comply with surface temperature requirements . 

Radiant heater in a 

quartz tube

Radiant heater 

installed in an 

evaporator 

Silicone Wire 

Radiant

Ceramic insulated
See tutorial regarding confidentiality 

disclosures. Delete if not needed.

Summary of U.L 250 Flammable Refrigerants 

Supplement with Respect to Heaters

The surface temperature of any component that could 

be exposed to a flammable refrigerant leak must be 

cooler than the ignition temperature minus 100 C

R600a has an ignition temperature of 460C, so a 

defrost heater used in and R600a system where it 

could be exposed to refrigerant must have a surface 

temperature of 360C or less. 

If it is not possible for the defrost heater to be exposed 

to refrigerant, then a heater with a higher surface 

temperature could still be compliant

13
See tutorial regarding confidentiality 

disclosures. Delete if not needed.

Develop a low-cost system to remove frost from a

household refrigerator evaporator while 

conforming 

to UL 250 Flammable Refrigerants Addendum.

Help facilitate the adoption R-600a 

1) significantly lower global warming potential (GWP), 

2) typically lower sound level, 

3) lower energy usage (approximately 4%). 

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ORNL is managed by UT-Battelle 

for the US Department of Energy

ORNL’s JUMP 

Challenge: JUMP 

in to Advance 

Tech Innovation!

November 17, 2015

DR. Brian Fricke

R&D Staff member in the Building Equipment 

Research Group at ORNL
16 TITLE

ORNL & Next Generation Appliances

• ORNL supports the DOE Building Technologies Office (BTO) 

mission to:

– Promote efficiency

– Promote affordability

– Promote environmentally friendliness

– Reduce greenhouse gas emissions

– Conduct R&D to advance innovative technologies for appliances

– Accelerate adoption of new products on the market

– Increase private sector collaboration in developing new technologies

• Utilize ORNL’s strengths in appliance and HVAC&R product 

R&D to develop next-generation, energy-efficient and 

environmentally-friendly refrigerators
17 TITLE

Refrigerator Energy Consumption

• With encouragement from DOE and BTO, today’s 

refrigerators use only about 25% of the energy required to 

power models built in 1975
18 TITLE

Next Generation Refrigerators

• Work with industry to continue to enhance 

refrigerator/freezer performance

• Utilize isobutane (R-600a) as a refrigerant:

– Increased energy efficiency compared to units using

R-134a (estimated to be up to 4%)

– Significantly reduced Global Warming Potential (GWP) 

and environmental impact:

• GWP of R-134a: 1430

• GWP of R-600a: 3

– Challenge: R-600a is flammable
19 TITLE

Benefits

• Assuming full adoption, benefits of increased 

energy efficiency and lower GWP:

– Reduce source energy consumption by an estimated 

38 TBtu/year

– Reduce annual consumer energy costs by $338 million

– Reduce direct (refrigerant) and indirect (energy) 

greenhouse gas emissions by over 2.7 million tons per 

year
20 TITLE

JUMP in to Advance Tech Innovation!

Idea Submission Deadline

Wednesday, January 15, 2016

For more information:

Melissa Voss Lapsa, lapsamv@ornl.gov

Brent Junge, Brent.Junge@ge.com

Brian Fricke, frickeba@ornl.gov

Let’s Put Our Ideas to Work at: web.ornl.gov/jump