OAK RIDGE NATIONAL LABORATORY

“We have to investigate other materials that don’t use cement but 

form a product similar to concrete. We know what we need to do, 

and we have the capability here at ORNL to really make an impact 

immediately on the carbon emissions.”

—Building Envelope Research Group Materials Scientist Denise Antunes da Silva

Building Technologies

DEVELOPING 

novel low-carbon 

construction materials

CREATING 

direct-air carbon 

capture technologies

DEPLOYING

equipment for net-zero 

energy and low-carbon 

neighborhoods 

IMPLEMENTING

environmentally friendly 

refrigerant innovations

IMPROVING 

access to clean energy 

tools for all communities

With more than 130 million buildings in the United States consuming approximately 40% of the nation’s total primary energy and 75% of 

its electricity, reducing energy consumption and embodied carbon in building materials is essential to achieving a sustainable future. Oak 

Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) is focused on developing new technologies and tools to enable grid-interactive efficient buildings that 

benefit energy security, affordability, resilience, the environment, and the US economy. Public–private partnerships allow ORNL to focus 

on scientific research while industry focuses on further development and commercialization. 

Research and Development

Energy-efficient equipment—Developing energy-efficient building equipment 

technologies, including heat pumps, HVAC, dehumidifiers, appliances, water heaters, and 

refrigeration systems

Building envelope materials—Developing new low-carbon materials and integrating 

them into advanced manufacturing techniques to effectively reduce heat, air, and moisture 

transfer through the building envelope and decrease embodied carbon in buildings 

Multifunctional equipment integration—Testing new components, equipment, 

and systems in realistic environments (e.g., research house, flexible research platforms) 

before market introduction; using computer modeling, visualization, and analytics to 

develop integration technologies

Integrated building performance—Pursuing advanced sensor and control technologies, 

advanced building and system energy modeling, energy efficiency optimization, grid-interactive 

controls, communication and automation, and energy-optimized solutions for neighborhoods of 

the future

Energy storage—Advancing the development and integration of materials, building envelopes, 

equipment, sensors, and controls into optimized systems that reduce energy use and peak demand 

while maintaining occupant comfort

Building Technologies Research and Integration 

Center is the only US Department of Energy 

(DOE)-designated National User Facility devoted to 

building technologies research and development. 

The 60,000 ft2 campus includes the flagship 

MAXLAB, a multipurpose laboratory to advance 

the energy efficiency and durability of building 

envelopes, equipment, and materials.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is managed by UT-Battelle LLC for the US Department of Energy January 2023

Recent Impacts

Building Envelope

• Developed and demonstrated in a large-scale trial a new concrete mix that has 15% lower embodied 

energy, reduces by 40% the amount of concrete needed in precast insulated panels, and doubles the 

production capacity of precast plants without capital investment

• Created an R&D 100 Award–winning novel autonomous self-healing sealant that self-repairs at 

ambient conditions and under water

• Developed and demonstrated in a natural exposure test facility a novel thermally anisotropic 

building envelope system that diverts heat or cold away from the envelope storage in a thermal 

energy storage system for use on demand

• Invented a high-performance concrete mix for precast wythes that received a US patent

Building Equipment

• Collaborated with one of the nation’s largest refrigeration unit suppliers to validate a refrigeration 

solution to address the ultracold last-mile distribution challenge for COVID-19 vaccines

• Demonstrated an integrated cold-climate heat pump that reached the highest combined Energy 

Efficiency Ratio, heating a 50-gallon water tank within a half hour

• Created an R&D 100 Award-winning ultraclean condensing gas furnace that utilizes monolithic acidic 

gas reduction to remove more than 99.9% of acidic gases and other emissions from furnaces

• Licensed and patented stable salt hydrate–based thermal energy storage materials

Sustainable Tools

• Developed a digital tool that simulates the energy profile of every building in America to provide 

homeowners, utilities, and companies a quick method for determining energy use and cost-effective 

retrofits that can reduce energy and carbon emissions

• Featured in the International Facility Management Association journal for recognizing 14 commercial 

buildings that meet the DOE Better Buildings Envelope Campaign goals

• Developed computational fluid dynamics models of a typical supermarket to evaluate the potential 

for COVID-laden particle distribution in a variety of scenarios

• Launched the Building Science Advisor, an online tool that helps building designers mitigate 

moisture risk in building envelopes

Demonstration Results

• Instrumented a cross-laminated timber (CLT) hotel in South Carolina 

to study energy and peak demand reduction caused by the CLT’s 

thermal mass and completed blower door testing, demonstrating 

that the structure greatly exceeded performance criteria for 

building airtightness

• In collaboration with the University of Tennessee, Knoxville; the 

Knoxville Community Development Corporation; and industry 

partners, demonstrated a cost-effective, modular, exterior panel 

retrofit solution on 12 low-income single-family attached 

duplexes and on advanced HVAC equipment and controls in 

one small commercial site

• Designed a carbon capture platform for incorporation 

into existing HVAC units on commercial and 

residential buildings 

CONTACT

Melissa Lapsa

Building Technologies 

Program Manager

lapsamv@ornl.gov

865-576-8620 

One Bethel Valley Road, 

Oak Ridge, TN 37831

ornl.gov/buildings

13

R&D 100

Awards

125+

Industry

Partners

54

University

Partners

236

Publications

in FY 2022