The building envelope provides the thermal barrier between the indoor and outdoor environment, and its elements are the key determinants of a building's energy requirements that result from the climate where it is located. The ORNL Buildings Technology Center is made up of a cluster of six buildings with over 20,000 square feet of laboratory space. Within this complex are four major experimental apparatuses used primarily for building envelope research. HERE for a web tour of our facilities and equipment.
Responsibilities range from research and authoring to product testing and development.
We work with universities, other government agencies, and private industry to accelerate the market penetration of the most promising energy-efficient building envelope systems. Current updates to this site are by Diane McKnight. This site last updated March 13, 2001.