The Building Technologies Office (BTO) develops, demonstrates, and accelerates the adoption of cost-effective technologies, techniques, tools and services that enable high-performing, energy-efficient and demand-flexible residential and commercial buildings in both the new & existing buildings markets, in support of an equitable transition to a decarbonized energy system by 2050, starting with a decarbonized power sector by 2035. Learn more about BTO. 

News, Blogs, and Success Stories

DOE Announces $46 Million to Boost Energy Efficiency and Slash Emissions in Residential and Commercial Buildings
29 Projects Across 15 States Will Advance State-of-the-Art Building Technologies and Retrofit Practices to Cut Utility and Operating Costs, Reduce Energy Waste, and Support Healthier Communities
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DOE Finalizes Energy Efficiency Standards for Residential Furnaces to Save Americans $1.5 Billion In Annual Utility Bills
Beginning in Late 2028, Congressionally-Mandated Appliance Standards Will Save Americans Nearly $25 Billion Over 30 years, Significantly Reduce Harmful Carbon Pollution in Households Across the Country
September 29, 2023
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Latino Power: The Future of the Clean Energy Workforce
To celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month, meet three students who prepared for their clean energy careers by gaining valuable experience through three different EERE programs.
September 19, 2023
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John Palo Wants a Geothermal Heat Pump in Every U.S. Home and Building
The university buildings manager has seen firsthand that, with geothermal energy providing heating and cooling, “You don’t have to sacrifice comfort or quality of life to reduce your energy usage.”
September 14, 2023
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Safety Officials Respond Positively to Release of DOE’s Clean Energy Tech Training Materials
Almost three years ago, several DOE offices released funding to help first responders and building safety officials ensure that relatively newer energy technologies like solar panels and electric vehicles operate safely.
September 14, 2023
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DOE Announces 2023 Cohort of Post-Secondary Programs That Teach Zero Energy Design
Today, BTO awarded its second Zero Energy Design Designation (ZEDD) seal of recognition to 22 leading educational programs across the country.
September 13, 2023
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How HUD’s Innovative Housing Showcase Catalyzed the Formation of DOE’s HUD Relationship
This summer, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) kicked off their third-annual Innovation Housing Showcase at the National Building Museum with a one-day Pre-Showcase Conference – an event that brought HUD and the...
September 8, 2023
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STEMtember Spotlight: Career Development Opportunities for Minority Students
Are you a student preparing to join the clean energy workforce? Jump-start your career with an EERE fellowship or internship.
September 1, 2023
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DOE’s IMPEL Innovators are Developing Technologies that Slash Building Emissions, Save Energy, and Keep People Comfortable — Even in a Summer Like This One
As one of the hottest years in recorded history makes the need for energy-efficient, comfortable, and low-carbon buildings crystal clear, innovators participating in the accelerator program IMPEL are accelerating their journey from idea to market.
August 30, 2023
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Building Technologies Office Awards Four Phase II Release 2 Small Business Innovation Research Funding for Advanced Green Buildings
On Friday, August 25, 2023, DOE announced 106 awards totaling $126 million in research and development grants for 90 different small businesses whose projects will address multiple mission areas across the Department.
August 28, 2023
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100% Clean Electricity: North to the Clean Energy Future
Towns and organizations in Alaska illustrate how remote communities can adopt clean energy systems—and how EERE’s Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project can help.
August 9, 2023
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BTO's Program Areas

Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships

Energy, Emissions and Equity (E3) Initiative
Better Energy, Emissions, and Equity (E3) Initiative
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Advanced Building Construction Initiative
The ABC Initiative integrates energy-efficiency solutions into highly productive U.S. construction practices for new buildings and retrofits.
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Grid-Interactive Efficient Buildings
We’re conducting Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings research to help bring connectedness and the related energy savings across the buildings sector.
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Tech-to-Market
T2M activities accelerate innovative R&D concepts to become commercially viable and available products.
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Better Buildings
Partners in DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative set ambitious goals and contribute real-world solutions that help accelerate our clean energy economy.
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Green Building Workforce Development Initiatives
Achieving DOE’s high-level goals of combating climate change, creating clean energy union jobs, and promoting energy justice, requires improving the energy efficiency of America’s nearly 130 million buildings.
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Resource Dashboard

Find technical reports, technology roadmaps, fact sheets, relevant and authorizing statutes, and quick links to BTO’s decision tools.

Project Map

The Building Technologies Office Projects Map is a searchable table and map of BTO’s active projects that have been competitively awarded and funded through DOE’s national labs all across the United States. Dive into any project to learn more about its funding amount, who’s leading the work, the project term, what the project is developing, and its most recent progress.

Map of Solar Projects

Join BTO’s Events

BTO Career Opportunities

Ready to start building our clean energy future with a new career in BTO? Whether you’re looking for building energy-efficiency research or engineering jobs, or you’re interested in business support careers in the building energy-efficiency industry, BTO may have a position for you.

See the available opportunities.

BTO’s Annual Peer Review Conference

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The Peer Review is BTO’s signature event for the building sector’s leading scientists, engineers, policymakers, and other energy enthusiasts to discuss the latest opportunities for improving building performance–and to evaluate the progress of select BTO-funded research, development, demonstration, and deployment projects and programs. The Peer Review is free and open to the public.

Learn more about the next Peer Review event.