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

Biden-Harris Administration Launches New Energy Earthshot to Lower Energy Bills in Affordable Housing

To decarbonize American homes and improve energy affordability nationwide, DOE launched the Affordable Home Energy Shot™ to accelerate innovative breakthroughs and reduce costs to improve the energy efficiency of our nation’s residential buildings. 

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BTO’s Efficient and Healthy Schools Program Launch & Enhanced IAQ Support for Schools
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is excited to announce the launch of the Efficient and Healthy Schools Program, an evolution of the past work of the Building Technologies Office’s (BTO) Efficient and Healthy Schools Campaign. This program is an...
November 30, 2023
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PacifiCorp Combines Solar PV, Batteries, and Appliances in Buildings Across Utah into an Automated Grid Resource – DOE’s Connected Community at Salt Lake City, Utah
This blog post is the second in a new series of stories that will document the U.S. Department of Energy’s Connected Communities project over the next five years, including the advancements and lessons-learned of its 10 demonstration projects.
November 28, 2023
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Earn 30+ CEUs—Join the Solar Decathlon Professionals Winter Cohort!
The U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® is partnering with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to host the next Solar Decathlon Professionals Program (SD Pro) cohort!
November 16, 2023
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Biden-Harris Administration Announces $40 Million to Expand Clean Energy Workforce Training and Enhance U.S. Building and Manufacturing Efficiency
Funding From President Biden’s Investing in America Agenda will Support Institutions Nationwide to Boost Training Opportunities for the Energy Workforce, While Lowering Costs for Small Businesses and Reducing Emissions
November 16, 2023
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Community-Based Teams Selected by DOE’s Building America Program to Develop and Validate Housing Retrofit Solutions
Building America announces nine Retrofit Solutions Teams to conduct community-based field validation projects demonstrating equitable and scalable technical residential retrofit solutions.
November 15, 2023
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BTO Announces BENEFIT 2024 Funding Opportunity up to $30 Million for Advances that Demonstrate, Optimize, and Facilitate Decarbonization of Building Systems
Today, BTO announced its Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers & Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) 2024 Funding Opportunity (DE-FOA-0003158).
November 6, 2023
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Leading the Charge—105 Solar Decathlon Teams Tackle Zero Energy Building Designs
105 teams from 93 collegiate institutions are leading the charge on tackling climate change by designing high-performance, zero energy buildings as part of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon® 2024 Design Challenge.
November 1, 2023
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Award-Winning Software Helps Communities Plan Their Clean Energy Transition
Learn how a utility in Fairbanks, Alaska, and a national lab used tools to simulate the impact of clean energy technologies on the city’s power system.
October 30, 2023
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National Awarding of the First 50001 Ready Multifamily Buildings
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building Technologies Office (BTO) and DC Sustainable Energy Utility (DCSEU) are thrilled to announce the first ever national awarding of 50001 Ready recognition to three multifamily buildings, which included...
October 27, 2023
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U.S. Department of Energy Announces Winners of L-Prize Prototype Phase
Today, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced six winners in Phase Two of the DOE Lighting Prize (L-Prize®) competition.
October 25, 2023
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BTO's Program Areas

Strategic Initiatives and Partnerships

National Emerging Technologies Collaborative
NETC fosters stronger coordination across organizations supporting the RD&D, investment, and deployment of emerging building technologies.
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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.