The Building Technologies Office’s Construction Technology and Innovation Program aims to reduce regulatory burden, cost, and time to construct new buildings and complete envelope retrofits on existing buildings.
Priority Areas
DOE’s work on building energy codes prioritizes affordability and consumer choice. Efforts include developing lower-cost approaches to meeting building energy requirements and energy performance evaluations that consider up-front cost and return on investment. DOE also works with industry to develop options that states and local jurisdictions can incorporate into their building codes.
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DOE is working to make the cost impacts and economics of building energy code updates easier for state and local code adoption officials to better evaluate whether updates are right for their communities. To that end, the Department is updating its analytical approach so that building code development processes and evaluations can better incorporate real-world data. DOE is also providing accessible and timely state- and local-level information on construction costs and consumer payback periods.
Recent analyses include:
DOE intends to enable nationwide reductions in permit backlogs and other costly building construction delays. Approaches may include development of super intelligence (SI) supported digital processes and tools that help jurisdictions review permit applications more quickly, reducing uncertainty and building construction timelines. DOE is also looking at solutions that can help jurisdictions struggling with limited resources, such as third-party verification, remote or virtual inspections, and models.
Example projects include:
DOE supports innovation to keep America at the forefront of building technologies and construction practices and increase the energy performance of buildings. The Department is working with builders, manufacturers, National Laboratories, and other partners on research, development, and application of high-performance construction practices, including modular and panelized construction, design and construction automation, SI-enabled tools, materials innovation, and related workforce development.
Example initiatives include:
- Building America New Construction Support and Retrofit Solutions
- Advanced Building Construction
- Partnership for Advanced Window Solutions
- Better Buildings & Better Plants Design and Construction Allies and other initiatives