Energy Analysis
The researchers of the Energy Analysis Department study aspects of energy end use in the United States, including the energy use of appliances, commercial and residential buildings, industry, the public sector, electricity markets, and transmission and distribution. The Department also analyzes the effect of proposed policy measures on energy use, and they apply their expertise in energy analysis to global energy end use research, including the potential effects of policies to mitigate carbon emissions and climate change. The interdependency of water and energy use is an emerging area of work.
Appliance Energy Standards
Research into the energy and economic impacts of energy-efficiency performance standards on a wide range of energy-consuming products, including home appliances and equipment, commercial space conditioning and water heating equipment, plumbing products, distribution transformers, electric motors, and commercial and residential lighting products.
Buildings Energy
Research into energy use testing, field measurement, monitoring and verification of energy-consuming equipment and energy-saving projects in the building sector. Development of the next generation of web-based energy calculators, and provision of on-line energy efficiency content and decision-support information to a range of audiences.
China Energy
The China Energy Group is committed to understanding the opportunities for meeting energy demand through improved energy efficiency, and to exploring their implications for policy and business.
Climate Change
Research into methods for assessing the potential for mitigating greenhouse gas emissions and developing national action plans, and training for experts on the subject in over 40 developing countries. Also, developing methods and tools for assessing GHG mitigation potential and costs in selected tropical countries and develop a global model of land use change and forestry; analyzing national and global energy consumption, efficiency trends, and carbon flows; analyzing the potential for improving efficiency and storing carbon.
Electricity Markets
The Electricity Markets and Policy Group provides technical assistance to federal agencies in evaluating and deploying renewable, distributed energy, and demand-side options to reduce their energy costs, on strategies to leverage public benefits funding and assessing the impacts of electricity market restructuring.
Energy Policy
Research to deliver to policy makers the latest information on current and expected future characteristics of markets for efficient products in the building sector; the energy and economic impacts of energy-efficiency performance standards on a wide range of energy-consuming products; programs such as government procurement, product labeling, and voluntary public/private partnerships; and voluntary programs in the industrial sector.
Industrial Energy
Research into industrial energy use, energy saving potential from changes in industrial systems and processes, energy efficiency and management practices, and the effectiveness of policy mechanisms, such as voluntary agreements and partnerships, energy management and system standards.
Public Sector Energy Efficiency
Research on the effectiveness of programs such as government procurement, product labeling, and voluntary public/private partnerships in improving energy efficiency, preventing pollution, and reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Transportation
Research into how vehicle technology and driving behavior affect emissions of urban air pollutants. Also, how vehicle technology, land-use patterns, and travel behavior affect transportation energy use and emissions of greenhouse gasses.
Water & Energy
The Water and Energy Technology Team's mission is to achieve sustainability through efficient technologies and integrated management of water and energy resources.
