Building Envelope R&D

On this page you'll find information on the Building Technologies Program's research and development on the building envelope in the areas of walls, roofs, and foundations and windows and doors.

Since 2000, more energy has been consumed in the buildings sector than in either industry or transportation, and 36% of this energy goes toward space conditioning. Americans spent over $95 billion to heat and cool buildings in the year 2000, consuming 13.3 quads of energy in the process. A large fraction of this energy is lost through the building envelope, in particular the areas of walls, roofs, floors, windows, and doors. Advances in building envelope technologies are important for reducing overall building energy consumption and costs.

Building envelope systems and materials R&D has helped improve home energy use by approximately 30% per square foot since 1980, and has also contributed to better building standards. In 2001, the National Academy of Sciences wrote, "The importance of standards pulling technological innovation in buildings and transportation cannot be exaggerated. Often, DOE energy efficiency research has been used to provide a proper basis for standards."

Continued R&D in building envelope materials and systems is key to the success of whole building design and construction and will bring even greater energy and cost savings, in both new and renovated buildings. DOE's building envelope R&D is focused in the two primary areas: walls, roofs, and foundations, which includes envelope materials and envelope systems; and windows and doors.