Building-Level Energy Management Systems Research Project

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) is currently conducting research into building-level energy management systems (BLEMS).

Project Description

BLEMS provide an integrated plug-and-play capability for legacy energy management systems (EMSs), such as those based on X-10, Zigbee, 802.15, and newly developed EMS for buildings of any size.

Project Partners

Research is being undertaken by DOE, the University of Southern California, General Electric (GE) Global Research, and GE Consumer & Industrial Division.

Project Goals

The goal of this project is to develop practical solutions that bring together ad-hoc legacy energy management systems under a single, unified framework, making them interoperable even though all may operate under different communication and networking standards. This project also seeks to alleviate apparent limitations in the systems based on:

Security
Reliability
Extensibility
Self-management
Self-dispersed optimal energy allocation under predefined budgetary and market-driven electricity demand-response constraints.

Benefits and Impacts

This project seeks to transfer the BLEMS-derived products rapidly to industrial and commercial markets, and to make a positive impact to minimize energy consumption in a whole building.

Funding

This project is part of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. Total project funding is $1,987,025, with the DOE contributing $1,987,025 of the total.

Contact Information

Yana Rasulova
Yana.rasulova@go.doe.gov

U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Building Technologies Office