Claimed to be the world’s most advanced energy efficiency test bed for buildings, DOE’s FLEXLAB at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (Berkeley Lab) has been opened is already signing up companies determined to reduce their energy use by testing and deploying the most energy efficient technologies as integrated systems under real-world conditions. The facility includes a rotating test bed to track and test sun exposure impacts, and other high-tech features.
“In the United States, nearly 40 percent of all energy and over two-thirds of all electricity consumed goes to operate commercial, industrial and residential buildings,” said Deputy Secretary Daniel Poneman. “To power these buildings, Americans spend more than $400 billion every year. By making buildings more energy efficient, we can save money by saving energy and drive the nation to our low-carbon future.”
“So far, Berkeley Lab’s energy efficiency work has saved American families, businesses, and institutions many billions of dollars in energy bills. If all goes as planned, FLEXLAB – the first of its kind test bed designed to enable much more aggressive whole building energy savings – will add to that impressive tab,” said Berkeley Lab Director Paul Alivisatos
“Berkeley Lab is already a global leader in smart-building innovations that are helping our nation cut greenhouse gas emissions,” said Napolitano, president of the University of California, which manages Berkeley Lab for the U.S. Department of Energy. “FLEXLAB will allow us to cut building emissions even further, and lessons learned here will be instrumental in helping UC reach its carbon neutrality goal by 2025.”
In the first test bed experiment, leading biotech company Genentech is leveraging FLEXLAB to test systems for a new building at their South San Francisco headquarters. “At Genentech, we are constantly innovating and following the science, so we were excited to apply this approach to energy efficiency and building optimization,” said Carla Boragno, Genentech Vice President for Site Services. “FLEXLAB represents a new type of experiment for us, and presents the opportunity to be first-in-class in another area of innovation. We are proud to be the leading client of FLEXLAB.”
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