ORNL has created publicly available data sets about projected energy use for all U.S. buildings through 2100 under different climate change scenarios, enhanced with a free visualization tool. Credit: Andy Sproles/ORNL, U.S. Dept. of Energy.

Building Energy Around Changing Climate

2 years US Department of Energy 0 Comments
Support CleanTechnica's work through a Substack subscription, on Patreon, or on Stripe. Help us produce all of the high-quality, original content we publish week after week despite the challenges of content-scraping AI, antisocial media, inflation, and other hurdles.

County-level data reveals climate impact on future building energy use

Researchers at Oak Ridge National Laboratory have developed free data sets to estimate how much energy any building in the contiguous U.S. will use in 2100. These data sets provide planners a way to anticipate future energy needs as the climate changes.

Considering only today’s buildings, the team analyzed energy use and weather records dating back to 1980, identifying which months displayed the most typical weather patterns. They combined that data with future projections by the Intergovernmental Panel for Climate Change, including four possible levels of atmospheric warming and four policy outcomes incorporating variables such as population and economic growth. The county-specific weather data, enhanced by a free visualization tool, can predict a building’s energy use down to the day and hour.

A free visualization tool, can predict a building’s energy use down to the day and hour. Image: Screenshot using Data Visualization Tool from EvenStar, ORNL, DOE.

ORNL project lead Joshua New said the data, made publicly available a few months ago, is already being utilized more than expected. Power companies are using it to project future electricity demand, cities are developing climate-friendly building codes and architects are designing sustainable buildings.

Courtesy of ORNL.

Sign up for CleanTechnica's Weekly Substack for Zach and Scott's in-depth analyses and high level summaries, sign up for our daily newsletter, and follow us on Google News!
Advertisement
 
Have a tip for CleanTechnica? Want to advertise? Want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Sign up for our daily newsletter for 15 new cleantech stories a day. Or sign up for our weekly one on top stories of the week if daily is too frequent.
CleanTechnica uses affiliate links. See our policy here.

CleanTechnica's Comment Policy

US Department of Energy

The mission of the U.S. Energy Department is to ensure America’s security and prosperity by addressing its energy, environmental and nuclear challenges through transformative science and technology solutions. Learn more.

US Department of Energy has 1311 posts and counting. See all posts by US Department of Energy