Energy Analysis Models, Tools and Software Technology Marketing Summaries

Energy savings achieved via occupant behavioral changes could be as high as 25%, and could rival savings achieved by technological measures. For example, energy audits often show that more than 50% of the energy used in a building is consumed at night. Occupants leaving equipment and lighting on after they leave work is a large contributing factor. Similar savings opportunities have been identified when occupants were away from their desks 50% of the time, while most of their computers,... read more

Electrochemical analysis is a highly sensitive, chemically selective method for identifying and quantifying many different chemicals in water.  Previous art required  field samples be transported to a laboratory where additional chemicals would be added before the analysis could be performed.  Sandia National Laboratories has invented an electrochemical analysis method that has eliminated the need to add chemicals to the testing process while increasing the... read more

Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have devised a safe, affordable way to ensure a reliable U.S. supply of selected medical isotopes. The invention has the potential to revitalize the domestic production of critical medical diagnostic materials and make the production process affordable even for small regional hospitals.

The innovative technology combines two Argonne patents, a superconducting cage-like radio-frequency (RF) cavity and a dual electron linear accelerator, or linac, in an... read more

Devices for radioactive source detection exist but their capabilities and their precision is limited. There are currently no systems which integrate signals from multiple sensors or which provide directional information or discrete source location information. In addition, current systems allow a target to know that they are being tracked.

Present-day devices tend to have a limited range of geometrical configurations in which they can be deployed. Generally, they must be deployed in a single... read more

Scientists at Argonne National Laboratory have created innovations in the design and fabrication of radio frequency (RF) cavities that improve acceleration of high energy particles: a “cage cavity” that improves cavity performance over solid wall cavities in several ways. The cage cavity improves the vacuum property, reduces power losses due to higher order resonances in the cavity, and allows use of superconducting films instead of bulk metals. Most importantly, the cage cavity is... read more

Currently, when a patient arrives at the hospital or doctor’s office feeling ill, they are first examined by the doctor, sent to a blood lab where vials of blood are taken, and then sent home to wait for results. This approach often means patients must wait days or weeks, to get results. During that waiting period, they are not receiving treatment, which can be a critical factor for cancer, heart attack, or stroke patients. 

Sandia researchers have developed a break-through... read more

Duty cycles capture the influence of one variable in relations to the whole system. This allows for analysis in determining the impact of new variables, which are important in accurately gauging the systems in vehicles. In the collection of large data from fleet vehicles, there still exists a need to easily and accurately quantifying overall fleet operational characteristics (driving speed, distance, amount of stops…). The potential benefits of new vehicle technologies being introduced... read more

Power suppliers must monitor the electricity levels within their power grids to ensure that the proper amount of electricity is being sent where it is needed. Power consumption levels are monitored using phasor measurement units (PMUs), which measure the electrical waves within both standard and smart grids. While PMUs are state-of-the-art technology, they report inaccurate measurements that can result in inaccurate grid state estimations and potentially lead to power outages. The standard... read more

Migration of contaminants from buried waste sites can be a threat to the safety of groundwater resources.  Ideally, migration of contaminants would be detected as close as possible to the source, minimizing aquifer impact and cleanup costs.  However, monitoring within or beneath waste sites is generally avoided due to the resulting surface contamination created during insertion of traditional monitoring devices.  Researchers at the Idaho National Laboratory (INL) in Idaho Falls,... read more

Researchers at the Colorado State University Engines and Energy Conversion Laboratory have developed a complete software package for use with National Instruments’ Labview software. The package can be used with National Instruments hardware to measure conditions inside an engine cylinder. The program can measure and compute pressure, combustion mass, heat released, and other properties in real time.

A parabolic trough power plant generates electricity using concentrated sunlight as the heat source for its power cycle. A parabolic trough plant is comprised of multiple rows of single- linear focusing collectors concentrating direct beam radiation onto tubular receivers (also known as heat-collection elements [HCEs], absorbers, or receivers) located along the focal line. Receivers are designed to minimize heat loss to the environment while absorbing as much sunlight as possible. NREL has... read more

Berkeley Lab is offering direct access to Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) for two popular, proven energy saving online tools: Home Energy Saver and EnergyIQ. The APIs allow software developers to access the algorithms and underlying data for Home Energy Saver and EnergyIQ and to use them for the development of customized web interfaces or other services.

The present invention relates to a fluid submersible sensing device and, more particularly, to such a device having sensing structure provided within a fluid-tight housing and an external structure located outside of the fluid-tight housing including a passage through which a fluid sample flows.

LLNL's technology is useful in fields such as power systems engineering, security monitoring, and vehicle tracking to identify, locate and monitor a particular source of electromagnetic radiation in a noisy broadband environment.  Conventional broadband filtering techniques are often inefficient in reducing unwanted electromagnetic noise, and this inefficiency results in higher energy and processing costs along with imprecise location, monitoring and tracking capabilities.  The... read more

All-optical, fiber-optic-coupled remote radiation sensor using NRL’s luminescent, copper-doped quartz material.  The key to the technology is the doped quartz material that produces a luminescence signal that is directly proportional to the radiation dose. Individual sensors have an estimated cost of $50 and a lifespan of decades. The sensor is less than 7 mm in diameter by 10 cm in length and is fiber-optic-coupled to a photodetec-tor that is remotely located away from the... read more

The NASA Ames Research Center offers the opportunity to license and co-develop FACET, a flexible software tool for air traffic management. With thousands of planes flying overhead in the U.S. at any given time, there is an urgent need for tools that help avoid air traffic incidents and delays. To help air traffic control centers improve airline safety and efficiency, NASA Ames scientists developed FACET, a system software for performing powerful computational simulations for evaluating advanced... read more

Neutron detectors are vital in the national security effort to detect special nuclear material at the hundreds of U.S. ports of entry. Special nuclear material emits neutrons which rarely occur spontaneously, therefore detection can be correlated to the existence of special nuclear matter found in plutonium and plutonium based weapons. Currently, the most common type of neutron detector uses pressurized tubes containing rare Helium-3 gas. This 60 year old instrumentation is bulky, costly, and... read more

INL has developed a fast quench reactor process to produce diatomic hydrogen and unsaturated hydrocarbons. During the fast quench, the unsaturated hydrocarbons are further decomposed by reheating the reactor gases. More diatomic hydrogen is produced, along with elemental carbon. Other gas may be added at different stages in the process to form a desired end product and prevent back reactions. The product is a substantially clean-burning hydrogen fuel that leaves no greenhouse gas emissions and... read more

Supported by funding from the U.S. Department of Energy, other federal agencies, and industry sponsors, Argonne is providing broad-based scientific and engineering expertise to create analytical software tools that will enable the United States to make substantive enhancements in energy efficiency and serve the growing demand for renewable energy.