The General Services Administration (GSA), which manages federal property, and the Department of Energy (DOE) are seeking proposals for emerging technologies that can maintain healthy indoor air, increase building resilience and improve onsite photovoltaics in commercial buildings.
The GSA and DOE plan to use selected technologies from the request for information (RFI) in pilot projects around the country.
Applications are due Dec. 4 and the agencies expect to select finalists by March 31.
The agencies will evaluate the technologies under dynamic, real-world conditions in federally or privately owned commercial buildings, or both, in multiple climate zones, according to the RFI.
“Outcomes of this evaluation will provide credible, independent performance data, thereby helping to facilitate the broader deployment of these technologies by facility owners, utilities and third-party financiers,” the GSA said in the RFI.
Seeks software that prioritizes loads
Selected technologies will be used in the GSA Proving Ground program for federally owned facilities or voluntary partnership programs facilitated by DOE for privately owned facilities.
The GSA and DOE seek technologies that are in the pre- or early-commercial phase.
The agencies are interested in technologies that extend a building’s passive survivability and support continuity of operations during power outages. Technologies they are interested include: phased control or load coordination; software solutions to enable control and prioritization of power to critical loads; advanced opaque retrofit envelope technologies that support passive heating, cooling and ventilation; window retrofit approaches; and, water conservation technologies that support continued facility operation when water supplies are disrupted.
High efficiency solar
The GSA and DOE also seek US made technologies that support energy production through solar panels. They are interested in high-efficiency PV with improved materials construction, fabrication process or installation methods; building-integrated photovoltaics; and innovative PV and storage systems.
On the issue of indoor air, the GSA and DOE said they are looking for solutions that maintain indoor air quality without compromising energy efficiency. Example technologies include: multi-zonal sensing and control; higher performance filtration and, improved air sealing in ducts.
The test-bed projects will help validate the technical and operational characteristics of the technology and its potential for future deployment.
Vendors must propose measurable success criteria such as how their technology or solution will affect the duration of maintained services for productivity, continuity of operations, improved indoor air quality and occupant comfort, according to the GSA and DOE.
They must also criteria showing how the technology or solution performs based on payback, energy savings or utility cost savings at the technology and whole-building level, the agencies said.
The GSA said its Proving Ground program allows the agency to make sound investment decisions in next-generation building technologies based on their real-world performance.
Participating vendors benefit from the GSA and DOE programs by being part of well-supported and visible programs, according to the agencies.
Vendors also get to take part in a full-scale pilot with measurement and verification paid for by DOE, which increases market acceptance, the agencies said.
Government and commercial buildings eligible
Under the GSA program, potential host sites include all federal buildings the agency manages. Host sites for DOE’s programs can be any commercial building. DOE encouraged vendors to bring their own site when applying to the programs.
Detailed information about the RFI is available on the GSA website.
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