Themes
Research Themes
BEST Center Mission
Advancing energy systems through university-industry partnerships to engineer the intelligent and efficient cities of tomorrow.
The Building Energy Smart Technologies (BEST) Center brings together universities and industries in transforming the building industry through the development and adoption of sustainable and intelligent technologies.
The BEST Center is supporting the U.S. building industry’s efforts to meet increasingly stringent building energy-efficiency regulations and society’s expectations for improved sustainability, resiliency, and security in communities and cities. The center aims to educate and train a skilled and diverse workforce to address current and future employment needs for the U.S. building industry.
To cover the diversity of the building industry needs, the center has six research themes:
1. Innovative Building Materials
Developing advanced construction materials and envelope technologies, such as high-performance insulation, phase-change materials, and adaptive façades, to improve building energy efficiency, durability, and environmental sustainability.
2. Advanced Energy Systems
Advancing high-efficiency building energy systems and equipment, including HVAC, thermal management, and ventilation technologies, to improve energy performance while enhancing occupant comfort, health, and productivity.
3. Integrated Energy Generation and Storage Systems
Integrating renewable energy generation and storage technologies, including building-integrated photovoltaics, combined heat and power systems, thermal energy storage, and district energy systems, to enable resilient and low-carbon building operations.
4. Smart Buildings & Cities
Developing data-driven building and urban infrastructure systems that utilize sensors, IoT technologies, digital twins, and artificial intelligence to improve energy efficiency, occupant comfort, operational intelligence, and urban sustainability.
5. Intelligent Grid Systems
Advancing smart grid architectures, distributed energy resource coordination, and real-time control strategies that enable secure, adaptive, and efficient energy distribution between buildings, microgrids, and utility networks.
6. Building Retrofit Applications
Creating scalable retrofit technologies and implementation strategies for existing buildings, including energy-efficient upgrades, electrification solutions, and smart controls, to reduce energy use, carbon emissions, and lifecycle operating costs.
