Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001027
Apply for DE FOA 0001027
- The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Incubator Technologies (BENEFIT) 2014" and is now available to receive applicants.
- Interested and eligible applicants and submit their applications by referencing the CFDA number(s): 81.086 Conservation Research and Development.
- This funding opportunity was created on Feb 4, 2014 and posted on Feb 4, 2014.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Apr 21, 2014. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- Eligible applicants include: Unrestricted (i.e., open to any type of entity above), subject to any clarification in text field entitled Additional Information on Eligibility.
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Opportunity Summary:
Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Incubator Technologies (BENEFIT) 2014 was a U.S. Department of Energy funding opportunity issued by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) on behalf of the Building Technologies Office (BTO). Listed as Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) DE-FOA-0001027 and administered through DOE's Golden Field Office, the program was aimed at pushing building-sector energy efficiency forward by supporting both early-stage, high-upside ideas and more targeted, roadmap-driven technology advances. The opportunity was posted on the EERE eXCHANGE platform, which served as the required submission portal for applicants.
The application process was structured in two steps, with a mandatory concept paper due first, followed by an invitation (or direction) to submit a full application. Concept papers had to be submitted through EERE eXCHANGE by March 6, 2014, and full applications were due by April 21, 2014. Applicants were required to register and create an EERE eXCHANGE account before submitting, and DOE provided a user guide within the system to help applicants navigate the portal. For access issues or FOA-related questions, DOE identified a point of contact (Andrew Rittgers) via the BENEFITFOA@go.doe.gov email address.
From a funding mechanics standpoint, the FOA was categorized as discretionary funding and allowed multiple funding instrument types, including cooperative agreements, grants, and "other" arrangements depending on the project and DOE's intended level of involvement. The CFDA number associated with this program was 81.086 (Conservation Research and Development), and cost sharing was required, meaning applicants were expected to contribute a portion of total project costs from non-federal sources. Eligibility was described as unrestricted, effectively open to a wide range of entity types (such as companies, universities, national labs, nonprofits, and others), subject to any clarifications that would have been included in the full FOA text.
Programmatically, BENEFIT 2014 was organized around four Areas of Interest (AOIs) split into two broad tracks: "Incubators (Off Roadmap)" and "Frontiers (Roadmap Driven)." The incubator topics were designed to capture novel concepts that were not already being pursued under BTO's existing portfolio, while the frontiers topics reflected more specific, performance-driven targets aligned with DOE's published technology roadmaps.
Area of Interest 1, an incubator topic, was an open call for energy efficiency solutions for residential and commercial buildings. The key requirement here was novelty relative to BTO's current support: proposals needed to be for innovative technologies, approaches, or design tools not already supported or explicitly targeted by BTO, while still showing a clear application to homes and/or commercial buildings. The emphasis was on significant primary energy savings potential, meaning projects had to credibly demonstrate how they could reduce energy consumption in a way that matters at the source energy level (not just site electricity usage), which is important when comparing impacts across fuels and generation mixes.
Area of Interest 2, also under the incubator track, focused on innovative sensors and sensor systems. The FOA sought "open architecture" sensor solutions that could easily share data and interoperate with other systems, with the practical goal of helping building owners and operators capture energy and cost savings using both new and existing control system applications. The major themes were low cost, data sharing, and ease of deployment, explicitly calling out plug-and-play type methodologies. In effect, DOE was looking for sensor approaches that reduced integration friction, avoided vendor lock-in, and made it easier to turn raw sensing into actionable building control improvements without expensive custom engineering.
The "Frontiers (Roadmap Driven)" portion of the FOA included two more targeted technology areas with clearer performance and market relevance expectations. Area of Interest 3 addressed advanced energy-efficient clothes dryers, including both vented and ventless designs. DOE signaled that both economic and technical goals were defined for this area, and it strongly encouraged concepts that offered measurable non-energy benefits, recognizing that customer adoption often depends on attributes like drying performance, fabric care, cycle time, convenience, installation flexibility (especially for ventless), noise, maintenance, and overall user experience. The inclusion of non-energy benefits was essentially an acknowledgment that even large efficiency gains can struggle in the market if the product does not outperform or at least match incumbent options on features consumers care about.
Area of Interest 4 focused on highly insulating building envelope components and was split into two subtopics: visibly transparent components and opaque components. For visibly transparent envelope technologies (think advanced windows or transparent insulation concepts), DOE established ambitious performance metrics intended to be significant improvements over current technology, with targets including approximately R-7 for residential applications and R-5 for commercial applications. For opaque envelope components, the FOA set a target of about R-8 per inch for insulation materials that could be added to existing buildings either on exterior or interior walls, paired with an aggressive installed cost premium target of roughly $0.30 per square foot (labor and materials). This combination of high thermal performance and low incremental installed cost reflects the central retrofit challenge: envelope upgrades need to be not only technically superior, but also practical and affordable at scale in real-world renovation conditions.
In summary, BENEFIT 2014 was designed to broaden and accelerate building energy efficiency innovation by funding a mix of off-roadmap incubator ideas and roadmap-aligned frontier technologies. It emphasized real-world deployability (especially for sensors), measurable energy savings at the building level, and in several areas, market-facing considerations like installed cost and non-energy benefits that influence adoption. The required two-stage submission process, use of the EERE eXCHANGE platform, and cost-sharing requirement positioned the program as both competitive and oriented toward projects with credible pathways to impact beyond the lab.
FAQs: Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Incubator Technologies (BENEFIT) 2014 (DE-FOA-0001027)
1. What is the BENEFIT 2014 funding opportunity?
Building Energy Efficiency Frontiers and Incubator Technologies (BENEFIT) 2014 was a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) funding opportunity issued by the Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) on behalf of the Building Technologies Office (BTO). It was intended to advance building-sector energy efficiency by supporting both early-stage, high-upside ideas and more targeted, roadmap-driven technology advances.
2. What is the official FOA number for BENEFIT 2014?
The Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) number was DE-FOA-0001027.
3. Which DOE offices were involved in this opportunity?
The opportunity was issued by EERE on behalf of BTO, and it was administered through DOE's Golden Field Office.
4. Where did applicants have to submit their materials?
Applications were required to be submitted through the EERE eXCHANGE platform, which served as the required submission portal for applicants.
5. Was the application process single-step or multi-step?
The application process was two-step. A mandatory concept paper was due first, and then applicants were invited (or directed) to submit a full application.
6. When were concept papers due?
Concept papers had to be submitted through EERE eXCHANGE by March 6, 2014.
7. When were full applications due?
Full applications were due by April 21, 2014.
8. Was a concept paper required to apply?
Yes. A concept paper was mandatory and was submitted first as part of the two-step process.
9. Did applicants need an account to apply through EERE eXCHANGE?
Yes. Applicants were required to register and create an EERE eXCHANGE account before submitting.
10. Was there any help available for using the submission portal?
DOE provided a user guide within the EERE eXCHANGE system to help applicants navigate the portal.
11. Who was the point of contact for access issues or FOA-related questions?
DOE identified Andrew Rittgers as a point of contact via the BENEFITFOA@go.doe.gov email address.
12. What type of funding was this categorized as?
The FOA was categorized as discretionary funding.
13. What funding instrument types could DOE use under this FOA?
The FOA allowed multiple funding instrument types, including cooperative agreements, grants, and other arrangements, depending on the project and DOE's intended level of involvement.
14. What CFDA number was associated with BENEFIT 2014?
The CFDA number associated with this program was 81.086 (Conservation Research and Development).
15. Was cost sharing required?
Yes. Cost sharing was required, meaning applicants were expected to contribute a portion of total project costs from non-federal sources.
16. Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was described as unrestricted, effectively open to a wide range of entity types (such as companies, universities, national labs, nonprofits, and others), subject to any clarifications that would have been included in the full FOA text.
17. How was the program organized?
BENEFIT 2014 was organized around four Areas of Interest (AOIs) split into two broad tracks: Incubators (Off Roadmap) and Frontiers (Roadmap Driven).
18. What is the difference between the Incubators and Frontiers tracks?
The Incubators (Off Roadmap) topics were intended to capture novel concepts not already being pursued under BTO's existing portfolio. The Frontiers (Roadmap Driven) topics reflected more specific, performance-driven targets aligned with DOE's published technology roadmaps.
19. What was Area of Interest 1 (AOI 1)?
AOI 1 was an Incubator topic and functioned as an open call for energy efficiency solutions for residential and commercial buildings.
20. What was the key requirement for AOI 1 proposals?
The key requirement was novelty relative to BTO's current support. Proposals needed to be innovative technologies, approaches, or design tools not already supported or explicitly targeted by BTO, while still clearly applying to homes and/or commercial buildings.
21. What kind of energy impact was emphasized in AOI 1?
AOI 1 emphasized significant primary energy savings potential. Projects had to credibly demonstrate how they could reduce energy consumption in a way that matters at the source energy level (not only site electricity usage).
22. What was Area of Interest 2 (AOI 2)?
AOI 2 was an Incubator topic focused on innovative sensors and sensor systems for buildings.
23. What does "open architecture" mean in the context of AOI 2?
AOI 2 sought open architecture sensor solutions that could easily share data and interoperate with other systems. The intent was to reduce integration friction and make it easier to use sensor data with both new and existing control system applications.
24. What practical outcomes was AOI 2 trying to enable?
AOI 2 aimed to help building owners and operators capture energy and cost savings by enabling data sharing, ease of deployment, and compatibility with building control applications.
25. What deployment characteristics were emphasized for AOI 2?
Low cost, data sharing, and ease of deployment were central themes, with an explicit interest in plug-and-play type methodologies.
26. What was Area of Interest 3 (AOI 3)?
AOI 3 was a Frontiers (Roadmap Driven) topic focused on advanced energy-efficient clothes dryers, including both vented and ventless designs.
27. Did AOI 3 include both technical and economic expectations?
Yes. DOE signaled that both economic and technical goals were defined for this area.
28. What are "non-energy benefits" in AOI 3, and why were they encouraged?
Non-energy benefits are features that improve customer value beyond energy savings. For clothes dryers, examples noted included drying performance, fabric care, cycle time, convenience, installation flexibility (especially for ventless), noise, maintenance, and overall user experience. DOE encouraged these because customer adoption often depends on these attributes as much as (or more than) efficiency.
29. What was Area of Interest 4 (AOI 4)?
AOI 4 was a Frontiers (Roadmap Driven) topic focused on highly insulating building envelope components, split into visibly transparent components and opaque components.
30. What performance targets were described for visibly transparent envelope technologies in AOI 4?
For visibly transparent envelope technologies, DOE described targets of approximately R-7 for residential applications and R-5 for commercial applications.
31. What performance and cost targets were described for opaque envelope components in AOI 4?
For opaque envelope components, DOE described a target of about R-8 per inch for insulation materials suitable for adding to existing buildings (either exterior or interior walls), along with an installed cost premium target of roughly $0.30 per square foot (labor and materials).
32. Why did AOI 4 emphasize both high insulation performance and low installed cost premium?
The combination reflects a core retrofit challenge: envelope upgrades need to be technically strong while also being practical and affordable to deploy at scale in real-world renovation conditions.
33. What overall outcomes was BENEFIT 2014 trying to drive?
The program was designed to broaden and accelerate building energy efficiency innovation by funding a mix of off-roadmap incubator ideas and roadmap-aligned frontier technologies, with an emphasis on measurable building-level energy savings, real-world deployability (especially for sensors), and market-facing considerations such as installed cost and non-energy benefits that influence adoption.
34. Why did DOE use a two-stage submission process?
Based on the structure described, the two-stage process required a concept paper first and then a full application upon invitation or direction, helping DOE screen ideas before applicants invest in full application development.
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