Opportunity Information: Apply for DE FOA 0001166
Apply for DE FOA 0001166
- The Golden Field Office in the energy sector is offering a public funding opportunity titled "Buildings Energy Effeciency Frontier Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) 2015" 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 Oct 9, 2014 and posted on Oct 9, 2014.
- Applicants must submit their applications by Jan 12, 2015. (Agency may still review applications by suitable applicants for the remaining/unused allocated funding in 2026.)
- The funding agency has allocated a total of $7,750,000.00 to eligible and selected applicants.
- Each selected applicant is eligible to receive up to $1,500,000.00 in funding.
- The number of recipients for this funding is limited to 6 candidate(s).
- 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:
The Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontier Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) 2015 funding opportunity (Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0001166) was a U.S. Department of Energy discretionary grant/cooperative agreement program run through the Golden Field Office under the Building Technologies Office (BTO), specifically its Emerging Technologies (ET) Program. The basic purpose was to fund applied research and development that could materially reduce energy used in buildings, aligning with BTOs longer-term target of achieving 50 percent primary energy savings by 2030 compared to the baseline projection in the 2010 Annual Energy Outlook. In practice, this meant supporting projects that could push building technology performance forward while keeping an eye on cost effectiveness and a realistic pathway to eventual market adoption.
The ET Program already maintained a standing backbone of support for national laboratories across five core technical areas: solid-state lighting; HVAC (including water heating and appliances); sensors and controls; windows and envelope; and modeling and tools. BENEFIT 2015 was designed to complement that baseline national-lab effort by opening competitive funding to a wider field of applicants and by concentrating on two HVAC-related priorities where big efficiency gains were seen as possible. Those two priority areas were non-vapor-compression HVAC technologies (alternatives to conventional compressor-based cooling and heating) and advanced vapor-compression HVAC technologies (significant improvements to the dominant compressor-based approach). By focusing on HVAC, the opportunity targeted one of the largest energy loads in many residential and commercial buildings and therefore one of the highest-leverage places to achieve large savings.
A key structural feature of the announcement was that it intentionally combined two stages of R&D into one solicitation. It paired an early-stage topic labeled Innovations with a later-stage topic labeled Frontiers. The idea was to support both the creation of new concepts (earlier applied R&D) and the maturation, validation, and de-risking of more developed solutions (later-stage applied R&D), all within the same overall program and review cycle. DOE described this as a way to both reduce administrative overhead (one larger FOA instead of multiple smaller ones) and to concentrate funding on the strongest proposals across the combined topic set, rather than spreading resources too thinly across separate solicitations.
The opportunity was broadly open in terms of eligibility. Eligible applicants were described as unrestricted, meaning corporations, universities, nonprofits, and national laboratories could all compete, subject to any clarifications contained in the full FOA text. This open eligibility was meant to bring in ideas and capabilities from across the innovation ecosystem, not only from the national labs that already received core program funds. The funding instrument types included grants and cooperative agreements, which typically signals that some projects might involve more substantial DOE involvement in technical direction and oversight (a common feature of cooperative agreements), depending on the specific project and award negotiations.
Financially, DOE expected to make about six awards under this FOA, with an estimated total program funding level of $7,750,000. Individual awards were expected to fall between $500,000 (the floor) and $1,500,000 (the ceiling). The opportunity also required cost sharing or matching, meaning recipients needed to contribute a portion of total project costs from non-federal sources, which is often used to reinforce partner commitment and help ensure that the work is grounded in practical deployment and commercialization considerations.
In terms of timing, the FOA was posted on October 9, 2014 and closed on January 12, 2015, with an archive date of April 13, 2015. The program was associated with CFDA number 81.086 (Conservation Research and Development), situating it within DOE support for R&D that advances energy efficiency and conservation goals. Applicants were directed to the EERE Exchange portal for the full announcement and submission process, and a point of contact was provided for access issues and questions (Ryan N. McCleary, BENEFIT2015@EE.Doe.Gov).
BENEFIT 2015 (DE-FOA-0001166) FAQs
What is the BENEFIT 2015 funding opportunity?
BENEFIT 2015 stands for Buildings Energy Efficiency Frontier Innovation Technologies (BENEFIT) 2015. It was a U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) discretionary funding opportunity offering grants and cooperative agreements under Funding Opportunity Number DE-FOA-0001166.
Which DOE office ran this opportunity?
The opportunity was run through DOE's Golden Field Office under the Building Technologies Office (BTO), specifically within BTO's Emerging Technologies (ET) Program.
What was the main purpose of the program?
The purpose was to fund applied research and development (R&D) that could materially reduce energy used in buildings, with attention to cost effectiveness and a realistic path to eventual market adoption.
What long-term DOE goal did this opportunity align with?
It aligned with BTO's longer-term target of achieving 50 percent primary energy savings by 2030 compared to the baseline projection in the 2010 Annual Energy Outlook.
Why did BENEFIT 2015 focus on HVAC?
It focused on HVAC because heating, ventilation, and air conditioning can be one of the largest energy loads in many residential and commercial buildings, making it a high-leverage area for achieving large energy savings.
What were the two priority technical areas?
The two priorities were: (1) non-vapor-compression HVAC technologies (alternatives to conventional compressor-based cooling and heating) and (2) advanced vapor-compression HVAC technologies (major improvements to conventional compressor-based approaches).
What is meant by "non-vapor-compression HVAC technologies" in this FOA?
In this context, non-vapor-compression HVAC refers to technologies that provide cooling and/or heating using approaches other than traditional compressor-based vapor-compression cycles.
What is meant by "advanced vapor-compression HVAC technologies" in this FOA?
In this context, advanced vapor-compression HVAC refers to technologies that significantly improve performance of the conventional compressor-based HVAC approach.
How did BENEFIT 2015 relate to BTO's existing Emerging Technologies support?
The ET Program already maintained a standing backbone of support for national laboratories across five core technical areas. BENEFIT 2015 was designed to complement that baseline effort by opening competitive funding to a wider field of applicants and by concentrating on two HVAC-related priorities where large efficiency gains were seen as possible.
What were the ET Program's five core technical areas mentioned in the description?
The five core technical areas were: solid-state lighting; HVAC (including water heating and appliances); sensors and controls; windows and envelope; and modeling and tools.
What did DOE mean by combining "Innovations" and "Frontiers" into one solicitation?
BENEFIT 2015 intentionally combined two stages of applied R&D into a single funding opportunity. "Innovations" referred to earlier-stage applied R&D and new concept creation, while "Frontiers" referred to later-stage applied R&D focused on maturation, validation, and de-risking of more developed solutions.
Why did DOE combine these two stages into one FOA?
DOE described the combined approach as a way to reduce administrative overhead (one larger FOA instead of multiple smaller ones) and to concentrate funding on the strongest proposals across the combined topic set rather than spreading resources too thinly across separate solicitations.
Who was eligible to apply?
Eligibility was described as unrestricted. Corporations, universities, nonprofits, and national laboratories could compete, subject to any clarifications in the full FOA.
What types of funding instruments were expected?
The FOA offered grants and cooperative agreements.
What is the practical difference between a grant and a cooperative agreement for this opportunity?
The description notes that cooperative agreements typically signal more substantial DOE involvement in technical direction and oversight than a standard grant, depending on the project and award negotiations.
How many awards did DOE expect to make?
DOE expected to make about six awards under this FOA.
What was the estimated total funding available?
The estimated total program funding level was $7,750,000.
What was the expected award size range?
Individual awards were expected to range from $500,000 (minimum) to $1,500,000 (maximum).
Was cost sharing required?
Yes. The opportunity required cost sharing (matching), meaning recipients needed to contribute a portion of total project costs from non-federal sources.
When was the FOA posted and when did it close?
The FOA was posted on October 9, 2014 and closed on January 12, 2015.
When was the archive date?
The archive date was April 13, 2015.
What is the CFDA number associated with this program?
The program was associated with CFDA number 81.086 (Conservation Research and Development).
Where were applicants directed to submit or find the full announcement?
Applicants were directed to the EERE Exchange portal for the full announcement and the submission process.
Who was the point of contact for access issues and questions?
The point of contact listed was Ryan N. McCleary, reachable at BENEFIT2015@EE.Doe.Gov.
What kinds of outcomes was DOE looking for beyond technical performance?
Beyond pushing building technology performance forward, the opportunity emphasized cost effectiveness and a realistic pathway to eventual market adoption.
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