National Renewable Energy Laboratory

Buildings Research

Partnerships in Commercial Building Research

We collaborate with the building industry, private organizations, and government agencies to develop building technologies and processes that significantly reduce energy consumption in buildings and that use renewable energy technologies.

Rebuild America

We provide technical assistance to DOE's Rebuild America program to improve the energy efficiency of commercial buildings such as schools, hospitals, and government buildings.

U.S. Green Building Council - Leadership in Energy Efficient Design

NREL provides technical guidance to the U.S. Green Building Council, the organization that rates the energy efficiency of commercial buildings in the United States according to its LEED (Leadership in Energy Efficient Design) rating system. Most new commercial buildings in the U.S. today strive for a LEED rating of Gold or Silver after construction. NREL works with the U.S. Green Building Council on performance metrics for its LEED rating system.