Lawrence Berkeley National Lab Launches FLEXLAB

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory celebrated the opening of the Facility for Low-Energy Experiments on Buildings (FLEXLAB) in July of 2014. Designed to be the world’s most advanced building efficiency facility, the lab will support collaborative research with companies and utilities to reduce energy use by testing, evaluating, and deploying energy technologies as integrated systems under real-world conditions. The project includes four labs with interchangeable building systems, such as HVAC, windows, building envelope, and lighting, as well as a rotating testbed to track and test sun exposure impacts. Data on facility performance is obtained by extensive electrical metering and by sensors embedded in the structure to measure heat flux and heat flow, as well as temperature and humidity.