Energy innovation in the US buildings sector: Setting the stage and mapping the future

An interactive dashboard for exploring the segmentation data from this study is available at: https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/ericjhwilson/viz/Segmentationflexibledashboard/About

This data record provides the raw segmentation estimates, expert feedback frame and responses for the paper of the same name, which is summarized below.

Paper summary:

Buildings are a critical resource for managing emerging challenges in global energy systems, including accelerating load growth and rapid changes in the energy generation mix. However, the diversity of building energy end uses and stakeholders suggests many possible strategic opportunities for decision makers to pursue, and a comprehensive framework for comparing buildings sector innovation pathways does not exist. Using the United States as a case study, we develop the basis for such a framework by estimating all current and expected future sources of US building energy use, energy costs, and greenhouse gas emissions through 2050 under multiple scenarios for buildings sector development. Pairing these data with expert feedback, we identify key technical innovation pathways for the buildings sector, discuss implementation barriers for these pathways, and identify the actions that could address such barriers. The analysis distills focus areas for buildings sector planning and sets a common foundation for assessing the role of buildings in the broader transformation of national energy systems.