Published: May 7, 2018

RASEI Associate Director and NREL Scientist Gregor Henze is leading a research effort as part of DOE’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) for a Saving Energy Nationwide in Structures with Occupancy Recognition (SENSOR) Program.

Colorado U.S. Senators Michael Bennet (D) and Cory Gardner (R) announced that a $2 million grant has been awarded to the University of Colorado Boulder. The award will be used to develop a new class of sensor systems that can significantly increase energy savings by reducing demand for heating and cooling in residential and commercial buildings. The project relies on a battery-free radio-frequency identification (RFID) sensor network with spatiotemporal pattern network-based data fusion system for human presence sensing, with ARPA-E funding over the next three years.

"We applaud the University of Colorado Boulder team and their partners for receiving this grant and look forward to seeing how their project helps develop technologies to reduce energy usage in Colorado's homes," Bennet said. "It is important that we continue to provide our communities with more opportunities for sustainable and responsible energy usage and development."

"I have long been a strong supporter of ARPA-E's research and I'm thrilled CU Boulder is receiving this grant," Gardner said. "Increasing energy efficiency in our homes and businesses will help Coloradans save money on their energy bills and I'm looking forward to seeing what cutting edge technology CU develops as part of this project."

Read full articles published by NREL and Senator Michael Bennet