WASHINGTON — At the recent Better Buildings, Better Plants Summit, the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced new Better Building Initiatives to help organizations in all sectors of the economy save energy while reducing costs and emissions.

Among the new initiatives is the Better Buildings Commercial Building Heat Pump Accelerator, through which manufacturers will produce higher-efficiency and lifecycle-cost-effective heat pump rooftop units and commercial organizations will evaluate and adopt next-generation heat-pump technology. DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative is partnering with leaders in the public and private sectors to advance next-generation solutions, promote climate leadership, and support workforce development, underscoring efforts by President Joe Biden’s administration to drive energy innovation, lower energy costs, and address the climate crisis, a press release from DOE said.

“Since 2011, DOE’s Better Buildings Initiative has helped paved the way for cost-effective energy efficiency and decarbonization solutions across America’s building sector,” said U.S. Secretary of Energy Jennifer M. Granholm. “Our new Commercial Building Heat Pump Accelerator builds on more than a decade of public-private partnerships to get cutting-edge clean technologies from lab to market, helping to slash harmful carbon emissions throughout our economy.”

The U.S. spends about $800 billion each year to power buildings, plants, and homes. On average, between 20% and 30% of the nation’s energy is wasted, presenting a significant opportunity to increase energy efficiency, DOE said. Through the Better Buildings Initiative, DOE partners with public and private sector stakeholders to pursue ambitious portfolio-wide energy-, waste-, water-, and/or emissions-reduction goals and publicly share solutions. By improving building design, materials, equipment, and operations, energy-efficiency gains can be achieved across broad segments of the nation’s economy, DOE said.

The Accelerator was developed with commercial end users like Amazon, IKEA, and Target, and already includes manufacturers AAON, Carrier Global Corp., Lennox International, Rheem Manufacturing Co., Trane Technologies, and York International Corp. The Accelerator aims to bring more efficient, affordable next-generation heat-pump rooftop units to market as soon as 2027 — which will slash both emissions and energy costs in half compared to natural gas-fueled heat pumps, according to the DOE. If deployed at scale, they could save American businesses and commercial entities $5 billion on utility bills every year.

The Better Buildings Summit is an annual leadership conference that convenes more than 800 attendees for three days of meetings, peer exchange, and professional recognition.