Search for High-Performing Products in New NREL Database

Users can quickly compare energy performance of everything from LEDs to solar panels on the National Renewable Energy Laboratory’s TPEx website.

The Technology Performance Exchange

The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) recently launched its Technology Performance Exchange (TPEx), a website that provides standardized energy-performance data and allows apples-to-apples comparisons between products for various product categories. TPEx data is geared primarily toward commercial building professionals, but anyone from consumers to those who work for utilities can gain access by registering on the website for free.

According to TPEx, its intent is to act “as a bridge to help energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies overcome the ‘valley of death’” between the risky early-adoption phase of innovative products and widespread adoption (when manufacturing finally becomes profitable). For example, some technologies, such as LED replacement lamps, can evolve before U.S. Department of Energy evaluation and other third-party testing is complete on earlier versions. By providing a platform for comparisons, TPEx could speed advancement and adoption of these new technologies.

TPEx’s data is submitted by manufacturers, suppliers, third-party testing laboratories, and other contributors using standardized data entry forms tailored to each product category. End users can fine-tune searches using a variety of parameters and can compare product information that includes when the data was submitted, who submitted it, and how it was derived. The site is currently accepting data for 17 product categories—such as LED replacement lamps, photovoltaic panels, and boilers—and NREL intends to add eight more categories for envelope insulation, fans, wind turbines, and more.