Welcome to AMBER
At the Advanced Multiscale Building Energy Research (AMBER) Group, we are committed to creating a positive impact on our communities by integrating rigorous science with community feedback and practical solutions. Our mission is to apply interdisciplinary building science to address daily challenges faced by local and global communities. Each project focuses on specific issues in residential and commercial buildings, utilizing insights from mechanical, civil, electrical, and material engineering, all driven by a social impact perspective and bold innovation.
Group Director: Dr. Paulo Cesar Tabares-Velasco
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What We Do
Building Science Innovation with Impact.
- We do community-scale analysis and implementation. To fully electrify our cities and states, we have to work at the neighborhood scale and leverage the physical and social connections there in partnership with local communities. Examples of multi-scale and multi-disciplinary projects analysis, and optimization in urban and rural communities, such as an 800-home community on the Fort Berthold Indian Reservation, ND; optimization of the Mines campus to reduce energy consumption; and multiple neighborhood-scale retrofitting and electrification efforts.
- We work to make housing resilient, sustainable, and accessible while improving our forest’s health. In collaboration with Timber Age, we are looking at new ways to make…
- We find and develop solutions for everybody. Many technologies are not accessible or can’t work in affordable housing.
- We find and develop solutions for retrofits to make people’s homes and the electric grid resilient to extreme events
- We, in collaboration with the National Laboratory of the Rockies, have enabled accurate modeling of multiple thermal storage technologies in EnergyPlus, BEopt, OpenStudio and URBANopt in use by many researchers worldwide to make buildings and the electric grid more flexible and resilient
- We collaborate with multiple national labs, local and state governments, non-profits, foundations, communities, and building companies to do Building Science Innovation with Impact
How we do it
We focus on how we can make a difference on issues that directly impact people. At the heart of everything we do is the question: how can we enhance people’s quality of life?
- Scale-up Building Retrofits: Over 60 million homes are vulnerable due to poor resilience, indoor air quality, and efficiency, resulting in social, health, and economic risks. Our goal is to empower communities and speed up the transition to sustainable, thriving neighborhoods. By partnering with communities to electrify and retrofit homes at the neighborhood level, we aim to boost participation, cut capital and operating costs, and enhance community resilience and health.
- Affordable Housing: We need more homes—homes that do more than just provide shelter. Using mass timber construction, we strive to build resilient, energy-efficient houses that withstand extreme conditions, promote the well-being of residents, and reduce energy costs, using wood harvested from forest thinning.
- Space-constrained Housing: Many existing technologies don’t suit dense living environments or lack community input. We seek solutions that make homes healthier, more efficient, and resilient by listening to occupants and workers, while considering manufacturing limitations and multi-family living constraints.
- Resilient and Flexible Housing Retrofits: Most technologies are designed for new construction. We explore retrofit solutions that make homes more resilient to extreme events, reduce energy costs, and serve as flexible assets for the electric grid, thereby decreasing vulnerabilities.
- Science Accessibility: Much research remains confined to labs and publications. We believe science should be accessible and beneficial to all.
- Energy Workforce Shortage: We need more energy professionals with bold ideas ready to make a difference. Learn more about our SE@M distinction program.