The Center is the home of three programs--Building Technologies, Energy Analysis, and Indoor Environment. It serves as a national and international source of information for energy-efficient technology, provides technical support to energy and environmental policymakers, supports and creates institutions and demonstration programs, provides a training ground for students in the energy field, and facilitates transfer of technology and information to the private sector.
Researchers at the Center recognize that despite significant, steady progress since the energy crises of the 1970s, a large potential for energy savings remains to be realized. The Center's interdisciplinary staff of 250 studies a wide spectrum of environmental, economic, and technical aspects of energy-efficiency activities, each helping to document that energy efficiency is a new and highly cost-effective energy resource.