SENSOR | DE FOA 0001737

FAQs: DOE ARPA-E SENSOR (Saving Energy Nationwide in Structures with Occupancy Recognition) Funding Opportunity

What is the SENSOR program?

SENSOR (Saving Energy Nationwide in Structures with Occupancy Recognition) is a U.S. Department of Energy ARPA-E funding opportunity focused on reducing building energy use by improving how heating, cooling, and ventilation systems respond to actual occupancy. The program targets sensor technologies that can reliably determine whether people are present (residential) and how many people are present in a defined zone (commercial), enabling HVAC controls to adjust ventilation and temperature based on real conditions instead of assumptions or basic motion triggers.

What is the main objective of the funding opportunity?

The core objective is to enable approximately 30 percent reductions in residential heating and cooling energy by using sensors that can reliably determine true occupancy, and approximately 30 percent reductions in commercial building energy by using sensors that can accurately count people within a defined HVAC zone so ventilation and temperature can be adjusted accordingly.

Why is ARPA-E focusing on occupancy recognition for energy savings?

The opportunity is based on the idea that HVAC systems can save significant energy when they can automatically relax temperature and ventilation settings in empty or lightly occupied spaces, then return to comfort conditions when people are present. ARPA-E emphasizes savings without sacrificing occupant comfort by avoiding incorrect “empty” decisions that would lead to discomfort, complaints, or overrides that eliminate savings.

How is this different from typical smart thermostats or motion sensors?

SENSOR is positioned as applied R&D for high-risk, high-reward technologies and is described as not being about incremental upgrades to existing thermostats or building automation. A key program requirement is recognizing true human presence rather than simple motion, since motion-based approaches can miss stationary occupants and create comfort issues that undermine energy savings.

What problem is ARPA-E trying to solve in building systems?

ARPA-E highlights sensing as the bottleneck: many buildings already have downstream equipment (thermostats, controls, variable air volume systems, and other HVAC components) that could use better occupancy data with only minor modifications. The program is seeking sensing capabilities that are substantially more accurate, reliable, and affordable than commonly available solutions so they can be deployed widely.

What are the technical focus areas in this opportunity?

The FOA describes four technical focus areas:

1. Residential human-presence sensors that output an actionable occupied vs. unoccupied signal for automatic temperature setbacks and recoveries.
2. Commercial people-counting sensors that estimate the number of occupants in a predefined HVAC zone to enable better temperature control and demand-controlled ventilation.
3. Low-cost, stable, and easily deployable CO2 sensors to improve ventilation control where CO2 is used as an occupancy proxy.
4. Real-world testing and validation, including controlled quasi-real environments and actual field deployments during the program.

What does ARPA-E mean by “true human presence” in residential sensing?

In the FOA description, “true human presence” means detecting whether a home is genuinely occupied, not simply whether motion has occurred. The motivation is that motion-only systems can fail when occupants are stationary, which can trigger unnecessary setbacks, cause comfort complaints, and lead users to override automation (reducing or eliminating the intended energy savings).

What is the expected output or signal for residential sensors?

The residential focus area calls for sensors that produce a simple, actionable signal: occupied vs. unoccupied. This signal is intended to trigger automated HVAC behavior, specifically temperature setbacks to energy-saving setpoints when unoccupied and recoveries back to comfort setpoints when occupied.

What is meant by “commercial people-counting” and “defined HVAC zone”?

The commercial focus area is about sensors that can estimate the number of people within a predefined zone served by HVAC equipment (an HVAC zone). The count is used to better match ventilation and temperature to actual occupancy, including demand-controlled ventilation that adjusts outside-air intake based on real people counts.

Why does the FOA include CO2 sensors as a technical focus area?

The FOA notes that CO2 is widely used as a proxy for occupancy and ventilation control, but adoption and performance can be limited by factors such as cost, calibration drift, and deployment friction. SENSOR includes a specific push for CO2 sensors that are low-cost, stable, and easy to deploy.

What does “real-world testing and validation” require?

The FOA indicates that technologies from the first three focus areas are expected to be proven beyond the lab. This includes validation in controlled quasi-real environments and in real field deployments over the course of the program, so performance claims hold up under practical conditions such as variable layouts, changing usage patterns, and operational constraints.

What does ARPA-E mean by “adoption at scale” in this program?

Adoption at scale is described as central to the program’s impact. ARPA-E is looking for sensor solutions that can meet disruptively low price targets and low failure rates so they can be installed widely and maintained with minimal burden. The FOA description emphasizes that nationwide savings depend on affordability and robustness, not just technical performance in a lab.

Are applicants expected to address barriers to adoption?

Yes. The FOA description states that applicants should explicitly identify adoption barriers (technical, practical, and deployment-related), propose credible approaches to overcome them, and validate those approaches with meaningful real-world data.

Does the FOA mention benefits beyond HVAC energy savings?

Yes. The FOA notes that reliable presence detection and occupant counting could unlock broader improvements in how buildings interact with occupants, implying potential spillover benefits in building automation, space utilization, and responsive controls.

Which agency is issuing this opportunity?

The opportunity was issued by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E).

What is the Funding Opportunity Announcement (FOA) number?

The FOA number provided is DE-FOA-0001737.

What funding instrument is being used?

The posting indicates the funding instrument is a cooperative agreement.

What CFDA number is associated with this opportunity?

The FOA is listed under CFDA 81.135.

Who is eligible to apply?

The opportunity is described as having open eligibility (unrestricted by entity type), subject to any clarifications in the full FOA package.

What is the maximum award size?

The posting lists an award ceiling of up to $10,000,000 per award.

How many awards does ARPA-E expect to make?

The posting states an expectation of around 15 awards.

Where and how are submissions made?

Submissions are handled through ARPA-E eXCHANGE. The FOA description specifies that concept papers are required through that system and should not be submitted by other methods.

Are concept papers required, and what timing guidance is provided?

Yes, concept papers are required through ARPA-E eXCHANGE. Applicants were encouraged to submit concept papers at least 48 hours before the deadline.

Where should applicants look for the complete rules and requirements?

ARPA-E directs applicants to obtain the complete FOA package via the ARPA-E FOA website and to rely on the ARPA-E eXCHANGE user guide for submission instructions and process details.