Buildings Upgrade Prize

The U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Office announced 45 teams as finalists for the Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP). Buildings UP provides $22+ million in cash prizes and technical assistance to teams developing scalable and replicable initiatives for widespread energy efficiency and efficient electrification building upgrades. 

The Phase 1 winners, representing 32 states, were chosen in two prize pathways: Equity-Centered Innovation and Open Innovation. 

Thirty-nine teams in the Equity-Centered Innovation Pathway were selected to move onto Phase 2 of the prize. Each team will receive a $400,000 cash prize, as well as technical assistance.

Six teams in Phase 1 Open Innovation Pathway were selected to move to Phase 2. Each team will receive a $200,000 cash prize, as well as technical assistance.

Please see the list of winning teams below, and learn more about each team's concepts on the Teams tab. You can also read the official winner announcement on energy.gov. 

Congratulations to our Phase 1 Winners! 

• Appalachian Voices, Boone, NC  
• Blueprint 15, Inc, Syracuse, NY  
• Centennial Parkside CDC, Philadelphia, PA  
• City of Everett, Everett, MA  
• City of Las Cruces, Las Cruces, NM 
• City of Olympia, Olympia, WA 
• City of San Luis Obispo, San Luis Obispo, CA  
• CLEAResult Consulting Inc., Austin, TX 
• Climate + Energy Project, Hutchinson, KS 
• College of the Atlantic, Bar Harbor, ME  
• Community Housing Partners Corporation, Christiansburg, VA 
• Community Power, Minneapolis, MN 
• County of Ventura, Ventura, CA 
• Ecolibrium3, Duluth, MN 
• Energy Smart Colorado, Inc., Frisco, CO  
• Evanston Development Cooperative, Evanston, IL  
• Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions, Reston, VA  
• Green The Church, Oakland, CA  
• Green & Healthy Homes Initiative Inc., Baltimore, MD  
• Groundswell Inc., Washington, DC 
• Hijra House Association, Pass Christian, MS  
• Hope Village Revitalization, Detroit, MI  
• Imani Works, Inc., Chicago, IL 
• IMPACT Community Action, Columbus, OH  
• Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government, Louisville, KY 
• Metropolitan Energy Center, Kansas City, MO  
• Native Village of Kotzebue, Kotzebue, AK 
• New North Carolina Project, Concord, NC  
• New Sun Rising, Millvale, PA  
• passivhausMAINE, Freeport, ME  
• Peak Harvest Service, LLC, Venice, FL  
• Red Feather Development Group, Flagstaff, AZ  
• Rosebud Sioux Tribe, Rosebud, SD 
• Rural People's Voice, Winthrop, WA 
• San Francisco Department of the Environment, San Francisco, CA
• Shifted Energy, Inc., Honolulu, HI  
• Slipstream Group, Inc., Madison, WI  
• Southeastern Utah Association of Local Governments, Moab, UT 
• The Alaska Center, Fairbanks, AK 
• The U.S. Green Building Council, Washington, DC 
• Together New Orleans Sponsoring Committee/Together New Orleans, New Orleans 
• TRC, Portland, OR  
• Urban Green Council, New York, NY  
• West Anniston Foundation, Anniston, AL  
• Zero Home Corporation, Golden, CO  

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP) is a capacity-building prize focused on reducing greenhouse gas emissions in existing buildings through energy efficiency and efficient electrification. It supports innovative initiative models, leveraging billions in federal funding for energy efficiency and efficient electrification to accelerate building upgrades and achieve greenhouse gas reduction, equity, economic development, and health goals.

Thank you to all of the Buildings Upgrade Prize (Buildings UP) applicants for submitting your initiatives to support the transformation of existing U.S. buildings into more energy-efficient and clean energy-ready homes, commercial spaces, and communities. 

Phase 1 winners are anticipated to be announced in October. We will post a list of the winners to this HeroX page and also notify all applicants via email once the announcement is made.

Thank you all very much for your patience, and we look forward to the next steps of this groundbreaking prize!

Buildings Upgrade Prize applications are due today by 5 p.m. ET!

• View the Official Rules before submitting to ensure you meet all the eligibility criteria and understand the requirements of the submission materials. 
• View Buildings UP Quick Start Guide
• If you have any questions, contact the prize administrators at .

Don't miss you chance to compete for your share of $22M+ in cash prizes and technical assistance to support actionable and scalable solutions that advance energy efficiency and efficient electrification upgrades in existing U.S. buildings. 

Submit your application before 5 p.m. ET. 

The Buildings Upgrade Prize Submission deadline for both the Open Innovation and Equity-Centered Pathways is less than one week away!

All Phase 1 submission are due Tuesday, July 18 by 5 p.m. ET. 

As a reminder, Phase 1 teams should address the following in their submissions: 

• Eligibility information (not public)
• Team information (partially public) 
• Concept plan narratives (not public)
• Summary slide (public) 
• Video pitch (optional; public)
• Letters of support (see rules to determine if required for your submission; not public) 

We highly encourage submitting before the deadline to avoid any technical difficulties. Anyone interested is encouraged to apply. Be sure to view the Official Rules  and the Buildings UP Quick Start Guide before submitting to ensure you meet all the eligibility criteria and understand the requirements of the submission materials. 

If you have any questions about the prize requirements or regarding your specific submission, please contact the prize administrators at .

The last chance for drop-in office hours is this Thursday, July 13^th 12-1:30 p.m. ET! This is the final opportunity to have your application questions answered live. Register here to receive the webinar link. 

Can’t make the office hours? The Buildings UP website has a lot of helpful resources as you finalize your application such as: 

• Phase 1 Quick Start Guide
• Recordings of Past Webinars
• Answer to FAQs
• Rules in English
• Reglas en Español 

If you have questions, you can contact us directly at . Remember, the deadline for submitting an application is Tuesday, July 18^th at 5 p.m. ET. We look forward to reviewing your applications!