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Library

This library contains research reports produced by the Building America program and other building science resources used to support this Solution Center. The materials cover both new construction and existing homes. Use the search box and/or the filters to explore hundreds of residential building resources. Access to some references not produced by Building America may require purchase from the publisher. Documents are listed alphabetically. While we continually update our database, links may have changed since posting. Please contact our webmaster if you find broken links.

Showing results 1 - 39 of 39

Author(s)
Washington State Building Code Council
Organization(s)
Washington State Department of Enterprise Services
Publication Date
Description
State building energy code for the State of Washington.
Author(s)
Burch Jay,
Thornton Jeff
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Thermal Energy System Specialists,
TESS
Publication Date
Description
Document outlining the current and the proposed draws and estimates typical ratings changes from draw specification changes for typical systems in four cities.
Author(s)
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Organization(s)
NEEA
Publication Date
Description
Specifications for water heating systems designed to advance higher performing electric and gas heat pump water heaters.
Author(s)
Dwiantoro Deny,
Walters R,
Ries R
Organization(s)
Building Energy Efficient Homes for America,
BEEHA,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report describing methodology, analysis, and findings from a case study of a 110-unit retrofit of gas tankless water heaters in a hot/humid climate in Alachua County, Florida.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Training module describing the operation, efficiency, consumer and seller benefits, and cost comparison of Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWH) against conventional gas, oil, or electric water heaters.
Author(s)
Ecotope
Organization(s)
Energy Trust of Oregon
Publication Date
Description
Design guide providing solutions and tools for designing central heat pump water heater systems in multifamily and other commercial buildings.
Author(s)
Bohac Dave,
Schoenbauer Ben,
Huelman Patrick H
Organization(s)
University of Minnesota,
UMN,
NothernSTAR,
NSTAR,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report describing combined space- and water-heating (combi) systems using a high-efficiency direct-vent burner.
Author(s)
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Organization(s)
NEEA
Publication Date
Description
List of multifamily commercial heat pump water heater products that meet the NEEA Advanced Water Heating Specification Requirements.
Author(s)
Fang Xia,
Maguire Jeff,
Wilson Eric
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Research report providing a comparison of the most common residential water heating technologies to determine energy-efficient and cost-effective water heating technologies are when subjected to a variety of typical operating conditions.
Author(s)
Maguire Jeff,
Earle Lieko,
Booten Chuck,
Hancock C E
Organization(s)
Mountain Energy Partnership,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL
Publication Date
Description
Report about a hybrid condensing water heater (thermal efficiency = 0.973, energy factor = 0.95) installed in an occupied home in Sacramento, California, and monitored for one year to determine the actual in situ efficiency.
Author(s)
Hoeschele Marc,
Haile James,
Grant Peter
Organization(s)
Pacific Gas and Electric Company,
PG&E,
Energy Transition Coordinating Council,
ETCC
Publication Date
Description
Report describing the performance, cost, and carbon impacts of unitary heat pump water heaters with load-shifting controls in a shared configuration for a multi-family project, highlighting significant savings in energy usage, CO2 emissions, and utility costs.
Author(s)
Hoeschele Marc,
Weitzel Elizabeth
Organization(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
ARBI,
Davis Energy Group,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
The main objective of this expert meeting was to bring together a group of experts intimately involved with issues related to assessing the performance of residential high efficiency water heating systems.
Author(s)
Aldrich Robb
Organization(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
CARB,
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA
Publication Date
Description
Brochure on specifications for solar thermal systems.
Author(s)
Ecotope,
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Organization(s)
Ecotope,
NEEA
Publication Date
Description
Report describing the significant potential for energy use reductions through heat pump water heaters, which have been a crucial part of Northwest power plans for decades and have recently achieved substantial savings with new integrated models and climate specifications.
Author(s)
Hoeschele Marc,
Weitzel Elizabeth
Organization(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
ARBI,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Davis Energy Group
Publication Date
Description
Report on a project that enhanced the HWSIM distribution system model to more accurately model pipe heat transfer.
Author(s)
Widder Sarah H,
Metzger Cheryn E,
McIntosh Joshua A,
Petersen Joseph M
Organization(s)
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance,
NEEA,
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Publication Date
Description
Report describing the objective evaluation of space conditioning interactions between heat pump water heaters and home heating systems during winter 2016-2017, revealing a smaller than anticipated impact on space conditioning loads.
Author(s)
Kingston T,
Scott S
Organization(s)
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC,
Gas Technology Institute,
GTI Energy
Publication Date
Description
Report summarizing results of testing emerging combo water heating technologies under controlled laboratory operations, that differentiate the performance of the various packaged equipment configurations being offered.
Author(s)
Hudon Kate,
Merrigan Tim,
Burch Jay,
Maguire Jeff
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL
Publication Date
Description
Report identifying the target market for solar water heaters and potential pathways and cost/performance targets that must be met for these systems to realize large energy savings.
Author(s)
Neuhauser Ken,
Gates Cathy,
Pettit Betsy
Organization(s)
Building Science Corporation,
BSC
Publication Date
Description
Guidebook providing useful examples of high performance retrofit techniques for the building enclosure of wood frame residential construction in a cold and somewhat wet climate.
Author(s)
Bohac Dave,
Schoenbauer Ben,
Huelman Patrick H
Organization(s)
NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership,
NorthernSTAR,
University of Minnesota,
UMN
Publication Date
Description
Report describing the installation and operation of forced-air heating and domestic hot water combi systems in residential homes.
Author(s)
Brozyna Kevin,
Rapport Ari
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Document developed to help residential builders and retrofitters transition from tank-type water heaters to tankless water heaters.
Author(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Organization(s)
ARBI,
NREL
Publication Date
Description
Study in which a central heat pump water heater system was monitored in detail and used to create a model for assessing similar systems in various climates.
Author(s)
Dentz Jordan,
Henderson Hugh,
Podorson David
Organization(s)
Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions,
ARIES,
Levy Partnership,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report providing information to researchers, utility program managers, and building owners interested in controlling heating energy waste and improving resident comfort.
Author(s)
Khanolkar Amruta,
Egolf Mischa,
Gabriel Noah
Organization(s)
New Buildings Institute,
NBI
Publication Date
Description
Report describing the key findings from the first third-party field validation of 120-volt heat pump water heater (HPWH) technology, addressing the significant barriers to their adoption and emphasizing their potential role in reducing carbon emissions from residential water heating.
Author(s)
Bohac Dave,
Schoenbauer Ben,
Hewett Martha,
Huelman Patrick H
Organization(s)
NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership,
NorthernSTAR,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
University of Minnesota,
UMIN
Publication Date
Description
Report presenting results of a laboratory experiment studying combi systems as a mode to eliminate safety issues associated with natural draft appliances.
Author(s)
Burch Jay,
Huggins Jim,
Long Steven,
Thornton Jeff
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Solar Rating & Certification Corporation,
SRCC,
Thermal Energy System Specialists,
TESS
Publication Date
Description
Document discussing changes in testing the annual performance ratings for solar water heaters.
Author(s)
Colon Carlos J,
Parker Danny S
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC,
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report comparing the performance of seven differing types of residential water heating systems in a side-by-side test configuration over a full year period.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
Description
A website providing information on how to properly size a water heater based on tank size, volume, peak hour demand and other factors.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Website describing how solar water heaters -- also called solar domestic hot water systems -- can be a cost-effective way to generate hot water for your home.
Author(s)
Staller J,
Springer David,
German Alea,
Hoeschele Marc,
Zhang Y
Organization(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
ARBI,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
Davis Energy Group,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report about proper water heater selection developed to provide step-by-step procedures for evaluating preferred cost-effective options for energy efficient water heater alternatives based on local utility rates, climate, and anticipated loads.
Author(s)
Backman Christine,
Hoeschele Marc
Organization(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
ARBI,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Davis Energy Group,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Research study comparing TRNSYS Type 604 pipe model against laboratory pipe heat loss test data and detailed field monitoring data.
Author(s)
BetterBricks
Organization(s)
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance,
NEEA
Publication Date
Description
Website containing useful resources regarding central heat pump water heater systems.