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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 - 25 of 25

Air-Source Heat Pump Sizing and Selection Guide

Author(s)
Strack Terry,
Sager Jeremy
Organization(s)
Strack & Associates,
Natural Resources Canada,
NRCan,
CanmetENERGY
Publication Date
Document providing step-by-step guidance to sizing air-source heat pumps for a cold climate.

Cooling and Heating Season Impacts of Right-Sizing of Fixed- and Variable-Capacity Heat Pumps With Attic and Indoor Ductwork

Author(s)
Cummings James B,
Withers Charles R,
Kono Jamie E
Organization(s)
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC,
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC
Publication Date
Report on experiments comparing the cooling and heating seasonal and peak demand performance of different variable-capacity air conditioning and heat pump units.

Directory of Certified Product Performance

Author(s)
Air-Conditioning Heating and Refrigeration Institute
Organization(s)
AHRI
Publication Date
Online database with efficiency information about residential HVAC systems and commercial refrigeration equipment.

Ductless Heat Pump Project

Author(s)
NEEA
Organization(s)
NEEA
Publication Date
Webpage describing the successes and ongoing efforts of the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance's Go Ductless ductless heat pump program which successfully encouraged the installation of more than 150,000 minisplit heat pumps in the Northwest between 2010 and 2021.

Energy Saver: Heat Pump Systems

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
Website with consumer information about residential heat pump systems.

Energy Savers: Geothermal Heat Pumps

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
Online reference containing general information about geothermal heat pumps.

Evaluating Moisture Control of Variable-Capacity Heat Pumps in Mechanically Ventilated, Low-Load Homes in Climate Zone 2A

Author(s)
Martin Eric,
Withers Charles,
McIlvaine Janet E R,
Chasar Dave,
Beal David
Organization(s)
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC,
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC
Publication Date
This report evaluates the performance of variable-capacity comfort systems, with a focus on inverter-driven, variable-capacity systems, as well as proposed system enhancements.

Field Evaluation of Advances in Energy-Efficiency Practices for Manufactured Homes

Author(s)
Levy E,
Dentz Jordan,
Ansanelli Eric,
Barker G,
Rath P,
Dadia D
Organization(s)
Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions Collaborative,
ARIES
Publication Date
Report on the field evaluation of whole-building approaches and estimation of the relative contributions of select technologies toward reducing energy use related to space conditioning in new manufactured homes.

Foundation Heat Exchanger Model and Design Tool Development and Validation

Author(s)
Spitler Jeffrey D,
Fisher Daniel E,
Cullin James R,
Xing Lu,
Lee Edwin,
Rees S J,
Fan D
Organization(s)
Oklahoma State University,
OSU,
De Montfort University,
DMU,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
ORNL
Publication Date
Report describing a project aimed at developing validated models and design tools for foundation heat exchangers.

Geothermal Heat Pumps Key Product Criteria

Author(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Organization(s)
EPA
Publication Date
Website with information about ENERGY STAR criteria for geothermal heat pumps.

Ground Source Heat Pump Values Rising

Author(s)
Im,
Liu,
Monk
Organization(s)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Publication Date
Website article discussing the economics of ground source heat pumps.

Heat & Cool Efficiently

Author(s)
ENERGY STAR
Organization(s)
ENERGY STAR
Publication Date
A ENERGY STAR guide on efficient heating, ventilation and cooling systems in residential homes.

Heat Pumps for Heating and Cooling

Author(s)
Town of Concord Massachusetts
Organization(s)
Town of Concord Massachusetts
Publication Date
Webpage providing basic information on various types of heat pumps and their applications in Massachusetts.

Heating and Cooling With a Heat Pump

Author(s)
Natural Resources Canada
Organization(s)
Natural Resources Canada
Publication Date
Report providing information for HVAC designers, installers, and consumers about air source heat pumps.

HVAC – Cold Climate Heat Pump Sizing

Author(s)
Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Organization(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Publication Date
Training module for HVAC technicians on how to size cold climate heat pumps.

Mini-Split Heat Pumps Multifamily Retrofit Feasibility Study

Author(s)
Dentz,
Podorson,
Varshney
Organization(s)
ARIES,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
Levy Partnership
Publication Date
This report investigates whether mini-split heat pumps can live up to their potential for one market segment: multifamily retrofits.

NEEP’s Cold Climate Air Source Heat Pump List

Author(s)
Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships
Organization(s)
NEEP
Publication Date
Database compiling extended capacity data for numerous cold climate heat pump manufacturers and models.

Residential Ground Source Heat Pump Systems Utilizing Foundation Heat Exchangers

Author(s)
Spitler Jeffrey D,
Xing Lu,
Cullin James R,
Fisher Daniel E,
Shonder John,
Im Piljae
Organization(s)
Oklahoma State University,
OSU,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
ORNL
Publication Date
Paper covering a parametric study of foundation heat exchanger-based ground source heat pump systems for several house configurations in a range of European locations, with an emphasis on determining feasible combinations.

Review of Residential Comfort Control Products and Opportunities

Author(s)
Metzger Cheryn E,
Goyal Siddharth,
Baechler Michael C
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Publication Date
This research paper outlines residential HVAC advanced controls and sensors. It includes a technology review, applications, maintenance and commissioning, occupant behavior and a summary of the state-of-the-art technologies for advanced controls for residential HVAC.

Who's Leading: The Dance Between Mini-Splits and Existing HVAC Systems

Author(s)
Metzger
Publication Date
Conference paper presented at the 2020 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings presenting the results of an evaluation of control strategies used when new mini-splits are installed in a home with an existing HVAC system.