Library | Building America Solution Center

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 - 21 of 21

Building America Best Practices Series Volume 14: HVAC: A Guide for Contractors to Share with Homeowners

Author(s)

Gilbride Theresa L,

Baechler Michael C,

Hefty Marye G,

Hand James R,

Love Pat M

Organization(s)

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL,

Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

ORNL

Publication Date

August, 2011

Report providing information about energy-efficient heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) equipment options to help homeowners cut their energy use, reduce their carbon footprint, and increase their homes comfort, health, and safety.

Choosing Thermostatic Radiator Valves

Author(s)

Gifford

Organization(s)

American Boiler Manufacturers Association

Publication Date

January, 2004

Part 2 of an article discussing how to maximize two-pipe steam systems for resident space heating.

Development and Validation of Algorithms That Analyze Communicating Thermostat Data to Identify Enclosure Retrofit Opportunities

Author(s)

Zeifman Michael,

Roth Kurt

Organization(s)

Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems,

USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Publication Date

July, 2022

Technical report describing algorithms that use communicating thermostat heating data and that were developed to optimize customer adoption of energy conservation measures, enhancing the identification of retrofit opportunities, estimating post-retrofit energy savings, and enabling home-specific...

Development of an Outdoor Temperature Based Control Algorithm for Residential Mechanical Ventilation Control

Author(s)

Less,

Walker,

Tang

Organization(s)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,

LBNL

The main principle of smart ventilation used in this study is to shift ventilation from time periods with large indoor-outdoor temperature differences, to periods where these differences are smaller, and their energy impacts are expected to be less.

Energy Saver

Author(s)

U.S. Department of Energy

Organization(s)

DOE

Publication Date

February, 2018

Website from the U.S. Department of Energy providing consumers with information on saving energy and using renewable energy technologies.

Energy Saver: Thermostats

Author(s)

Energy Saver

Organization(s)

DOE

Publication Date

August, 2021

Article by Energy Saver on how to save energy with your thermostat.

Energy Savings and Peak Demand Reduction of a SEER 21 Heat Pump vs. a SEER 13 Heat Pump with Attic and Indoor Duct Systems

Author(s)

Cummings James B,

Withers Charles R

Organization(s)

Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,

BA-PIRC,

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC

Publication Date

March, 2014

Research study describing experiments run in an unoccupied 1600 square foot house to evaluate the delivered performance as well as the relative performance of a SEER 21 variable capacity heat pump versus a SEER 13 heat pump.

Energy Star Smart Thermostats

Author(s)

ENERGY STAR

Organization(s)

DOE

Publication Date

August, 2021

Guide from Energy Star on smart thermostats and offering some guidance for choosing one.

Field Validation of a Smart Energy Recovery Ventilation System Using Low-Cost Indoor Air Quality Sensors

Author(s)

Hains Bryant,

Abi Saab Rawad,

Giddings Tylesha,

Magande Hugh,

Grygier Jenna,

Liang Donghai,

Gao Han,

Sarnat Jeremy,

Horner Elliott

Organization(s)

Southface,

USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Publication Date

March, 2021

Technical report on a field validation study that utilizes low-cost indoor air quality sensors to assess a smart ventilation system's effectiveness in maintaining acceptable indoor humidity in low-load homes in humid environments, revealing that while the smart ventilation algorithm demonstrated...

Heat Pumps for Heating and Cooling

Author(s)

Town of Concord Massachusetts

Organization(s)

Town of Concord Massachusetts

Publication Date

March, 2023

Webpage providing basic information on various types of heat pumps and their applications in Massachusetts.

How to Make a Two-Pipe Steam Heating System Really Work

Author(s)

Gifford

Organization(s)

American Boiler Manufacturers Association

Publication Date

June, 2003

Article describing how to use radiator inlet orifices optimize two-pipe steam heating systems.

Hydronic Heating Retrofits for Low-Rise Multifamily Buildings:Phase 1: Boiler Control Replacement and Monitoring

Author(s)

Dentz,

Henderson

Organization(s)

ARIES,

Levy Partnership

Publication Date

April, 2012

Report evaluating the relative effectiveness of various control and distribution strategies to improve hydronic space heating performance in existing low-rise multifamily buildings

Laboratory Evaluation of Air Flow Measurement Methods for Residential HVAC Returns

Author(s)

Walker,

Stratton

Organization(s)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Report on performance of current diagnostics as well as a draft test method for use in future air flow evaluations.

Laboratory Evaluation of Air Flow Measurement Methods for Residential HVAC Returns for New Instrument Standards

Author(s)

Walker,

Stratton

Organization(s)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,

California Energy Commission

Guidance on performance of current diagnostics as well as a draft test method for use in future air flow evaluations.

Measure Guideline: Condensing Boilers - Optimizing Efficiency and Response Time During Setback Operation

Author(s)

Arena Lois

Organization(s)

Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,

CARB,

Steven Winter Associates,

SWA,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL

Publication Date

February, 2014

Report providing step-by-step instructions for heating contractors and hydronic designers for selecting the proper control settings to maximize system performance and improve response time when using a thermostat setback.

Measure Guideline: Ventilation Cooling

Author(s)

Springer David,

Dakin Bill,

German Alea

Organization(s)

Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,

ARBI,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

Davis Energy Group

Publication Date

April, 2012

Guideline that provides information on properly applying, designing, and installing mechanical ventilation cooling systems for homes located in located in hot-dry and cold-dry climates, as well as a means of understanding the benefits, costs, and tradeoffs of these systems.

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

December, 2017

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.

Smart Ventilation Controls Boost Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality

Author(s)

Burkett Helen,

Martin Eric

Organization(s)

NREL,

USDOE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy,

EERE

Publication Date

August, 2020

Fact sheet outlining the research behind how smart ventilation controls boost energy efficiency and indoor air quality, including research findings from seasonal temperature, timer, and real-time weather-based controls showing that all three systems showed potential for energy savings while...

Supplemental Dehumidification in Warm-Humid Climates, BA-1310

Author(s)

Rudd

Organization(s)

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

Publication Date

July, 2013

This document covers a description of the need and applied solutions for supplemental dehumidification in warm-humid climates, especially for energy efficient homes where the sensible cooling load has been dramatically reduced.

Thermostatic radiator valve (TRV) demonstration project

Author(s)

McNamara

Organization(s)

NYSERDA

Publication Date

December, 1995

This report describes the results of a multiyear research project that investigated the energy savings attributable to thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) installed on one-pipe steam distribution systems.

Thermostatic Radiator Valve Evaluation

Author(s)

Dentz Jordan,

Ansanelli Eric

Organization(s)

Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions Collaborative,

ARIES,

Levy Partnership

Publication Date

January, 2015

Report on a project conducted to better understand the current usage of thermostatic radiator valves by key market players in steam and hot water heating and to conduct limited experiments on the effectiveness of new and old thermostatic radiator valves as a means of controlling space temperatures...