Library

Article from The Earthbound Report on passive cooling design strategies for homes located in hot climates.

Factsheet outlining the advantages of using heat pumps, which are an efficient way to heat and cool a home.

Factsheet outlining how window attachments like cellular shades, roller shades, storm windows with low-emissivity coatings, and solar screens are low-cost steps that can be implemented to keep homes cool in the summer.

Webpage providing curriculum with links to presentations and problem sets for teaching an understanding of sizing cold climate heat pumps.

Paper providing a comprehensive overview of HVAC system design considerations and challenges specific to multifamily residential buildings, focusing on optimizing performance and addressing common issues.

Correcting pressure imbalances in your HVAC system can result in a healthier, more efficient home.

Book providing project management guidance in maintaining satisfactory indoor air quality (IAQ) of occupied buildings undergoing renovation or construction.

Study evaluating opportunities for reducing cooling energy use in a hot dry climate through the use of shading and window options.

Article describing how air speed affects thermal comfort and how fans can provide energy savings.

Study using simulations to understand the impact that shading and natural ventilation would have had on the survivability of non-air-conditioned buildings during the 2021 heat wave in the Pacific Northwest.

Report detailing natural ventilation and passive airflow systems.

Webpage published by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) that lists more than 300 consensus codes and standards intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks.

News article describing the state of the residential battery storage market.

Measure Guideline describing how to assess and carry out the isolation of natural draft combustion appliances from the conditioned spaces of low-rise residential buildings.

This measure guideline provides guidance on combustion safety inspection procedures for appliances and heating equipment that use indoor air for combustion and dilution of flue gases in low-rise residential buildings.

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.

Study investigating measured cooling energy savings in homes across the U.S. from the installation of roofing with higher solar reflectance.

Study investigating measured cooling energy savings from the installation of wall finishes with higher solar reflectance.

This report investigates whether mini-split heat pumps can live up to their potential for one market segment: multifamily retrofits.

Book with indepth information about hydronic systems for residential and commercial buildings.

This report is designed to meet ASHRAE 62.2-2010/2013 and ANSI/ACCA’s 5 QI-2015 protocol, thereby improving the performance of HVAC equipment in new homes when compared to homes built to minimum code.

DOE Energy Saver webpage providing a brief summary of natural ventilation for houses.

Database compiling extended capacity data for numerous cold climate heat pump manufacturers and models.

Report discussing the benefits of modern evaporative cooling systems for use in hot dry climate zones.

Standard containing requirements for carbon monoxide (CO) detection and warning equipment intended to protect lives by warning occupants of the presence of CO in sufficient time to allow occupants to escape or take other appropriate action.

Document describing recommended modeling rules, potential compliance credits, and eligibility criteria for residential night ventilation cooling systems for California’s Title 24 energy efficiency standards.

Report describing the experimentally evaluated potential of a novel residential night cooling concept.

Book describing passive cooling techniques from a technical and academic perspective.

This study evaluated 11 measures for passive cooling using four heat resilience metrics with and without grid power in Fresno CA and found the two most effective measures were installing solar-control window films and adding roof insulation; natural ventilation also helped reduce overheating in...

Website providing guidance on passive heating, cooling, and lighting methods.

Paper summarizing passive and low-energy cooling systems for buildings.

Blog article describing considerations for how to use trees for shading to reduce cooling energy demand.

Large scale simulation study investigating the effects of cool roofs and walls on buildings of various vintages across the U.S., with special attention given to California.

Searchable database of over 3,000 roofing products that have undergone solar reflectance and thermal emittance testing.

Searchable database of wall cladding and coating products that have undergone solar reflectance and thermal emittance testing.

This study used an advanced airflow, energy and humidity modeling tool to evaluate the potential for residential mechanical pre-scooling strategies to reduce peak electriciy demand.

Standard covering provisions for electrically operated single- and multiple-station carbon monoxide (CO) alarming devices used in various types of residential occupancies to protect against acute effects of exposure to CO. This version of the standard, originally published in 2001 and revised in...

Standard covering provisions for electrically operated single- and multiple-station carbon monoxide (CO) alarming devices used in various types of residential occupancies to protect against acute effects of exposure to CO. This version of the standard, originally published in 2017 and revised in...

Report describing information from DOE about rules and standards for residential air conditioners and heat pumps.

Webpage describing a DOE Cold Climate Heat Pump Challenge. The challenge engages industry partners and focuses around the Cold Climate Heat Pumps, a more environmental and efficient heating alternative to traditional heating.

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.

Report evaluating mechanical AC precooling strategies in homes as a method for improving the load factor by shifting cooling operation from on-peak to off-peak hours.

DOE report characterizing the installed base of windows and window coverings, and how users operate window coverings in order to enable precise quantification of energy savings.

Web page providing an overview of room-level air conditioning systems such as window units and mini-splits.

Webpage discussing the characteristics of sunlight and how cool roofs work to reduce solar heat gain.

Second part of an article series focusing on servicing high efficiency modcon boilers. This part focuses on paperwork and follow-up communication with the homeowner for scheduling annual maintenance.

Article describing the author's experiences in owning and servicing a modcon boiler.

Study conducted to help determine cost-effective solutions for heating and cooling houses that are designed to be energy efficient.

Spreadsheet tool that computes solar reflectance index (SRI) and roof surface temperature based on solar reflectance and thermal emittance using ASTM standard E 1980.

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.