Library

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.

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.

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.

Webpage describing how to conserve heat or find alternative heat sources during a power outage to keep one room warm.

Web article describing two options for sizing ductless minisplit heat pumps, including a free HVAC sizing tool.

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

Project discussing buried or encapsulated ducts and their pros and cons.

Report describing the installation and operation of forced-air heating and domestic hot water combi systems in residential homes.

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.

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.

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.

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.

A website providing information on the purpose of burners and the components used in burners.

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.

Article from Williams College on the key elements of passive solar design for homes.

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

Article investigating how a linear input/output relationship can be used as a simple model of the performance of a combination hydronic heating system over heating only, DHW only, and combined loads.

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.

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.

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

A research paper exploring the design, installation, repair and maintenance of solar water and pool heating technologies.

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

A research paper discussing the use of foundation heat exchangers for ground source heat pump systems in European climates.

Presentation on urban land use and sustainable building design.

The Technician's Guide equips practitioners with the knowledge to properly implement all of the measurement procedures required in the HVAC QI Specification.

DOE-sponsored report describing the experimental design and results of testing the energy performance of Hunter Douglas double-cell cellular shades under various control schemes in the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Lab Homes.