Library

Report showing installers how to attach ducts, pipes, and associated equipment to buildings to minimize earthquake damage.

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.

Report describing as-found interior platform return plenums, the magnitude of their contribution to the total amount of duct leakage, and techniques and results of retrofits executed by the HVAC trade during equipment replacement.

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

Report presenting lab evaluation of five heat pump water heaters available in the US market today.

Report proposing mini-split heat pumps as a new retrofit option to replace resistance heating in the Pacific Northwest.

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

Report on the long-term performance of mini-split heat pumps.

Document presenting a cost effective method that was used by four builders in the Gainesville, FL area to construct interior ducts in over a dozen site built homes.

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.

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

Factsheet describing how to test the duct leakage of a manufactured home in the manufactured home factory.

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

Document pertaining to design and application guidance for combination space and tankless domestic hot water heating systems used in residential buildings, based on field evaluation, testing, and industry meetings.

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.

Document intended for designers and installers of hydronic heating systems interested in maximizing the overall system efficiency of condensing boilers when coupled with baseboard convectors. It is applicable to new and retrofit projects.

Document with evaluation of 14 heat pump water heaters (including three recently released HPWH products) installed in existing homes in the northeast region of the United States.

Report providing guidance on how to implement a compact duct system inside a plenum truss bulkhead of a one-story, slab-on-grade home.

Report describing recommendations for optimizing flexible duct, constant-volume HVAC systems using junction boxes.

Document covering the technical aspects of buried and insulated ducts (BEDs), as well as the advantages, disadvantages, and risks of BEDs compared to alternative strategies.

Report describing the sealing and insulating of HVAC duct systems in existing homes.

Document illustrating guidelines for efficient installation of interior duct systems in new housing.

Document developed to help residential builders and retrofitters transition from tank-type water heaters to tankless water heaters.

Research study analyzing measured energy savings from a moderate retrofit by comparing post-retrofit performance with measured pre-retrofit monitored data.

Standard that prescribes a testing method to determine the efficiency of space heating and/or cooling thermal distribution systems under seasonal and design conditions. This version of the standard was published in the year 2014, and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. The...

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

Report on the use of vapor diffusion ports to reduce moisture issues with buried ductwork in unvented attics in hot-humid climates.

Report detailing a three-winter study on unvented roof assemblies in a cold climate, assessing insulation material, ridge diffusion vent presence, vapor control membranes, relative humidity, and interstitial airflow. Results indicate that utilizing air-permeable fibrous fill insulations in unvented...

Report detailing a three-winter study on unvented roof assemblies in a cold climate, assessing insulation material, ridge diffusion vent presence, vapor control membranes, relative humidity, and interstitial airflow; results indicate that utilizing air-permeable fibrous fill insulations in unvented...

Conference paper making the case that moving ducts to conditioned space saves energy, is practical for production builders (when accompanied by careful pre-planning), and creates significant andmarketable energy savings for homebuyers.

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.

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

Guide providing information on controlling attic ductwork sweating.

Fact sheet describing a novel, simplified air delivery system using a plug-and-play model that features 3-inch diameter flexible ducts, efficient fittings, and a simplified installation process that resulted in successful market engagement through commercialization.

Document about development of recommendations to help residential HVAC designers select optimal supply inlet size and system operating conditions to maintain good thermal comfort in low heating and cooling load homes.

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

Research study using modeling to determine optimal combination(s) of components/pumps, high efficiency heat sources, plumbing configurations and controls that result in the highest overall efficiency for a hydronic system.

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

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

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.

DOE case study findings on raised ceiling interior duct systems.

Report including an overview of the buried duct research and information the retrofit methodology used to install and test the three existing duct systems, including short- and long-term data collection.

Document presenting results from testing prototype HVAC duct system designs that would locate the entire length of duct work within the air and thermal barriers of the building envelope. These include one that incorporated a high-side supply register, one that utilized a single soffit located within...

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.

Presentation providing information about correctly installing ductwork in new and existing homes.

Report proposes high performance duct measures for inclusion in California Title 24 building energy efficiency standards for 2016.

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.

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.