Library

Article describing a study of the potential to use heat pumps to heat and cool homes across the United States, including cold climate locations like Alaska.

Article describing benefits of ECM motors and how they can be installed as retrofit motors in HVAC equipment.

Case study describing novel technique for installing exterior spray foam on foundation walls that uses high-pressure water sprayer and a “hydro vac” to remove dirt along the foundation wall.

Expert meeting identifying installation practices that provide the best installed efficiency for residential gas furnaces, explain how AFUE and field efficiency can differ, and investigate the impact of installation practices on the efficiency and long-term durability of the furnace.

Expert meeting held to discuss simplified space conditioning systems in low load homes, including the relationship between advanced thermal enclosures, space conditioning systems and comfort.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is interested in finding cost-effective solutions for deep energy retrofits (DERs) related to exterior wall insulation in a cold climate, with targets of 50% peak load reduction and 50% space conditioning energy savings.

Article from Building Science Corporation on construction techniques for extreme heat conditions in Dubai and Las Vegas.

Study characterizing how foundation heat exchangers (FHXs) used in residential ground source heat pump systems represent a potential cost savings due to their lesser first cost over other types of heat exchangers.

Documents describing the similarities and differences between the National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) minimum requirements and the requirements of the International Codes® (I-Codes®) and ASCE 24, Flood Resistant Design and Construction, a standard referenced by the I-Codes., and illustrating...

Fact sheet discussing designs for prefabricated safe rooms built to ICC 500 standards mentioned in FEMA P-361.

Information sheet providing detail about hand fabrication of a one-piece straight duct from a 48" x 120" x 1" thick (1.22 m x 3.05 m x 25 mm) sheet where the total inside duct dimensions equals 112" (2.84 m) or less.

Report outlining how Smart ventilation controls (SVC) balance energy consumption, comfort, and IAQ by optimizing mechanical ventilation operation to reduce the heating and/or cooling loads, improve management of indoor moisture, and maintain IAQ equivalence according to ASHRAE 62.2.

Report of a field evaluation of four novel roof designs to see how each design would reduce space-conditioned energy use so that the knowledge gained could be applied to the design of new manufactured homes.

Information sheet with an analysis of mini split heat pump systems.

Report about field testing that characterizes the uniformity of room-to-room ventilation air distribution under various operating conditions by examining multi-zone tracer gas decay curves and calculating local age-of-air.

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...

ASHRAE Q&A addressing HVAC filtration and disinfection for reducing the spread of COVID-19.

Article describing five fundamental changes to building construction from the last 50 years and their modern construction consequences.

Standard providing a comprehensive approach to evaluating, selecting, specifying and installing flexible duct in HVAC systems.

Research study outlining savings from reducing air infiltration, with and without the addition of mechanical ventilation, using two identical laboratory homes designed to model existing Florida building stock.

This five-page brochure contains basic information on flood cleanup with illustrations and links to more detailed information.

Report describing dry floodproofing technologies for non-residential buildings, including information about regulatory requirements, design considerations, and descriptions of floodproofing methods and equipment.

Article describing the effective R-values of various subslab insulation products, including foil bubble pack.

Report about development of effective strategies to reduce the overall building energy use in line with Building America goals in this modestly priced market rate project.

Checklist highlighting the requirement for metal structural connections and materials fasteners used to retrofit or construct FORTIFIED buildings less than 3,000 ft from saltwater to be suitably protected from corrosion.

Checklist intending to clarify FORTIFIED Home™ eligibility requirements that relate to a home’s foundation.

Handbook providing guidance on the design and construction of foundations for homes, including insulation, air sealing, and water management details for basements, crawlspaces, and slabs.

Report describing a project aimed at developing validated models and design tools for foundation heat exchangers.

Article describing a numerical model that can be used to size foundation heat exchanger (FHX) systems.

Web article discussing the primary approaches to waterproofing concrete foundations.

Article describing what the building codes say about frost-protected shallow foundations as a cost-saving alternative to conventional concrete foundations.

Guides describing frost-protected shallow foundations as an alternative method for building an energy-efficient foundation for a house in a cold climate that uses less concrete and saves on labor.

Article describing frost-protected shallow foundations with construction drawing details.

Website highlighting the DOE Building Technologies Office Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings Initiative, including technical reports, other publications, resources, and presentations.

Report evaluating HVAC building technologies based on their ability to provide grid services and the type of value provided, including efficiency, load shed, load shift, and modulation.

Report evaluating lighting and electronic building technologies based on their ability to provide grid services and the type of value provided, including efficiency, load shed, load shift, and modulation.

Report providing an introduction to core concepts of GEBs, and explaining how flexible building loads can be integrated and controlled to benefit consumers, the grid, and society more broadly.

Report addressing the current state of these technologies and the challenges of adapting these to the GEB context.

Report focuseing on dynamic window and opaque envelope technologies for GEBs, including electrochromic glazing, automated attachments, and thermal storage.

Report presenting a cold climate project examining and alternative approach to ground source heat pump ground loop design.

Factsheet describing how to install air source heat pumps for residential heating and cooling in cold climates.

Factsheet describing how to install air source heat pumps for residential heating and cooling in cold climates.

Presentation about proper installation of flexible ducts.

Report detailing the monitored and modeled performance of a solar home outside of Washington DC.

A ENERGY STAR guide on efficient heating, ventilation and cooling systems in residential homes.

Report describing the various heat pump retrofit options for multifamily buildings in the U.S., segmented by building typology and heating system, to support better environmental, economic, and health outcomes.

Article discussing the advantages of using heat pumps and/or hydronic forced air heat instead of furnaces in high-performance homes.

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

Factsheet profiling a simple modification that can be made to window air-conditioners to improve their energy efficiency.