Library | Building America Solution Center

Showing 1 - 50 of 85 results:

2011 EnergyValue Housing Award Report

2012

Del Bianco Marie,

Sagan D,

Wood Amber

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

National Association of Home Builders Research Center,

NAHBRC,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report assessing the energy performance of the 2011 EVHA winners and to align the EVHA program with the BA program.

A Business Case for Home Performance Contracting

2012

Baechler Michael C,

et al.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL

Report discussing opportunities and trends in the U.S. home performance contracting industry, along with market drivers such as consumer demand; federal, state, and local programs; and utility and non-governmental programs.

A Feasibility Study: Ductless Hydronic Distribution systems with Fan Coil Delivery

2012

Springer David,

Dakin Bill,

Backman Christine

Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,

ARBI,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

Davis Energy Group

Research study estimating potential energy savings relative to conventional ducted air distribution, and identifying equipment requirements, costs, and barriers.

An In-Depth Look at Ground Source Heat Pumps and Other Electric Loads in Two GreenMax Homes

2012

Shapiro Carl,

Puttagunta Srikanth

Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,

CARB,

Steven Winter Associates,

SWA,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL

Report about two test home evaluations that provided valuable data about the true in-field performance of various building mechanical systems and LAMELs.

Analysis of Illinois Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Measure Packages

2013

Baker Julie D,

Brand Larry,

Yee Shannon

Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit,

PARR,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance,

MEEA

Report that collected field data from a whole-home program in Illinois are utilized to compare marketplace-installed measures to the energy saving optimal packages previously developed for 15 housing types.

Approaching "Zero Energy" in the Pacific Northwest Marine Climate

2009

Fuess Chris,

Gordon Andrew,

Lubliner Michael

Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

ORNL

Report about a building project in the marine climate.

Are Your Multi-Family Buildings Accessible?

2009

Stratton Petter A

Steven Winter Associates,

SWA

Document highlighting federal accessibility laws which may apply to a housing development, and common mistakes made in the field which, if avoided, will help to ensure compliance.

Assessment of the U.S. Department of Energy's Home Energy Scoring Tool

2012

Roberts David,

et al.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report assessing the accuracy of HEST as it was being developed and to provide information useful to DOE program managers and HEST development team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Bay Ridge Gardens - Mixed Humid Affordable Multifamily Housing Deep Energy Retrofit

2013

Lyons James,

Moore Mike,

Thompson Margo

Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,

BA-PIRC,

Newport Ventures,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report summarizing commissioning, short-term testing, utility bill data analysis, and results of on-site monitoring of a deep energy retrofit.

BSC Information - Supplemental Humidity Control for Hot-Humid Climates, Sheet 620

2009

Building Science Corporation

BSC

Information sheet offering general recommendations on supplemental humidity control and outlines viable system configurations.

Builders Challenge Quality Criteria Support Document

2010

Baechler Michael C,

et al.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL,

Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

ORNL,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Document providing guidance to U.S. home builders who want to accept the challenge.

Building America Guidance for Identifying and Overcoming Code, Standard, and Rating Method Barriers

2013

Cole Pam C,

Halverson Mark A

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL

Guidance document providing BA research teams and partners with specific information and approaches to identifying and overcoming potential barriers to Building America (BA) innovations arising in and/or stemming from codes, standards, and rating methods.

Building America Program

2021

U.S. Department of Energy

DOE

A website providing information on the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Solution Center, a source for innovations in residential building energy performance, energy efficiency, quality, affordability and comfort for more than 20 years.

Building Science Corporation (BSC) Building America Quality Control Checklist, GM-0802

2008

Building Science Corporation

BSC

Document with the Quality Control Checklist developed as both a guide to assist in the transition to high performance home building, and as a simplified tool to be used as part of any builder's on-site quality control procedures.

Building Science Education: Heat Pump Water Heater Training Module

2024

U.S. Department of Energy

DOE

Training module describing the operation, efficiency, consumer and seller benefits, and cost comparison of Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWH) against conventional gas, oil, or electric water heaters.

Central Heat Pump Water Heater Design Guide

2023

Ecotope

Energy Trust of Oregon

Design guide providing solutions and tools for designing central heat pump water heater systems in multifamily and other commercial buildings.

Climate-Specific Passive Building Standards

2015

Wright Graham S,

Klingenberg Katrin

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report on improving passive design adoption rates.

Comfort, Indoor Air Quality, and Energy Consumption in Low Energy Homes

2013

Tiefenbeck Verena,

Roth Kurt,

Engelmann P

Fraunhofer CSE,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report documenting the results of an in-depth evaluation of thermal comfort for two potential net zero-energy homes (NZEHs) in Massachusetts.

Commissioning of the Fresno, California, Retrofit Unoccupied Test House

2013

Stecher Dave,

Imm C

Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,

IBACOS,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report about instrumentation and limited short-term testing completed on a retrofit unoccupied test house in Fresno, California.

Comparison of the ENERGYGAUGE USA and BEopt Building Energy Simulation Programs

2009

Parker Danny S,

Cummings Jamie E

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Two hourly energy simulation software, BEopt and Energy Gauge USA, were compared to ensure accuracy and evaluate agreement on the impact of various energy efficiency improvements.

Cooling and Heating Season Impacts of Right-Sizing of Fixed- and Variable-Capacity Heat Pumps With Attic and Indoor Ductwork

2015

Cummings James B,

Withers Charles R,

Kono Jamie E

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE,

Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,

BA-PIRC

Report on experiments comparing the cooling and heating seasonal and peak demand performance of different variable-capacity air conditioning and heat pump units.

Deep Energy Retrofits - Lessons learned

2015

Less Brennan,

Walker Iain S

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory

Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Lessons Learned chapter focuses on successful deep energy retrofit projects throughout the U.S.

Ductless Mini-Split Heat Pump Comfort Evaluation

2013

Roth Kurt,

Sehgal N,

Akers Craig

Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems,

Fraunhofer CSE,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL

Research report with results from field tests in two homes in Austin, Texas, from October 2011 to June 2012 to evaluate the comfort performance of ductless mini-split heat pumps

Efficient Multifamily Homes in a Hot Humid Climate by Atlantic Housing Partners

2013

Chasar Dave,

Martin Eric

Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,

BA-PIRC,

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC

Report demonstrating how the initiative achieves Building America (BA) goals of 30%-50% energy savings in multifamily dwellings in the hot-humid climate zone.

Energy Savings and Breakeven Costs for Residential Heat Pump Water Heaters in the United States

2013

Maguire Jeff,

et al.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL

Report investigating performance and energy savings potential of heat pump water heaters.

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

2014

Cummings James B,

Withers Charles R

Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,

BA-PIRC,

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC

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.

Evaluating Moisture Control of Variable-Capacity Heat Pumps in Mechanically Ventilated, Low-Load Homes in Climate Zone 2A

2018

Martin Eric,

et al.

Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,

BA-PIRC,

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC

This report evaluates the performance of variable-capacity comfort systems, with a focus on inverter-driven, variable-capacity systems, as well as proposed system enhancements.

Evaluation of Unitary Heat Pump Water Heaters with Load-Shifting Controls in a Shared Multifamily Configuration

2022

Hoeschele Marc,

Haile James,

Grant Peter

Pacific Gas and Electric Company,

PG&E,

Energy Transition Coordinating Council,

ETCC

Report describing the performance, cost, and carbon impacts of unitary heat pump water heaters with load-shifting controls in a shared configuration for a multi-family project, highlighting significant savings in energy usage, CO2 emissions, and utility costs.

Example Procedures for Developing Acceptance-Range Criteria for BESTEST-EX

2010

Judkoff Ron,

et al.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

J. Neymark & Associates

Document providing an example procedure for establishing acceptance-range criteria to assess results from software undergoing BESTEST-EX.

Field Assessment of Energy Audit Tools for Retrofit Programs

2013

Bohac Dave,

et al.

NorthernSTAR,

University of Minnesota,

UMN

Report describing a project focused on the use of home energy ratings as a tool to promote energy retrofits in existing homes.

Field Monitoring Protocol: Mini-Split Heat Pumps

2011

Christensen Dane,

et al.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

Mountain Energy Partnership,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

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

Field Performance of Inverter-Driven Heat Pumps in Cold Climates

2015

Williamson Jim,

Aldrich Robb

Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,

CARB,

Steven Winter Associates,

SWA

Report on field monitoring of inverter-driven ASHPs in cold-climate homes.

Greenbelt Homes Pilot Energy Efficiency Programs Phase 1 Summary: Existing Conditions and Baseline Energy Use

2013

Wiehagen Joseph,

Del Bianco Marie,

Wood Amber

NAHB Research Center,

Home Innovation Research Labs,

HIRL,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report detailing field walk-through evaluations, energy simulations for projected savings with exterior insulation upgrades, building envelope energy improvement cost estimates, and installation and maintenance of monitoring equipment and data.

Ground Source Heat Pump Sub-Slab Heat Exchange Loop Performance in a Cold Climate

2013

Mittereder Nick,

Poerschke Andrew

Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,

IBACOS,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

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

Ground Source Integrated Heat Pump for Near Zero Energy Houses: Technology Status Report.

2024

Murphy Richard W,

et al.

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE,

Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

ORNL

Report describing the ground-source IHP (GS-IHP) design and includes the lessons learned and best practices revealed by the research and development (R&D) effort throughout.

Heat Pump Retrofit Strategies for Multifamily Buildings

2019

Steven Winter Associates,

Natural Resources Defense Council

SWA,

NRDC

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.

Heat Pump Water Heater Guide - Best Practices and Technical Considerations for Single-Family New Construction

2024

ENERGY STAR,

U.S. Department of Energy,

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

DOE,

EPA

Informational guide describing the design, installation, and maintenance best practices and technical considerations for integrated Heat Pump Water Heaters in single-family and multifamily new construction.

Heat Pump Water Heater Model Validation Study

2015

Ecotope,

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance

Ecotope,

NEEA

Report describing the significant potential for energy use reductions through heat pump water heaters, which have been a crucial part of Northwest power plans for decades and have recently achieved substantial savings with new integrated models and climate specifications.

Heat Pump Water Heating Modeling in EnergyPlus - Building America Residential Energy Efficiency Stakeholder Meeting

2012

Wilson Eric,

Christensen Craig B

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL

Presentation about heat pump water heater modeling using EnergyPlus.

Housing Stock Characterization Study: An Innovative Approach to Measuring Retrofit Impact

2012

Kipp Jennison M,

Taylor Nicholas W,

Jones Pierce H

Building Energy Efficient Housing for America,

BEEHA,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL

Report detailing an evaluation of Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) residential energy efficiency demand side management (DSM) programs to assess their impacts and relative measures of energy and economic performance.

Implementing a Zero Energy Ready Home Multifamily Project

2015

Springer David,

German Alea

Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,

ARBI,

Davis Energy Group

Report on on lessons learned from building one multifamily home to the Zero Energy Ready Home program requirements.

Improved Modeling of Residential Air Conditioners and Heat Pumps for Energy Calculations

2013

Cutler Dylan,

et al.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

University of Colorado,

Report presenting improved air conditioner (AC) and heat pump (HP) modeling methods in the context of whole-building simulation tools.

Improving Air-Conditioner and Heat Pump Modeling

2012

Winkler Jon

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL

Presentation on Improving Air-Conditioner and Heat Pump Modeling.

Interaction between Heat Pump Water Heaters or Other Internal Point Source Loads and a Central Heating System

2017

Widder Sarah H,

et al.

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance,

NEEA,

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL

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.

Laboratory Performance Evaluation of Residential Integrated Heat Pump Water Heaters

2011

Sparn Bethany,

Hudon Kate,

Christensen Dane

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL

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

Laboratory Test Report for Fujitsu 12RLS and Mitsubishi FE12NA Mini-Split Heat Pumps

2011

Winkler Jon

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

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

Long-Term Monitoring of Mini-Split Ductless Heat Pumps in the Northeast

2015

Ueno Kohta,

Loomis Honorata

Building Science Corporation,

BSC,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

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

Low-Cost Solar Water Heating Research and Development Roadmap

2012

Hudon Kate,

et al.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL

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.

Measure Guideline: Heat Pump Water Heaters in New and Existing Homes

2012

Shapiro Carl,

Puttagunta Srikanth,

Owens Douglas

Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,

CARB,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

Steven Winter Associates,

SWA

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.

Measured Performance of a Low Temperature Air Source Heat Pump

2013

Johnson R K

Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,

CARB,

Steven Winter Associates,

SWA,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Research study outlining results of monitoring a low temperature heat pump.