Organization(s)
Family Handyman
Publication Date
Description
Brochure describing HVAC filter options for efficiency and IAQ.
This library contains research reports produced by the Building America program and other building science resources used to support this Solution Center. The materials cover both new construction and existing homes. Use the search box and/or the filters to explore hundreds of residential building resources. Access to some references not produced by Building America may require purchase from the publisher. Documents are listed alphabetically. While we continually update our database, links may have changed since posting. Please contact our webmaster if you find broken links.
Showing results 1 - 50 of 154
Organization(s)
ASHRAE,
ANSI
Publication Date
Description
Standard that provides procedures and methods for meeting minimum ventilation and indoor air quality requirements to engineers, design professionals, owners, and jurisdictional authorities where model codes have been adopted. This is the current version of the standard, which was published in the...
Organization(s)
Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Technical report describing algorithms that use communicating thermostat heating data and that were developed to optimize customer adoption of energy conservation measures, enhancing the identification of retrofit opportunities, estimating post-retrofit energy savings, and enabling home-specific...
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2018 edition of code establishing minimum regulations for mechanical systems, including heating, cooling, ventilation, exhaust, ducts, fireplaces, combustion and hydronic systems, using prescriptive and performance-related provisions.
Organization(s)
ASHRAE
Publication Date
Description
Guidebook covering basic principles and data used in the HVAC&R industry. This is the 2021 edition of the handbook, which can be purchased physically or digitally at the reference link in versions using either I-P units of measurement or SI units of measurement.
Organization(s)
ASME
Publication Date
Description
Code establishing the rules of safety relating only to pressure integrity for the design, fabrication, and inspection of boilers and pressure vessels during construction which was published in the year 2021 and is available to order at the referenced link.
Organization(s)
ASME
Publication Date
Description
Standard covering requirements for the assembly, installation, maintenance, and operation of controls and safety devices on automatically operated boilers directly fired with gas, oil, gas-oil, or electricity, having fuel input ratings under 12,500,000 Btu/hr.
Organization(s)
NADCA
Publication Date
Description
Standard providing industry-backed information for assessing new and existing HVAC systems, evaluating and verifying the cleanliness of HVAC system components, preventing job related hazards and guiding the cleaning and restoration of HVAC systems to a specific level of cleanliness.
Organization(s)
NAIMA
Publication Date
Description
Manual showing duct cleaning contractors how to identify the different types of insulated air ducts, how to open each type for access by cleaning equipment and personnel, how to close and seal openings after cleaning.
Organization(s)
ACCA
Publication Date
Description
Standard providing nationally recognized, manufacturer-endorsed set of inspection tasks for HVAC maintenance.
Organization(s)
SWA,
NRDC
Publication Date
Description
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.
Organization(s)
NAFA
Publication Date
Description
NAFA’s user guide for understanding ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 52.2-2012.
Organization(s)
ACCA
Publication Date
Description
Technical manual from ACCA outlining correct methods for zoning of residential HVAC systems.
Organization(s)
ACCA
Publication Date
Description
This Standard establishes the minimum requirements to evaluate a residence with regards to energy efficiency, water conservation, occupant comfort, and indoor air quality.
Organization(s)
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC,
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC
Publication Date
Description
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.
Organization(s)
HIRL,
NAHB,
ICC
Publication Date
Description
Fact Sheet describing the need for supplemental dehumidification, dehumidifier configuration options, and design considerations.
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS
Publication Date
Description
Report describing an air distribution system composed of a series of uniformly-sized ducts that terminate in rooms throughout the home and return to a central manifold, similar in fashion to a “home-run” cross-linked polyethylene plumbing system.
Organization(s)
NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership,
NorthernSTAR,
University of Minnesota,
UMIN
Publication Date
Description
This project analyzed combined condensing water heaters or boilers and hydronic air coils to provide high efficiency domestic hot water (DHW) and forced air space heating. Called "combi" systems, they provided similar space and water heating performance less expensively than installing two...
Organization(s)
NMIC
Publication Date
Description
Web resource that lays out the pre-work considerations, methods and finishes for installing mechanical insulation.
Organization(s)
ASHRAE,
ANSI
Publication Date
Description
Standard establishing a test procedure for evaluating the performance of air-cleaning devices as a function of particle size. This is the current version of the standard, which was published in the year 2017, and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. The ASHRAE bookstore also...
Organization(s)
ASME
Publication Date
Description
Code establishing the rules of safety relating only to pressure integrity for the design, fabrication, and inspection of boilers and pressure vessels during construction which was published in the year 2017 and is available to order at the referenced link.
Organization(s)
ANSI,
AHRI
Publication Date
Description
Standard 680 establishes definitions, classifications, test requirements, data requirements, ratings, operating requirements, marking and nameplate data and conformance conditions for residential air filter equipment.
Organization(s)
Air Conditioning Heating and Refrigeration News,
ACHR News
Publication Date
Description
Article describing benefits of ECM motors and how they can be installed as retrofit motors in HVAC equipment.
Organization(s)
ACCA
Publication Date
Description
Standard providing a universally accepted definition for quality installation for residential and commercial heating, ventilating, and air conditioning applications.
Organization(s)
ICC,
RESNET,
ANSI
Publication Date
Description
This Standard provides a consistent, uniform methodology for evaluating the airtightness of building envelopes and heating and cooling air ducts and the air flows of mechanical ventilation systems.
Organization(s)
ACCA
Publication Date
Description
Document detailing the requirements, roles, and obligations for participants in an organized effort, ensuring that HVAC installations comply with the ANSI/ACCA 5 QI – 2010 (HVAC Quality Installation Specification) QI Standard.
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report describing how space-conditioning systems are operating in the field and if these systems are meeting required standards.
Organization(s)
ASHRAE
Publication Date
Description
Standard that defines the roles of and minimum requirements for mechanical and natural ventilation systems and the building envelope intended to provide acceptable indoor air quality in low-rise residential buildings. This version of the standard was published in the year 2016, and is available for...
Organization(s)
AABC,
ANSI
Publication Date
Description
Standards book discussing the minimum standards of total system balance of HVAC systems.
Organization(s)
ACCA
Publication Date
Description
The manual covers residential zoning issues - multiple, single-zone, and central multi-zone systems - and includes advice on working with homeowners to adapt the heating or cooling system design to meet modern home design features.
Organization(s)
AHRI
Publication Date
Description
This directory contains the I=B=R Ratings for cast-iron, steel, aluminum and copper boilers, baseboard and finned tube radiation, indirect-fired water heaters, effective as of the date of this publication.
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2012 edition of code establishing a baseline for the design and installation of fuel gas systems and gas fired appliances through performance requirements.
Organization(s)
Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions,
ARIES
Publication Date
Description
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.
Organization(s)
Energy Efficiency for All,
EEFA,
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA
Publication Date
Description
Report describing strategies to improve the aging steam heating systems in New York City to improve energy efficiency, reduce oil and gas usage, and cut maintenance costs.
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2015 edition of code establishing minimum regulations for mechanical systems, including heating, cooling, ventilation, exhaust, ducts, fireplaces, combustion and hydronic systems, using prescriptive and performance-related provisions.
Organization(s)
Building Science Corporation,
BSC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report on the long-term performance of mini-split heat pumps.
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE,
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC
Publication Date
Description
Report on experiments comparing the cooling and heating seasonal and peak demand performance of different variable-capacity air conditioning and heat pump units.
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS
Publication Date
Description
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.
Organization(s)
Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit,
PARR
Publication Date
Description
Report examining the impacts that common installation practices and age- induced equipment degradation may have on the installed performance of natural gas furnaces, as measured by steady-state efficiency and AFUE.
Organization(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
LBNL
Publication Date
Description
Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Source Energy and Carbon Decisions chapter helps users carefully assess the impacts of switching from gas to electricity for heating end-uses, using source energy and/or carbon emissions...
Organization(s)
Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions,
ARIES,
Levy Partnership
Publication Date
Description
Report on a project conducted to better understand the current usage of thermostatic radiator valves by key market players in steam and hot water heating and to conduct limited experiments on the effectiveness of new and old thermostatic radiator valves as a means of controlling space temperatures...
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS
Publication Date
Description
Report outlining the issues with using existing ducts with a new low-load HVAC system, which reduces throw at supply registers causing decreased mixing of supply and room air, leading to potential thermal comfort complaints.
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report identifying two barriers that limit the ability of builders to explore opportunities for higher levels of energy efficiency in housing: the use of duct system materials that inherently achieve airtightness and are right-sized for low-load houses, and, the ability to air seal fire separation...
Organization(s)
Air Conditioning Heating and Refrigeration News,
ACHR News
Publication Date
Description
Article describing how replacing permanent split capacitor (PSC) motors with electronically commutated motors (ECM) can boost bottom line for HVAC contractors as well as improve customer comfort and satisfaction.
Organization(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
ARBI,
Davis Energy Group
Publication Date
Description
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.
Organization(s)
Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions,
ARIES,
Levy Partnership
Publication Date
Description
Report summarizing the status of a central hydronic heating system project in multifamily housing at the conclusion of the 20112012 heating season.
Organization(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
CARB,
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report describing research that helps inform best practices for air-sealing multifamily buildings in the Northeast.
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC
Publication Date
Description
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.
Organization(s)
NORESCO
Publication Date
Description
Article describing RESNET guidance on evaporative coolers.
Organization(s)
California Energy Commission,
CEC
Publication Date
Description
Proposed HVAC filter labeling standard and underlying analysis by the California Energy Commission.