Library

A guidebook helping builders in hot-humid climates design and construct homes for energy efficiency, durability, health, safety, and comfort.

Case study providing homeowners guidance on installing window air conditioners.

Standard for use and reference by designers, architects, engineers, contractors, installers and users for evaluating, selecting, specifying and properly installing flexible duct in heating and air conditioning systems.

Document providing guideance and considerations for duct design in an energy efficient house.

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

Training manual on how to locate ducts within conditioned space and compact design.

Report summarizing one year of monitoring and analysis of the effectiveness of a space conditioning system at maintaining temperature and relative humidity levels in a test home, as well as room-to-room differences and the actual measured energy consumption by the space conditioning system.

Report presenting a parametric analysis using a numerical model of a new concept in desiccant and evaporative air conditioning.

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

Report using pre- and post-system upgrade data to analyze the energy savings associated with Iowa's HVAC SAVE program for space heating.

Factsheet describing the benefits of purchasing and installing ENERGY STAR rated fans and ventilation products.

ENERGY STAR factsheet describing the HVAC Quality Installation Program

Research study evaluating operating conditions required to maintain uniform mixing, within high performance homes, under both heating and cooling conditions.

Research study that utilizes EnergyPlus equipped with the moisture capacitance model to analyze the indoor relative humidity in three home types.

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.

Information sheet with an analysis of mini split heat pump 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.

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.

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

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

Presentation about proper installation of flexible ducts.

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

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

Report providing information about energy-efficient heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) equipment options to help homeowners cut their energy use, reduce their carbon footprint, and increase their homes comfort, health, and safety.

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

Article describing air leakage in buildings.

Report providing information about laboratory testing of four residential window air conditioners.

Report documenting the measured performance of six residential ENERGY STAR vapor compression dehumidifiers.

Report on whole-house and spot ventilation strategies for improved indoor air quality.

Report presenting long-term evaluation results from a hot-dry climate project that examines thermal and HVAC performance in a highly efficient home.

Guidebook providing useful examples of high performance retrofit techniques for the building enclosure of wood frame residential construction in a cold and somewhat wet climate.

Document providing information on the impact of various defects and the potential energy savings that can result from proper maintenance, and describing a two-step process for diagnosing and correcting faults. This document is targeted towards home performance contractors who are relatively...

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

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

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 intending to put some context and structure around the process of balancing and tuning one-pipe steam systems to help practitioners begin to garner the potential in energy savings that this measure presents.

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

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

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

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.

Report providing information to researchers, utility program managers, and building owners interested in controlling heating energy waste and improving resident comfort.

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.

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.

Research study about a high performance retrofit of an existing brick building (a former convent) into condominiums, all affordable housing.

Report about cost effective energy-efficient upgrades that can be implemented in the hot, dry Southwest climate.

Report about results of 10 test buildings in Chicago, studied to identify best practices for methodology, typical costs, and energy savings associated with steam system balancing.

Report about the impact on the loads when common safety factors are applied to the load calculation process using two houses that meet the 2009 IECC prescriptive path modeled as the accurate baseline.

Document covering the pros and cons of compact air distribution systems and the decision criteria that must be considered early in the whole-house design process.

This document covers a description of the need and applied solutions for supplemental dehumidification in warm-humid climates, especially for energy efficient homes where the sensible cooling load has been dramatically reduced.