Library

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

Webpage of ACCA’s Quality Standards outlining precisely the procedures that contractors should follow when designing, installing, maintaining, repairing, and verifying indoor environment systems.

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

Document providing step-by-step guidance to sizing air-source heat pumps for a cold climate.

ASHRAE Standard prescribing an field evaluation and test method to measure and score the performance of unitary HVAC systems.

Standard providing a methodology for evaluating the installation quality of unitary HVAC systems.

YouTube channel featuring 90+ videos to educate Bay Area homeowners and contractors about seismic retrofitting, including information for various home and construction types.

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

Webpage containing California Energy Commission's HVAC design information, including mandatory and prescriptive HVAC requirements for residential and nonresidential buildings following the California Energy Commission's Building Energy Efficiency Standards.

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.

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

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

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.

Website providing certified rating programs to help manufacturers, builders, contractors and homeowners compare performance of ventilation products for air flow, sound, and other performance characteristics.

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.

Website providing an online directory of more than 3,600 residential ventilation products lisiting flowrates, sones, watts, and other performance metrics; all listed products have been tested by the Home Ventilating Institute.

Journal article detailing laboratory and simulation studies quantifying the impact that heat pump and air conditioner installation faults have on system capacity and efficiency.

Article describing air leakage in buildings.

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 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.

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.

Fact sheet outlining the research behind how smart ventilation controls boost energy efficiency and indoor air quality, including research findings from seasonal temperature, timer, and real-time weather-based controls showing that all three systems showed potential for energy savings while...

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.

Question and Answer article in Energy Design Update describing the cost and savings benefits of electronically commutated motors (ECMs) for HVAC equipment.

Article discussing the risks that can occur from undercutting bedroom doors to provide return airflow from bedrooms, as well as corrective measures that can be taken to address these risks.

Conference paper presented at the 2020 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings presenting the results of an evaluation of control strategies used when new mini-splits are installed in a home with an existing HVAC system.