Library

Report presenting construction methods, building products, appliances and equipment of four single-family houses that achieve dramatic energy reductions and approach “net zero energy” use.

Article describing considerations for choosing a room-level air cleaner to improve indoor air quality.

Article describing how to use radiator inlet orifices optimize two-pipe steam heating systems.

Factsheet describing how to partially install a heat pump in a manufactured home in the manufactured home factory.

Website blog with guidance about calculating heat-loss.

Fact Sheet describing the need for supplemental dehumidification, dehumidifier configuration options, and design considerations.

Webpage providing curriculum with links to presentations and problem sets for teaching an understanding of sizing cold climate heat pumps.

Standards criteria supporting ICC HVAC duct support standards.

Paper providing a comprehensive overview of HVAC system design considerations and challenges specific to multifamily residential buildings, focusing on optimizing performance and addressing common issues.

Software tool available free online that can help calculate heating and cooling requirements to accurately size HVAC equipment in as little as 15 minutes.

Correcting pressure imbalances in your HVAC system can result in a healthier, more efficient home.

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.

Article describing what evaporative coolers are, how they work, different types, performance, where they are appropriate, and how to install and maintain them.

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.

Report describing the results of a 21-home field study investigating the effectiveness and failure rates of whole-house mechanical ventilation systems installed in Florida homes over the last 15 years.

Research report discussing the reduction of HVAC energy consumption to meet U.S. greenhouse gas targets and DOE's energy-efficient building goals. It introduces iComfort, an IoT-based system for optimizing home comfort and energy savings.

Information sheet about efficiency and health benefits of MERV filters.

Article describing air leakage in buildings.

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

If your kitchen has a powerful exhaust fan, it may be pulling air down your chimney or water-heater flue.

Standard technical manual with information about HVAC balancing, testing air and hydronic systems.

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.

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

Web resource that lays out the pre-work considerations, methods and finishes for installing mechanical insulation.

Standard that prescribes a testing method to determine the efficiency of space heating and/or cooling thermal distribution systems under seasonal and design conditions. This version of the standard was published in the year 2014, and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. The...

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...

Book with indepth information about hydronic systems for residential and commercial buildings.

Conference paper making the case that moving ducts to conditioned space saves energy, is practical for production builders (when accompanied by careful pre-planning), and creates significant andmarketable energy savings for homebuyers.

This report is designed to meet ASHRAE 62.2-2010/2013 and ANSI/ACCA’s 5 QI-2015 protocol, thereby improving the performance of HVAC equipment in new homes when compared to homes built to minimum code.

Database compiling extended capacity data for numerous cold climate heat pump manufacturers and models.

Report discussing the benefits of modern evaporative cooling systems for use in hot dry climate zones.

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.

Article describing how to properly manage condensing HVAC equipment.

Guide describing flood protection measures for utility systems, including mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and fuel.

Fact sheet describing best practices in installing leak-free refrigerant systems, including specifics on creating flare joints and brazed joints, pressure testing, vacuum testing, and charging the system with refrigerant.

Technical report describing the research and development of the Ventilation-Integrated Comfort System (VICS) which is a specifically designed, energy-efficient solution that seamlessly integrates with low-capacity, ducted heating, and cooling systems, offering controllable, balanced energy recovery...

Report providing information on mechanical air-cleaning devices for ventilation when conventional methods are not warranted.

Report proposes high performance duct measures for inclusion in California Title 24 building energy efficiency standards for 2016.

IECC code note explaining new fan efficacy requirements, along with how to determine which fans are affected by the new fan requirements.

A quick-reference guide advising homeowners on how to elevate and protect outdoor HVAC equipment from high winds and floods.

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.

Technical study exploring the impact of different installation faults on heat pump performance in a single-family house.

Study conducted to help determine cost-effective solutions for heating and cooling houses that are designed to be energy efficient.

Manual that identifies certain leakage limits for ducts and outlines procedures for testing ducts for conformity with air leakage limits that are set forth in a designer’s project specification.

Proposed HVAC filter labeling standard and underlying analysis by the California Energy Commission.

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...

Standard 680 establishes definitions, classifications, test requirements, data requirements, ratings, operating requirements, marking and nameplate data and conformance conditions for residential air filter equipment.

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.

Standard describing methods for testing the airtightness of buildings and HVAC equipment.