Library

Document outlining the current and the proposed draws and estimates typical ratings changes from draw specification changes for typical systems in four cities.

Specifications for water heating systems designed to advance higher performing electric and gas heat pump water heaters.

Case study examining the problem of unwanted air transfer from garage to living space and the effectiveness of garage exhaust ventilation or house supply ventilation to provide a solution to that.

Report describing methodology, analysis, and findings from a case study of a 110-unit retrofit of gas tankless water heaters in a hot/humid climate in Alachua County, Florida.

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

Case study describing solar thermal and photovoltaic systems in new construction.

Information sheet about sealing combustion appliances to ensure good indoor air quality.

Information sheet about soil gas control strategies for foundations.

Case study describing solar thermal and photovoltaic systems in new construction.

Case study describing solar thermal and photovoltaic systems in new construction.

Expert meeting focusing on identifying gaps and barriers in combustion safety that need to be addressed by future research, and to develop data-driven technical recommendations for code updates so that a common approach for combustion safety can be adopted by all members of the building energy...

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.

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

Report describing combined space- and water-heating (combi) systems using a high-efficiency direct-vent burner.

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

Research report providing a comparison of the most common residential water heating technologies to determine energy-efficient and cost-effective water heating technologies are when subjected to a variety of typical operating conditions.

Report about a hybrid condensing water heater (thermal efficiency = 0.973, energy factor = 0.95) installed in an occupied home in Sacramento, California, and monitored for one year to determine the actual in situ efficiency.

Report describing the monitored long-term performance of two solar domestic water heating systems in northern climates.

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.

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.

Technical report describing the evaluation of four different ventilation strategies for providing make-up air in high-performance, new construction multifamily buildings in the Northeast, emphasizing the challenges posed by increasing airtightness standards and the variability of system performance...

The main objective of this expert meeting was to bring together a group of experts intimately involved with issues related to assessing the performance of residential high efficiency water heating systems.

Expert meeting describing meeting details for recommendations for applying water heaters in combination space and domestic water heating systems.

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.

Technical report on a field validation study that utilizes low-cost indoor air quality sensors to assess a smart ventilation system's effectiveness in maintaining acceptable indoor humidity in low-load homes in humid environments, revealing that while the smart ventilation algorithm demonstrated...

Brochure on specifications for solar thermal systems.

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.

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.

Case study of new home construction in the hot-dry and mixed-dry climate zones.

Best Practices document providing an introduction to current photovoltaic and solar thermal building practices.

Report on a project that enhanced the HWSIM distribution system model to more accurately model pipe heat transfer.

Journal article presenting modeling of residential gas water heaters via dynamic simulation models to determine the effect of the pilot light on their annual energy consumption.

Fact sheet describing the newly developed Ventilation-Integrated Comfort System (VICS) that reduces space requirements and eliminates costly ductwork for separate heating, cooling, and ventilation systems, all while enhancing performance, addressing the demand for energy-efficient homes, and...

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.

Report that describes BSC's Houses That Work II (HTWII) climate-specific technical resource, beginning with an overall HTWII introduction and four sections explaining the four most important hygro-thermal climate regions: Hot-Humid, Mixed-Humid, Cold, and Hot-Dry/Mixed-Dry.

Report summarizing results of testing emerging combo water heating technologies under controlled laboratory operations, that differentiate the performance of the various packaged equipment configurations being offered.

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.

Document pertaining to design and application guidance for combination space and tankless domestic hot water heating systems used in residential buildings, based on field evaluation, testing, and industry meetings.

Report describing the installation and operation of forced-air heating and domestic hot water combi systems in residential homes.

This document addresses adding—or improving—mechanical ventilation systems to existing homes. The purpose of ventilation is to remove contaminants from homes either directly or by dilution. This report discusses where, when, and how much ventilation is appropriate in a home, including some...

Document developed to help residential builders and retrofitters transition from tank-type water heaters to tankless water heaters.

Study in which a central heat pump water heater system was monitored in detail and used to create a model for assessing similar systems in various climates.

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

Report describing the key findings from the first third-party field validation of 120-volt heat pump water heater (HPWH) technology, addressing the significant barriers to their adoption and emphasizing their potential role in reducing carbon emissions from residential water heating.

Research project aimed to verify whether homes in the New Jersey HPwES program achieved 30% source energy savings, and if so, what measures were implemented to achieve them.

Report discussing instrumentation methods and field operation characteristics of two GSHPs in test houses, including a comparison between the manufacturers listed COP values and the COPs calculated from field data.

Report identifying the steps to take, with the help of a qualified home performance contractor, to seal unwanted air leaks while ensuring healthy levels of ventilation and avoiding sources of indoor air pollution.

Report presenting results of a laboratory experiment studying combi systems as a mode to eliminate safety issues associated with natural draft appliances.

Information sheet describing tankless hot water heating systems in existing homes.

Document discussing changes in testing the annual performance ratings for solar water heaters.