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Improving Real-World Efficiency of High-Performance Buildings
March 5, 2012
High-performance buildings are designed to maximize energy efficiency, but those improvements aren’t always realized. A study will assess achieved performance in selected California buildings, and follow-up projects will identify feedback loops and tools to help stakeholders optimize building performance. ...
Content type: Fact Sheet | Document ID: CEC-FS-14 | Author: California Energy Commission/Public Interest Energy Research
Developing Energy-Efficient Communities
July 21, 2011
The potential exists to make new communities far more efficient than current codes require. This brief describes research that helped to quantify that potential and explored the technologies, strategies, and policies that would make it real.
Content type: Tech Brief | Document ID: CEC-TB-46 | Author: Ira Krepchin
Builder’s Guide: Reducing Mold Risk
November 30, 2008
To better understand the problem of mold occurrence, the California Energy Commission sponsored an investigation, led by the Gas Technology Institute, into the causes of moisture intrusion. This research consisted of laboratory and field studies of structures that are designed to keep building materials ...
Content type: Tech Brief | Document ID: CEC-TB-35 | Author: Peter Criscione
Underfloor Air: Better Models, Better Performance
June 1, 2008
Researchers have developed a new module for EnergyPlus™ software, a whole-building simulation software tool that designers can use to calculate the energy use of underfloor air distribution systems and compare their performance to conventional overhead air distribution systems.
Content type: Tech Brief | Document ID: CEC-TB-27 | Author: John Sustar
SpeciFlow: A Fresh Approach to Measuring Outdoor Airflow
January 26, 2006
A building’s performance is sensitive to the amount of outside air that is brought inside—too little results in poor indoor air quality, and too much results in wasted energy used to condition the excess air. However, it is difficult and costly to measure ventilation airflows, especially at outdoor-air ...
Content type: Tech Brief | Document ID: CEC-TB-21
Design Guide: How to Make Homes Cool and Efficient
January 26, 2006
Though tools and methods are available for the design of energy-efficient HVAC systems, they are not often used when it comes to production homes. That’s partly because builders of production homes are unaware that these tools exist. In addition, the existing design methodologies are often hard ...
Content type: Tech Brief | Document ID: CEC-TB-22
Large VAVs, Low Loads, and High Performance
December 8, 2005
Many large commercial buildings use variable air volume (VAV) systems to deliver the proper amount of chilled air throughout a building. VAV systems can be very efficient at full load, but large buildings typically spend most of their time operating at part load. At part load, VAV systems often operate ...
Content type: Tech Brief | Document ID: CEC-TB-19
Guide to Optimizing Commercial Kitchen Ventilation
September 22, 2005
Kitchen ventilation systems represent one of the largest uses of energy in a commercial food service facility, accounting for up to 75 percent of the HVAC load. This load itself accounts for about 30 percent of a restaurant’s total energy consumption. Yet many kitchen ventilation systems are poorly ...
Content type: Tech Brief | Document ID: CEC-TB-14
Commercial Buildings Breathe Right with Demand-Controlled Ventilation
July 30, 2005
Demand-controlled ventilation (DCV) systems save energy by using building occupancy indicators that usually measure CO2 levels to regulate the amount of outside air that is drawn in for ventilation. But DCV systems are not widely used, because their cost-effectiveness has not been clearly defined, ...
Content type: Tech Brief | Document ID: CEC-TB-11
Residential Commissioning Guide Brings Home Comfort and Savings
April 18, 2005
Houses are complex systems of interacting components that don’t always perform properly. Even when built or retrofitted using formal design procedures, houses often fail to meet health, safety, comfort, and energy-use expectations. A major reason for this generally poor performance is the lack of ...
Content type: Tech Brief | Document ID: CEC-TB-6
Design Guide: Big Savings on Small HVAC Systems
February 17, 2005
Small packaged heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems are among the most common HVAC systems for small commercial buildings. These systems, however, are notorious for a host of problems requiring 25 to 35 percent more energy than is necessary to heat, cool, and ventilate California ...
Content type: Tech Brief | Document ID: CEC-TB-2
