| Building Technology and Urban Systems

About Us +
Researchers in the Building Technology & Urban Systems Division (BTUS) at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory develop data and technologies that increase energy efficiency and improve the health, safety and comfort of building occupants, in the United States and worldwide.

We work closely with industry partners, academics and government officials to achieve these goals, and share our research widely
Research +
We are at the forefront of cutting-edge research that redefines building technology and explores all areas of urban systems.

We have been leaders for decades in developing energy-efficient windows, improving indoor air quality, coming up with new ideas to fix the nation's electricity grid, and so much more.

Visit our research areas at the right to find out more.
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Publications +
Enjoy presentations from Building Technology & Urban systems research experts on a wide variety of topics in the areas of building energy efficiency, the electricity grid and how it relates to buildings and much more.
- Presentations
News
Tools & Guides +
Explore our tools, guidebooks and software and download for free.

We offer a variety of technologies designed to simulate and model real-world circumstances to assist in energy-saving programs and help building owners build better buildings. These tools can help calculate performance of building systems like windows and shades, help consumers and builders pick the best windows for a variety of applications and much more.

2002

Mattinson, Bill, Ross DePaola, and Dariush K Arasteh."What Should I Do About My Windows?."Home Energy Magazine (2002) 24-31.

2001

Klems, Joseph H."Solar Heat Gain through a Skylight in a Light Well."ASHRAE Chicago 108, Part 1 (2001) 512-524.

Richardson, Thomas J, Jonathan L Slack, Baker Farangis, and Michael D Rubin."Mixed Metal Films with Switchable Optical Properties."Applied Physics Letters 80.8 (2001) 1349-1351. DOI

Griffith, Brent T, Howdy Goudey, and Dariush K Arasteh."Infrared Thermography Measurements of Window Thermal Test Specimen: Surface Temperatures."ASHRAE Seminar (2001).

Kohler, Christian, Dariush K Arasteh, and Robin Mitchell."THERM Simulations of Window Indoor Surface Temperatures for Predicting Condensation."ASHRAE Transactions 109, Part 1 (2001) 593-599.

Wenzel, Thomas P."Evaluating the long-term effectiveness of the Phoenix IM240 program."Environmental Science & Policy 4.6 (2001). DOI

Arasteh, Dariush K, Robin Mitchell, Christian Kohler, Charlie Huizenga, and Dragan C Curcija."Improving Information Technology to Maximize Fenestration Energy Efficiency."Performance of Exterior Envelopes of Whole Buildings VIII (2001).

Wenzel, Thomas P."Reducing emissions from in-use vehicles: an evaluation of the Phoenix inspection and maintenance program using test results and independent emissions measurements."Environmental Science & Policy 4.6 (2001) 359-376. DOI

Piette, Mary Ann, Satkartar T Khalsa, and Philip Haves."Analysis of an Information Monitoring and Diagnostic System to Improve Building Operations."Energy and Buildings 33.8 (2001) 783-792. DOI

Akbari, Hashem, and Leanna S Rose."Characterizing the fabric of the urban environment: a case study of metropolitan Chicago, Illinois." (2001).

Webber, Carrie A, Judy A Roberson, Richard E Brown, Christopher T Payne, Bruce Nordman, and Jonathan G Koomey."Field Surveys of Office Equipment Operating Patterns." (2001).

Rubinstein, Francis M, Danielle Neils, and Nesrin Colak."Daylighting, Dimming, and the Electricity Crisis in California."2001 IESNA National Conference (2001).

Keith, David M, and Francis M Rubinstein."Effect of Occupancy Sensors on Energy Usage and Peak Demand in Commercial Office Buildings: Part 1."2001 Conference of the Illuminating Engineering Society of North America (IES) (2001).

Rees, Simon J, James J McGuirk, and Philip Haves."Numerical Investigation of Transient Buoyant Flow in a Room with a Displacement Ventilation and Chilled Ceiling System."International Journal of Heat and Mass Transfer 44.16 (2001) 3067-3080. DOI

Ehrlich, Charles K, Konstantinos M Papamichael, Judy Lai, and Kenneth L Revzan."Simulating the Operation of Photosensor-Based Lighting Controls."2001 Building Simulation 7th International Building Performance Simulation Association Conference (2001).

Zhai, Zhiqiang, Qingyan Chen, Joseph H Klems, and Philip Haves."Strategies for Coupling Energy Simulation Programs and Computational Fluid Dynamics Programs."Building Sim 2001 1 (2001) 59-66.

Haves, Philip, Tim I Salsbury, David Claridge, and Mingsheng Liu."Use of Whole Building Simulation in On-Line Performance Assessment: Modeling and Implementation Issues."Building Simulation ’01 (2001).

Rees, Simon J, and Philip Haves."A Nodal Model for Displacement Ventilation and Chilled Ceiling Systems in Office Spaces."Building and Environment 36.6 (2001) 753-762. DOI

Sreedharan, Priya, and Philip Haves."Comparison of Chiller Models for use in Model-Based Fault Detection."International Conference for Enhancing Building Operations (2001).

Kinney, Satkartar, Mary Ann Piette, Lixing Gu, and Philip Haves."Demand Relief and Weather Sensitivity in Large California Commercial Buildings."International Conference for Enhancing Building Operations (2001).

Wenzel, Thomas P, and Marc Ross."Losing Weight to Save Lives: A Review of the Role of Automobile Weight and Size in Traffic Fatalities." (2001).

Wenzel, Thomas P."Can More Frequent Testing Improve I/M Program Effectiveness? Analysis ofthe Effect of Annual Testing in the Phoenix IM240 Program." (2001).

Wenzel, Thomas P, and Nancy J Brown."Can More Frequent Testing Improve I/M Program Effectiveness? Analysis of the Effect of Annual Testing in the Phoenix IM240 Program." (2001).

Selkowitz, Stephen E."Integrating Advanced Façades into High Performance Buildings."Glass Processing Days: 7th International Conference on Architectural and Automotive Glass (2001).

Konopacki, Steven J, and Hashem Akbari."Measured energy savings and demand reduction from a reflective roof membrane on a large retail store in Austin." (2001).