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.

Publications

Publications By Research Area

2024

Shackelford, Jordan, Spencer M Dutton, Cynthia Regnier, Wanyu R Chan, and Alastair Robinson."Modeled Retrofit Package Performance for Schools." (2024). DOI

2022

Helmns, Dre, Armando Casillas, Anand Prakash, David Blum, Marco Pritoni, Spencer M Dutton, Jonathan Woolley, and Subhrajit Chakraborty."Heat Pumps with Phase Change Thermal Storage: Flexible, Efficient, and Electrification Friendly."2022 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings (2022). DOI

Delp, William W, Brennan Less, Haoran Zhao, Spencer M Dutton, Wanyu R Chan, and Brett C Singer."Simulation-Based Analysis of Impacts of Reduced Envelope and Duct Air Leakage on Indoor Air Pollutant Concentrations in Occupied Manufactured Homes." (2022).

2021

Helmns, Dre, David Blum, Armando Casillas, Anand Prakash, Jonathan Woolley, David Vernon, Caton Mande, Michael Woodcox, and Spencer M Dutton."Towards a Techno-Economic Analysis of PCM-Integrated Hybrid HVAC Systems."6th International High Performance Buildings Conference at Purdue (2021).

Helmns, Dre, David Blum, Spencer M Dutton, and Van P Carey."Development and Validation of a Latent Thermal Energy Storage Model Using Modelica."Energies 14.1 (2021) 194. DOI

2020

Pistochini, Theresa, Caton Mande, Mark Modera, Sarah Outcault, Angela Sanguinetti, Wanyu R Chan, Spencer M Dutton, Brett C Singer, and Xiwang Li."Improving Ventilation and Indoor Environmental Quality in California K-12 Schools." (2020).

Less, Brennan, Iain S Walker, David M Lorenzetti, Evan Mills, Vi H Rapp, Spencer M Dutton, Michael D Sohn, Xiwang Li, Jordan D Clark, and Max H Sherman."Smart Ventilation for Advanced California Homes." (2020).

2019

Less, Brennan, Spencer M Dutton, Iain S Walker, Max H Sherman, and Jordan D Clark."Energy savings with outdoor temperature-based smart ventilation control strategies in advanced California homes."Energy and Buildings 194 (2019) 317 - 327. DOI

Clark, Jordan D, Brennan Less, Spencer M Dutton, Iain S Walker, and Max H Sherman."Efficacy of occupancy-based smart ventilation control strategies in energy-efficient homes in the United States."Building and Environment 156 (2019) 253 - 267. DOI

Less, Brennan, Spencer M Dutton, Xiwang Li, Jordan D Clark, Iain S Walker, and Max H Sherman."Smart Ventilation for Advance California Homes – Single Zone Technology Task." (2019).

2018

Clark, Jordan D, Iain S Walker, Brennan Less, Spencer M Dutton, Xiwang Li, and Max H Sherman."Energy Savings Estimates for Occupancy and Temperature-based Smart Ventilation Control Approaches in Single-family Homes."ASHRAE (2018).

Clark, Jordan D, Iain S Walker, Brennan Less, Spencer M Dutton, Xiwang Li, and Max Sherman."Energy Savings Estimates for Occupancy- and Temperature-based Smart Ventilation Control Approaches in Single-family California Homes."ASHRAE (2018).

2017

Oh, Seung Jin, Spencer M Dutton, Stephen E Selkowitz, and Hyun Joo Han."Application of a coelostat daylighting system for energy savings and enhancement of indoor illumination: A case study under clear-sky conditions."Energy and Buildings 156 (2017). DOI

2016

Lee, Eleanor S, Anothai Thanachareonkit, Samir Touzani, Spencer M Dutton, Jordan Shackelford, Darryl J Dickerhoff, and Stephen E Selkowitz."Technology Assessments of High Performance Envelope with Optimized Lighting, Solar Control, and Daylighting." (2016).

Liu, Ping, Wei Feng, Chris Marnay, Spencer M Dutton, Ming Jin, Lingwei Zheng, and Nan Zhou."Towards the Optimal Development of Low-Carbon Community Energy Systems."2016 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings (2016).

2015

Singh, Reshma, Baptiste Ravache, and Spencer M Dutton."CLIMATE-SPECIFIC MODELING AND ANALYSIS FOR BEST-PRACTICE INDIAN OFFICE BUILDINGS."BS2015: 14th Conference of International Building Performance Simulation Association (2015).

2013

Dutton, Spencer M, David W Banks, Samuel L Brunswick, and William J Fisk."Health and economic implications of natural ventilation in California offices."Building and Environment 67 (2013) 34-45. DOI

2012

Dutton, Spencer M, Hui Zhang, Yongchao Zhai, Edward A Arens, Youness Bennani Smires, Samuel L Brunswick, Kyle S Konis, and Philip Haves."Application of a stochastic window use model in EnergyPlus."SimBuild 2012, 5th National Conference of IBPSA-USA, August 1-3, 2012 (2012).