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.
Colum 1 +
Colum 2 +
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

2025

Lozinsky, Cara."The impact of simplified window and exhaust fan assumptions on indoor air quality in multifamily buildings."International Journal of Ventilation (2025) 1-22. DOI

2024

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

2023

Shackelford, Jordan, Alastair Robinson, Cynthia Regnier, and Sang Hoon Lee."Getting Beyond Widgets: Performance of Efficient Indoor Air Quality System Retrofit Packages for Schools." (2023). DOI

2022

Walker, Iain S, Brennan Less, David M Lorenzetti, Michael D Sohn, and Nuria Casquero-Modrego."Compartmentalization and Ventilation System Impacts on Air and Contaminant Transport for a Multifamily Building."Buildings XV Conference (2022).

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).

Zhao, Haoran, Iain S Walker, Michael D Sohn, and Brennan Less."A Time-Varying Model for Predicting Formaldehyde Emission Rates in Homes."International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health (2022). DOI

2020

Zhao, Haoran, Wanyu R Chan, William W Delp, Hao Tang, Iain S Walker, and Brett C Singer."Factors Impacting Range Hood Use in California Houses and Low-Income Apartments."International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 17 (2020). DOI

Chen, Chien-Fei, Selin Yilmaz, Anna Laura Pisello, Marilena De Simone, Amy Kim, Tianzhen Hong, Karol Bandurski, Mateus Vinícius Bavaresco, Pei-ling Liu, and Yimin Zhu."The impacts of building characteristics, social psychological and cultural factors on indoor environment quality productivity belief."Building and Environment 185 (2020) 107189. DOI

Caubel, Julien J, Vi H Rapp, Sharon S Chen, and Ashok J Gadgil."Practical design considerations for secondary air injection in wood-burning cookstoves: An experimental study."Development Engineering 5 (2020) 100049. DOI

2019

Singh, Reshma, Baptiste Ravache, and Mary Ann Piette."Energy Modeling in Urban Districts: Forecast of multi-sector Energy Use and GHG Emissions." (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

Less, Brennan, Iain S Walker, Jonathan L Slack, Leo I Rainer, and Ronnen M Levinson."Sealed and Insulated Attic Hygrothermal Performance in New California Homes Using Vapor and Air Permeable Insulation—Field Study and Simulations." (2019).

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

Guyot, Gaelle, Max H Sherman, and Iain S Walker."Smart ventilation energy and indoor air quality performance in residential buildings: A review."Energy and Buildings 165 (2018) 416 - 430. DOI

Kim, Yang-Seon, Iain S Walker, and William W Delp."Development of a standard capture efficiency test method for residential kitchen ventilation."Science and Technology for the Built Environment 24 (2018) 176–187. DOI

2017

Kim, Yang-Seon, Iain S Walker, and William W Delp."Development of a Standard Test Method for Reducing the Uncertainties in Measuring the Capture Efficiency of Range Hoods." (2017).

Walker, Iain S, Yang-Seon Kim, Brett C Singer, and Wanyu R Chan."Assessing Occupant and Outdoor Air Impacts on Indoor Air Quality in New California Homes."AIVC Conference (2017). DOI

Rojas, Gabriel, Iain S Walker, and Brett C Singer."Comparing extracting and recirculating residential kitchen range hoods for the use in high energy efficient housing."AIVC Conference (2017). DOI

Walker, Iain S, Gariel Rojas, Jordan D Clark, and Max H Sherman."Evaluating the Performance of Island Kitchen Range Hoods."AIVC Conference (2017). DOI

Walker, Iain S, Max H Sherman, Jordan D Clark, and Gaelle Guyot."Residential Smart Ventilation: A Review." (2017).

Less, Brennan, and Iain S Walker."Smart Ventilation Controls for Occupancy and Auxiliary Fan Use Across U.S. Climates." (2017).

2016

Singer, Brett C, William W Delp, Douglas R Black, and Iain S Walker."Measured performance of filtration and ventilation systems for fine and ultrafine particles and ozone in an unoccupied modern California house."Indoor Air (2016). DOI

Chan, Wanyu R, Yang-Seon Kim, Brett C Singer, Iain S Walker, and Max H Sherman."Healthy Efficient New Gas Homes (HENGH) Field Study Protocol." (2016).

Walker, Iain S, J Chris Stratton, William W Delp, and Max H Sherman."Development of a Tracer Gas Capture Efficiency Test Method for Residential Kitchen Ventilation." (2016).