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

2015

Wu, Yong, Jing Huo, Yisheng Liu, Yinan Li, Kexi Xu, Nan Zhou, and Wei Feng."Research on an Energy-Efficiency Improvement Roadmap for Commercial Buildings in China."European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ECEEE) Summer Study on Energy Efficiency, June 1-6, 2015 (2015).

Jorissen, Filip, Michael Wetter, and Lieve Helsen."Simulation Speed Analysis and Improvements of Modelica Models for Building Energy Simulation." (2015).

Agyeman, Yaw O."Steady Hand at the Wheel: Using an Incremental, Systematic Approach to Promote an Evaluation Culture in a Federal Organization."International Energy Program Evaluation Conference (2015).

Mills, Evan, and Nathaniel Mills."Taming the Energy Use of Gaming Computers."Energy Efficiency (2015). DOI

Ohshita, Stephanie, David Fridley, Nina Khanna, Nan Zhou, Gang He, Lixuan Hong, and Yong Zhou."Urban form as a “first fuel” for low-carbon mobility in Chinese cities: strategies for energy and carbon saving in the transport sector."European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ECEEE) Summer Study on Energy Efficiency, June 1-6, 2015 (2015).

2014

Mills, Evan, J Tracy, P Alstone, Arne Jacobson, and P Avato."Low-cost LED flashlights and market spoiling in Kenya’s off-grid lighting market."Energy Efficiency 8.2 (2014) https://eta-publications.lbl.gov/publications?f%5Bauthor%5D=16780. DOI

McNeil, Andrew, Christian Kohler, Eleanor S Lee, and Stephen E Selkowitz."High Performance Building Mockup in FLEXLAB." (2014).

Yin, Rongxin, Sila Kiliccote, and Mary Ann Piette."Linking measurements and models in commercial buildings: A case study for model calibration and demand response strategy evaluation." (2014).

Diamond, Richard C, and Wei Feng."Sustainability by Design: How One Building in China Could Change the World." (2014).

Mathew, Paul A, Laurel N Dunn, Michael D Sohn, Andrea C Mercado, Claudine Y Custodio, and Travis Walter."Big-Data for Building Energy Performance: Lessons from Assembling a Very Large National Database of Building Energy Use." (2014).

Gao, Yafeng, Jiangmin Xu, Shichao Yang, Xiaomin Tang, Quan Zhou, Jing Ge, Tengfang T Xu, and Ronnen M Levinson."Cool Roofs in China: Policy Review, Building Simulations, and Proof-Of-Concept Experiments."Energy Policy 74 (2014) 190-214. DOI

Khanna, Nina, Nan Zhou, Jing Ke, and David Fridley."Evaluation of the Contribution of the Building Sector to PM2.5 Emissions in China." (2014).

Anders, André, Pavel A Ni, and Joakim Andersson."Drifting Ionization Zone in DC Magnetron Sputtering Discharges at Very Low Currents."IEEE Transactions on Plasma Science 42.10 (2014) 2578 - 2579. DOI

Alstone, Peter, Patricia Lai, and Evan Mills."High Life Cycle Efficacy Explains Fast Energy Payback for Improved Off-Grid Lighting in the Developing World."Journal of Industrial Ecology 18.5 (2014) 722-733. DOI

Mills, Evan, Norman Bourassa, Leo I Rainer, Gregory K Homan, Noel Market, Danny S Parker, Glenn Dickey, and Joan Glickman."Asset Rating with the Home Energy Scoring Tool."Energy and Building 80 (2014) 441-450. DOI

Haves, Philip, Craig P Wray, David A Jump, Daniel Veronica, and Christopher Farley."Development of Diagnostic and Measurement and Verification Tools for Commercial Buildings." (2014).

Earni, Shankar."Advanced Metering Implementations - A Perspective from Federal Sector."2014 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings (2014).

Meier, Alan K, and Hans-Paul Siderius."Assembling Appliances Standards from a Basket of Functions."2014 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings (2014).

Xia, Jianjun, Tianzhen Hong, Qi Shen, Wei Feng, Le Yang, Piljae Im, Alison Lu, and Mahabir Bhandari."Comparison of Building Energy Use Data Between the United States and China."Energy and Buildings 78 (2014) 165-175. DOI

Zhou, Nan, Nina Khanna, Wei Feng, Lixuan Hong, David Fridley, Jon Creyts, Ellen M Franconi, Roy Torbert, and Yi Ke."Cost-effective Options for Transforming China's Buildings Sector."2014 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings (2014).

Coleman, Philip, Shankar Earni, and Charles H Williams."Could what that ESCO sales rep said really be true? Savings realization rates in ESPC versus bid-to-spec projects."2014 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings (2014).

Hong, Tianzhen, Le Yang, David Hill, and Wei Feng."Data and Analytics to Inform Energy Retrofit of High Performance Buildings."Applied Energy 126 (2014) 90-106. DOI

Turner, William J. N, and Iain S Walker."Energy and IAQ Implications of Residential Ventilation Cooling." (2014).

Cheung, H.Y Iris, Steve E Greenberg, Roozbeh Mahdavi, Richard E Brown, and William Tscudi."Energy Efficiency in Small Server Rooms: FIeld Surveys and Findings."2014 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings (2014).

Payne, Christopher T, H.Y Iris Cheung, and Emily Fisher."Evolution of Energy Efficiency Programs Over Time: The Case of Standby Power."2014 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings (2014).