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

2007

Gustavsen, Arlid, Bjørn Petter Jelle, Dariush K Arasteh, and Christian Kohler."State-of-the-Art Highly Insulating Window Frames - Research and Market Review."SINTEF Building and Infrastructure (2007).

Haves, Philip, and Peng Xu."The Building Controls Virtual Test Bed – a Simulation Environment for Developing and Testing Control Algorithms, Strategies and Systems."Building Simulation ’07 (2007).

Wray, Craig P, and Hashem Akbari."The Effects of Roof Reflectance on Air Temperatures Surrounding a Rooftop Condensing Unit."Energy and Buildings 40 (2007) 11-28.

Zuo, Wangda, and Qingyan Chen."Validation of fast fluid dynamics for room airflow."the 10th International IBPSA Conference (Building Simulation 2007) (2007) 980-983.

2006

Tschudi, William F, and Stephen Fok."Best Practices for Energy Efficient Data Centers Identified Through Case Studies and Demonstration Projects."2007 ASHRAE Winter Meeting (2006).

Xu, Peng, Yu Joe Huang, Ruidong Jin, and Guoxiong Yang."Measured energy performance of a US-China demonstration energy-efficient commercial building."2007 ASHRAE Winter Meeting, January 27-31, 2007 (2006).

Arasteh, Dariush K, Howdy Goudey, Yu Joe Huang, Christian Kohler, and Robin Mitchell."Performance Criteria for Residential Zero Energy Windows."2007 ASHRAE Winter Meeting (2006).

Anders, André, Nitisak Pasaja, Sunnie H.N Lim, Tim C Petersen, and Vicki J Keast."Plasma biasing to control the growth conditions of diamond-like carbon."Surface and Coatings Technology 201.8 (2006) 4628-4632. DOI

Lin, Jiang, Nan Zhou, Mark D Levine, and David Fridley."Achieving China’s Target for Energy Intensity Reduction in 2010: An exploration of recent trends and possible future scenarios." (2006).

Zhou, Nan, Chris Marnay, Ryan M Firestone, Weijun Gao, and Masaru Nishida."An Analysis of the DER Adoption Climate in Japan Using Optimization Results for Prototype Buildings with U.S. Comparisons."Energy and Buildings Journal Vol. 38.Issue 12 (2006) 10.

Kaarsberg, Tina, and Hashem Akbari."Cool Roofs Cool the Planet."Home Energy (2006) 38-41.

Prasher, Ravi S, Prajesh Bhattacharya, and Patrick E Phelan."Effect of Coloidal Chemistry on the Thermal Conductivity of Nanofluids."International Mechanical Engineering Congress & Exposition (2006).

Lee, Eleanor S, Dennis L DiBartolomeo, Joseph H Klems, Mehry Yazdanian, and Stephen E Selkowitz."Monitored Energy Performance of Electrochromic Windows Controlled for Daylight and Visual Comfort."2006 ASHRAE Annual Meeting 112 Issue 2 (2006).

Walker, Iain S."Residential Furnace Blower Performance." (2006).

Wang, Liping, and Angui Li."A numerical study of Trombe wall for enhancing stack ventilation in buildings."The 23rd International Conference on Passive and Low Energy Architecture, Geneva (2006).

Walker, Iain S, and Darryl J Dickerhoff."Evaluation of a new ramping technique for duct leakage testing." (2006).

Wenzel, Thomas P."Increasing the Fuel Economy and Safety of New Light-Duty Vehicles." (2006).

Wetter, Michael."Multizone Airflow Model in Modelica."Proceedings of the 5th International Modelica Conference (2006) 431-440.

Wetter, Michael."Multizone Building Model for Thermal Building Simulation in Modelica."Proceedings of the 5th International Modelica Conference (2006) 517-526.

Wang, Liping, and Nyuk Hien Wong."Natural ventilation simulation by using coupling building simulation and CFD simulation program for accurate prediction of indoor thermal environment."the 23st International conference on Passive and Low energy architecture , Geneva (2006).

Wang, Liping, and Nyuk Hien Wong."The impacts of facade designs: orientations, window to wall ratios and shading devices on indoor environment for naturally ventilated residential buildings in Singapore."the 23st International conference on Passive and Low energy architecture, Geneva (2006).

Griffith, Brent T."A Model for Naturally Ventilated Cavities on the Exteriors of Opaque Building Thermal Envelopes."SimBuild 2006 (2006).

Malhotra, Mini, and Jeff S Haberl."An Analysis of Building Envelope Upgrades for Residential Energy Efficiency in Hot and Humid Climates."SimBuild 2006 (2006).

Doebber, Ian, and Maurya McClintock."Analysis Process for Designing Double Skin Facades and Associated Case Study."SimBuild 2006 (2006).

Brown, Richard E, William Rittelmann, Danny S Parker, and Gregory K Homan."Appliances, Lighting, Electronics, and Miscellaneous Equipment Electricity Use in New Homes."2006 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 9 (2006) 9-37: 9-48.