Heat recovery ventilators (HRVs) save energy by recovering heat that would otherwise be exhausted as part of energy code-mandated mechanical ventilation systems. Residential HRVs can be life cycle cost effective depending on equipment/installation costs and the severity of the climate. This brief evaluates HRV cost effectiveness in the context of building energy codes to identify...

Modern residential building energy codes provide a component tradeoff mechanism by which builders can trade reductions in the efficiency of some building components in trade for corresponding improvement in other components. One common tradeoff approach is based on maintaining a building "UA value," which represents the building envelope's overall thermal conductance. The building UA is...

Certification of green building materials is a proven and effective way to incorporate, at large scale, products that are energy efficient, have minimal ill effect on indoor air quality, and/or have other green attributes into buildings. Recently, the General Office of the State Council of China, in order to increase the supply of high-quality green...

This toolkit is designed as a first step in helping countries, cities and experts in developing, adopting and implementing their codes. In its present form, this toolkit is set out as a useful reference, but also as a means of assessing the potential of such information to help governments and other stakeholders. The toolkit covers...

Buildings currently account for over 35% of Vietnam’s total energy consumption. Buildings codes could result in 30-40% buildings energy savings. The Vietnam Building Energy Code (VBEEC) was introduced in 2013 and now scheduled for revision in 2016. In 2016, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) provided the following key recommendations for the revision of the Vietnam...