Residential Buildings

Home Energy Briefs: #4 Space Heating

This Home Energy Brief serves as a guide for home-heating options. It covers the topics of heat loss and passive heating; the efficiency, maintenance, and costs of heating systems; and what you should consider when purchasing a heating system. Investing in space heating systems is an expensive and long-term decision.

Home Energy Briefs: #6 Cleaning Appliances

This Home Energy Brief focuses on cleaning appliances. The Brief covers cold water washing, efficient dryers, and dishwashers. Dishwashers and clothes washers and dryers all use a lot of energy and water and are responsible for a significant portion of the average household’s energy bill. Often, this warrants a change…

Home Energy Briefs: #8 Kitchen Appliances

This Home Energy Brief discusses kitchen appliances. The Brief covers the following topics: food and the impacts of what we eat; the electricity use of refrigerators and freezers; cooking appliances; and food waste. Having an energy efficient kitchen means understanding the energy consumption of the appliances in your kitchen, the…

Home Energy Briefs: #5 Water Heating

This Home Energy Brief covers water heating. The brief goes over storage tank heaters, demand water heaters, solar thermal water heating, heat pump water heaters, and drain-water heat recovery. You can save money immediately by changing how you use your hot water, for example, by lowering the temperature on your…

Home Energy Briefs: #3 Space Cooling

This Home Energy Brief focuses on space cooling. The Brief covers the issues of heat gain, passive cooling, and space cooling systems. Using a conventional air conditioning system is often the most expensive and energy intensive way to cool a home. If you are buying a new air conditioner, first…