As thermal storage media, phase-change materials (PCMs) such as paraffin1 eutectic salts; etc. offer an order-of-magnitude increase in thermal storage capacity, and their discharge is almost isothermal. By embedding PCMs in gypsum board, plaster, or other wall -covering materials, the building structure acquires latent storage properties. Structural elements containing PCMs can store large amounts of energy while maintaining the indoor temperature within a relatively narrow range.

Conventional evaporative coolers are high-pressure high-volume devices that deliver cool air by water evaporation wetted pads. Natural down-draft evaporative coolers, or "Cool Towers", are devices developed at The University of Arizona's Environmental Research Laboratory. Similar to conventional coolers, these devices are equipped with wetted pads and sprays at the top which provide cool air by evaporation but the air is moved by gravity flow saving the energy required by the blower. In arid regions, cool towers are useful for cooling buildings and outdoor private and public areas.

This paper documents the energy savings observed for a program operated by the Eugene Water and Electric Board which provided duct sealing for mobile and manufactured homes as its principal measure. Billing data and associated mean outdoor temperature data on more than 400 participants for one or more years pre and post was used as the basis of the savings estimate. The observed savings were used along with site treatment costs to estimate a levelized cost of savings of 12 mills/kWh exclusive of utility management costs.

This paper documents the experimental results and energy savings estimate from an end-use and water metering study of a sample of 104 multi-family sites. These sites were treated with a comprehensive Domestic Hot Water (DHW) retrofit consisting of flow efficient 2.0 GPM showerheads, kitchen and bath aerators, tank thermostat setback to 130°F, and a tank wrap if necessary. These measurements were modeled by a regression model with variables for occupancy, setback degree, and delta flow at the primary showerhead.

In 1995 Tacoma Power initiated a test of residential duct sealing to determine the feasibility of a full-scale program to improve the duct system in customer homes with central system electric heat.

In 1997 the State of Wisconsin began searching for low-income programs that were innovative in their approach and which offered the potential to improve or expand program delivery. TecMRKT Works responded to this call with an RFP to implement the first shared-savings pilot weatherization program in the United States. This paper describes the program being tested in Wisconsin and presents some of the early "lessons learned".

In recent years, residential energy conservation research has focused attention on heating system distribution efficiency. Several field studies in the Pacific Northwest have found forced-air heating systems which have a majority of ducts located in unheated buffer spaces can lose as much as 3 0% of the equipment's heating output to duct air leakage and conduction loss. The magnitude of loss can be equivalent to the combined improvements in building shell insulation levels due to updated energy codes.

Ventilation systems for residential buildings can be generally categorized as supply, exhaust, or balanced systems. Subcategories include: integration into central air distribution ducts, or single- or multipoint air distribution; This effort focused on establishing a design methodology for central-fan-integrated supply ventilation systems using an outside air duct to the return side of a central air distribution fan, with a specialized fan recycling control.

The Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Homes program seeks to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by encouraging U.S. production home builders to voluntarily improve the thermal quality of their construction by minimizing infiltration, improving insulation, and right-sizing HV AC equipment. Tight homes need active ventilation to maintain indoor air quality, but mechanical ventilation increases initial home cost as well as operating costs.

Simulation analysis suggests that electricity consumption can be reduced up to 40% in existing Florida homes. To test this theory, an all-electric home was located in Miami, Florida upon which to perform a variety of retrofits. The total annual electricity consumption in the one year base-line period preceding the study was 20,733 kWh. Detailed instrumentation and metering equipment was installed in May of 1 995 so that each energy end-use could be evaluated.