Heating & Cooling
District heating systems provide economies of scale in large cities like Copenhagen.
HVAC—heating, cooling, and ventilation—is responsible for more than a third of energy use in commercial buildings in the U.S. Smart designs can easily save upwards of 40% of that energy, often with strategies that offer instant or short payback. And good design that focuses on thermal comfort supports healthier, more productive occupants.
Heating & Cooling
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Solar Thermal Hot Water, Heating, and Cooling
Feature
By creating heat instead of electricity, solar thermal achieves three times the efficiency of photovoltaics at a lower price.
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Passive Solar Heating
Feature
Using the sun for most of a building's heating needs is in the DNA of green building. But in an age of superinsulation, does it still make sense?
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Are Cool Roofs Green? The Answer’s Not Black and White
Feature
Roofing choices are complicated by heating tradeoffs, climate effects, and condensation, but proponents say reflective roofs still make sense in most climates.
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The Cost of Comfort: Climate Change and Refrigerants
Feature
Refrigerants with very high global warming potential can negate the energy-efficiency benefits of many HVAC systems, including popular heat pumps.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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How Air-Source Heat Pumps Work
Explainer
Heating with cold air? Cooling off with hot air? Heat pumps performing these feats (especially mini-splits and VRF systems) have taken off, but how do they work?
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Radiant Floor Heating: Wrong Choice for Green Homes?
Explainer
While very popular, radiant-floor heating is not well-suited to highly insulated, green homes.
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Ground-Source Heat Pumps: Tapping the Earth's Mass
Explainer
Ground-source heat pumps take advantage of stable temperatures just below the Earth's crust for energy-efficient heating and cooling.
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Comparing Fuel Costs
Explainer
One would think comparing the costs of different heating fuels would be simple, but figuring out the amount heat available in a given quantity of fuel-and the associated cost-can be tricky.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Top-Performing Pellet Stoves
Product Review
High-efficiency pellet stoves from Quadra-Fire and Harman Stove Company offer heat from a renewable source with low particulate emissions.
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Matrix Total Home System Offers All-in-One Efficiency
Product Review
The Matrix Total Home System from NTI is an energy-efficient mechanical system that includes forced-air and hydronic heating as well as energy recovery and ventilation in one space-efficient unit.
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The First Practical Heliostat
Product Review
Practical Solar has introduced a simple heliostat system to reflect sunlight into buildings for lighting and space heating; future applications will include water heating and electricity generation.
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Active Chilled Beams: Saving Energy and Space
Product Review
Active chilled beams use a combination of chilled water, finned heat-exchanger coils, and ventilation air to induce air flows that supply cooling and heating in commercial buildings.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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New Standard Showcases Efficiency of VRF Multi-Splits
News Analysis
The Air-Conditioning, Heating and Refrigeration Institute (AHRI) recently created a standard that evaluates the efficiency of variable refrigerant flow (VRF) multi-split heating and cooling systems. AHRI 1230 allows a comparison between VRF multi-splits and unitary HVAC systems that was not possible previously.
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Toledo Museum Is State-of-the-Art at a Century Old
News Analysis
Solar panels and micro-turbines enable a historic art museum to reduce its electrical usage 79%.
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Future Heat Waves Will Kill Power and AC—and People
News Analysis
Passive cooling strategies are surprisingly effective, even as heat waves become more extreme.
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Experts Disagree on IRA Tax Credit for Ground-Source Heat Pumps
News Analysis
Millions in tax credits are available from the Inflation Reduction Act, but even some long-standing rules are now being questioned. Lean on your tax advisors, and expect updates as the first projects go through the process.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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Just For Fun
Something weird happens every April at BuildingGreen...
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