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

2014

Sproul, Julian, Man-Pun Wan, Benjamin H. Mandel, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."Economic Comparison of White, Green, and Black Flat Roofs in the United States."Energy and Buildings 71 (2014) 20-27. DOI

2013

Rossi, Federico, Franco Cotana, Mirko Filipponi, Andrea Nicolini, Surabi Menon, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."Cool roofs as a strategy to tackle global warming: economical and technical opportunities."Advances in Building Energy Research 7.2 (2013) 254 - 268. DOI

2009

Akbari, Hashem, Surabi Menon, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."Global cooling: increasing world-wide urban albedos to offset CO₂."Climatic Change 94.3-4 (2009) 275-286. DOI

Akbari, Hashem, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."Cool roofs could save money, save planet."KGO-TV (abc7news) (2009).

Rosenfeld, Arthur H.."Painting the town white: California Energy Commissioner, Art Rosenfeld, explains the benefits of cool roofs."National Public Radio (2009).

2008

Akbari, Hashem, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."White roofs cool the world, directly offset CO₂ and delay global warming."Research Highlights (2008).

Akbari, Hashem, Surabi Menon, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."Equivalent CO₂ avoided by reflective roofs and pavements in California."Memo to California Air Resources Board (2008).

2007

Akbari, Hashem, Surabi Menon, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."Global cooling: effect of urban albedo on global temperature."2nd PALENC and 28th AIVC Conference (2007) 1-5.

2004

Akbari, Hashem, Paul H. Berdahl, Ronnen M. Levinson, Stephen Wiel, Andre Desjarlais, William A. Miller, Nancy Jenkins, Arthur H. Rosenfeld, and Chris Scruton."Cool colored roofs to save energy and improve air quality."ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings, August 22-27, 2004 1 (2004) 1-16.

2000

Akbari, Hashem, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."Cool communities."Macmillan Encyclopedia of Energy 1 (2000) 305-8.

1999

Pomerantz, Melvin, Hashem Akbari, Paul H. Berdahl, Steven J. Konopacki, Haider Taha, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."Reflective surfaces for cooler buildings and cities."Philosophical Magazine Part B 79 (1999) 1457-1476. DOI

1998

Rosenfeld, Arthur H., Hashem Akbari, Joseph J. Romm, and Melvin Pomerantz."Cool communities: strategies for heat island mitigation and smog reduction."Energy and Buildings 28 (1998) 51-62. DOI

Bretz, Sarah E., Hashem Akbari, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."Practical issues for using solar-reflective materials to mitigate urban heat islands."Atmospheric Environment 32 (1998) 95-101. DOI

1997

Akbari, Hashem, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."Cool buildings and cool communities."Proceedings of the Second International Conference on Buildings and the Environment 2 (1997) 301-308.

Rosenfeld, Arthur H., Joseph J. Romm, Hashem Akbari, and Alan C. Lloyd."Painting the Town White—and Green."MIT Technology Review 100.2 (1997) 52-59.

Pomerantz, Melvin, Hashem Akbari, Allan Chen, Haider Taha, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."Paving materials for heat island mitigation." (1997). DOI

1996

Rosenfeld, Arthur H., Joseph J. Romm, Hashem Akbari, Melvin Pomerantz, and Haider Taha."Policies to reduce heat islands: Magnitudes of benefits and incentives to achieve them."1996 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 9 (1996) 177-186.

1995

Rosenfeld, Arthur H., Hashem Akbari, Sarah E. Bretz, Beth L. Fishman, Dan M. Kurn, David J. Sailor, and Haider Taha."Mitigation of urban heat islands: materials, utility programs, updates."Energy and Buildings 22.3 (1995) 255-265. DOI

Akbari, Hashem, Arthur H. Rosenfeld, and Haider Taha."Cool construction materials offer energy savings and help reduce smog."ASTM Standardization News 23 (1995) 32-37.

1992

Akbari, Hashem, Sarah E. Bretz, James W. Hanford, Arthur H. Rosenfeld, David J. Sailor, Haider Taha, and Willem Bos."Monitoring peak power and cooling energy savings of shade trees and white surfaces in the Sacramento Municipal Utility District (SMUD) service area: project design and preliminary results." (1992). DOI

Bretz, Sarah E., Hashem Akbari, Arthur H. Rosenfeld, and Haider Taha."Implementation of solar-reflective surfaces: materials and utility programs." (1992) 67. DOI

1991

Taha, Haider, Hashem Akbari, and Arthur H. Rosenfeld."Heat island and oasis effects of vegetative canopies: micro-meteorological field-measurements."Theoretical and Applied Climatology 44 (1991) 123-138. DOI

1990

Akbari, Hashem, Arthur H. Rosenfeld, and Haider Taha."Summer heat islands, urban trees, and white surfaces."Proceedings of the 1990 ASHRAE Winter Conference (1990).

Koomey, Jonathan G., Arthur H. Rosenfeld, and Ashok J. Gadgil."Conservation Screening Curves to Compare Efficiency Investments to Power Plants: Applications to Commercial Sector Conservation Programs."1990 ACEEE Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings 5 (1990) 5.115-5.124.

1989

Koomey, Jonathan G., Arthur H. Rosenfeld, and Ashok J. Gadgil."Conservation Screening Curves to Compare Efficiency Investments to Power Plants." (1989) 20.