News and Updates

Displaying 1 - 25 of 38

UV Disinfection Lights Can Cause Indoor Air Pollution

May 30, 2024

Further research is needed to understand how to minimize the unintended byproducts of ultraviolet light.

A researcher wearing a face mask gestures to a Christmas tree set up in a metallic box with a large spotlight shining on it.

Live Christmas Trees Affect Indoor Air Chemistry, NIST Researchers Find

December 22, 2023

Many families enjoy the fresh fragrance of a real tree. That smell comes from chemicals called volatile organic compounds (VOCs).

Spotlight: Using Robots to Assess Photovoltaic Cells

October 4, 2023

How can we make photovoltaic cells (such as those used for solar panels) work more efficiently, even in diffuse or indirect light?

A white, square plastic CO2 meter sits on a table in a restaurant setting, reading 621 ppm.

NIST’s Indoor CO₂ Tool Can Help Assess Ventilation and Indoor Air Quality

July 19, 2022

The free tool calculates target CO2 levels based on the user’s desired ventilation rate and information about a building and its occupants.

A man in safety goggles crouches at the back of an open air-conditioning unit, looking at a handheld tester.

Spotlight: Overhauling the Refrigeration Industry to Fight Global Warming

June 26, 2022

NIST researchers are tackling the question of alternative refrigerant fluids.

A scientist wearing protective gear holds up a petri dish.

Spotlight: Never Stagnant: Microbiologist Alshae’ Logan’s Path Through the Pipeline Into Science

February 28, 2022

In grade school, Alshae’ Logan hadn’t seen or heard of a Black woman earning a doctoral degree, nor had she been taught of the contributions Black women made to

Streamlined NIST Tool Could Help Homeowners, Renters Reduce Airborne Exposure to COVID

November 24, 2021

COVID-19 is still circulating in the U.S. and may once again gain traction as families and friends gather indoors over the holidays. There are several measures

Common Solar Tech Can Power Smart Devices Indoors, NIST Study Finds

August 19, 2021

Any time you turn on a light at home or in the office, you are expending energy. But what if flipping the light switch meant producing energy too? We usually

A hospital room containing a nurse and patient exhaling aerosols carrying viruses. Air ducts and filters are depicted above and a portable air filter is shown in the room.

NIST Airflow Model Could Help Reduce Indoor Exposure to Aerosols Carrying Coronavirus

June 11, 2020

Researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) have built an online tool that could help decrease the concentration of aerosols

A shower head with steamy water coming out.

NIST Identifies Critical Needs for Improved Plumbing

May 11, 2020

We don’t use water like we used to. In recent decades, concerns about cost, water shortages and environmental impacts together with changes in plumbing design

a large, hollow silver cylinder on a wheeled metal rack on the right, the guarded hot plate, another smaller cylinder festooned with wires that fits inside the larger cylinder is on the left

Spotlight: Thermal Insulation SRM in Space

May 8, 2020

Feeling hot, hot, hot … but this thermal insulation standard reference material (SRM 1450e) can help you take the heat, both in an apartment building and in

A view through a door window of N95 masks being decontaminated.

NIST Tool Could Help Hospitals Repurpose Rooms for Disinfecting N95 Masks

April 16, 2020

In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, hospitals across the United States are disinfecting N95 masks by placing them in repurposed rooms or shipping containers

Two hands in purple gloves hold onto butane lighters, which are being used to light up two cigarettes poised in a metal device.

Butt Emissions: Study Finds Even Extinguished Cigarettes Give Off Toxins

January 29, 2020

Cigarette butts pile up in parks, beaches, streets and bus stops, places where all types of littering are frowned upon. An estimated more than five trillion

Modern Metabolic Science Yields Better Way to Calculate Indoor CO₂

April 28, 2017

The air we breathe out can help us improve the quality of the air we breathe in. Measurements of indoor carbon dioxide (CO 2) concentrations are used to

Photo of the NIST net-zero energy house under construction

At NIST Net-Zero Energy House, Energy Efficiency, Clean Air Are Compatible Goals

August 24, 2015

You can breathe easy in the net-zero energy house at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). After 15 months of monitoring, researchers

New Publications Scope Future Research, Detail Design and Operation of NIST's Net-Zero Energy House

March 27, 2015

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently interviewed engineers, architects, builders and other experts for ideas on research to pursue

Underperforming? Energy Efficiency of HVAC Equipment Suffers Due to Poor Installation

November 7, 2014

The push for more efficient air conditioners and heat pumps aims to trim the 30 percent share of residential electrical energy use devoted to cooling and

For the Sake of Energy Efficiency, New "Intelligent Agents Lab" Doubles As a Building

August 25, 2014

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is converting one of its laboratories into the equivalent of a small office building—not because of an

NIST Test House Exceeds Goal; Ends Year with Energy to Spare

July 1, 2014

The net-zero energy test house at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in suburban Washington, D.C., not only absorbed winter's best shot

Countdown to Net Zero: NIST Test House Pursues Energy Surplus in Final Month

June 2, 2014

Heading into the final stretch of a year-long trial run, the experimental net-zero energy house at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in

Over 6 Months, NIST Zero-Energy House Gives Back to the Grid

March 11, 2014

Over the first six months in their special, new, four-bedroom home in suburban Maryland, the Nisters, a prototypical family of four, earned about $40 by

Air Conditioner "Evolves" in Novel NIST Study

September 3, 2013

Played out on a computer over hundreds of generations, a survival-of-the-fittest programming method adapted by National Institute of Standards and Technology

Study Provides Details on Portable Generator Emissions and Carbon Monoxide Exposure

July 10, 2013

Despite warnings to the contrary, many people continue to operate portable generators indoors or close to open windows, doors, or vents, resulting in more than

Prototype Generators Emit Much Less Carbon Monoxide, NIST Finds

April 17, 2013

Portable electric generators retrofitted with off-the-shelf hardware by the University of Alabama (UA) emitted significantly lower levels of carbon monoxide (CO

NIST Measurement Advance Could Speed Innovation in Solar Devices

July 25, 2012

A new versatile measurement system devised by researchers at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) accurately and quickly measures the

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