The High-Performance Building Assemblies tool is designed to provide builders with options for high-performing foundation, wall, window, and roof construction assemblies for every U.S. weather-specific region. The assemblies presented meet the requirements of the DOE Efficient New Homes (ENH) program, Single Family Version 2. The tool provides options for each region individually and includes the following.
Building Assemblies: Drawings are provided showing section views of building assemblies that safely meet the DOE Efficient New Homes envelope requirements. A variety of construction types are provided for each region. Window installation drawings focusing on flashing details for different wall types are also provided. All drawings are provided in PNG and PDF formats and are accompanied by a set of explanatory notes highlighting key details and indicating potential alternatives. Links to relevant Building America Solution Center guides are also given for each construction type.
Case Studies: Case studies of actual projects that have met the prescriptive ENH Target Home requirements are presented.
This tool focuses on the prescriptive R-value requirements defined in Exhibit 2 of the ENH National Program Requirements. Note, however, that the program allows significant design flexibility; these prescriptive values do not necessarily have to be met for every assembly. ENH compliance is based on energy modeling results, not on simply meeting prescriptive R-values. For information on ENH certification, visit the DOE Efficient New Homes Program website. The construction types presented are suggested options, not mandatory requirements for each region. They provide a variety of instructional examples that demonstrate some of the key principles in attaining thermal efficiency while controlling moisture concerns within the assembly.
All of the roof and wall assemblies have been vetted by hygrothermal modeling to assess moisture risk. When possible, wall assemblies were modeled using the Building Science Advisor tool.
To learn more about these weather-specific regions, see the following report. The data sets represented in this report were developed by DOE and are publicly available. They can be accessed at this link.
This tool was funded by the U.S. Department of Energy. It was created through collaboration between Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, Building Science Corporation, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory. Additional contributions by Southface Institute and IBACOS have expanded the tool.