Browse by Category | Building America Solution Center

Guide describing how to properly test the air barrier between the garage and house, and how to ensure the air barrier is tight enough to prevent garage air from entering the home.

Guide describing ways to air-seal an attached garage in new and existing homes.

Guide describing how to install a bathroom exhaust fan to remove excess moisture.

Guide describing the EPA's Indoor AirPlus construction specifications for low-VOC pressed wood materials.

Guide describing the EPA's Indoor AirPlus construction specifications for carpets.

Guide describing the EPA's Indoor AirPlus construction specifications for low/no VOC paints and finishes.

Guide describing how to conduct testing for adequate combustion air in the space where a combustion appliance is located if the appliance is located within the conditioned space of the home.

Guide describing how to choose and install a carbon monoxide alarm.

Guide describing how to set controls on an exhaust fan for continuous operation.

Guide describing categories of direct-vent combustion space- and water-heating equipment and combustion safety testing.

Guide describing how to provide combustion air for fireplaces and how to test fireplaces for combustion safety.

Guide describing the uses, selection process, and specification of high-MERV filters.

Guide describing how to install an efficient kitchen exhaust fan.

Guide describing how to install an exhaust fan in an attached garage to pull fumes out of the garage and to depressurize the garage with reference to the home.

Guide describing how to install obvious ventilation controls for continuous and intermittent exhaust fans used for whole-house ventilation.

Guide describing how to install outdoor air intakes and connect them to the return side of the HVAC system, using controls installed to operate intermittently & automatically based on a timer and to restrict intake when not in use (e.g., a motorized damper).

Guide describing how to correctly vent a clothes dryer to direct exhaust air out of the home.

Guide describing proper sizing and installation of high-MERV furnace and air-handler filters.

Guide describing how to install a radon mitigation fan to actively remove radon from the home.

Guide describing ways builders can block off entry points and otherwise make homes inhospitable to all manner of pests.

Guide describing removal of construction debris from flex ducts and protection of ducts and HVAC equipment during construction to keep them free of dust and debris.

Guide describing methods to keep birds, rodents, and other pests out of vent openings and other locations in new and existing homes.

Guide describing the use and testing of programmable thermostats.

Guide describing concerns with un-vented combustion appliances such as sealed fireplaces.

Step 2: Fresh Air

Air Leakage Testing Garage to House Air Barrier

Air Sealing Attached Garage

Bathroom Exhaust Fans

Certified Low-Emission Cabinets and Wood Products

Certified Low-Emission Carpet Adhesives and Carpet

Certified Low/No Emission Interior Paints and Finishes

Combustion Appliance Zone (CAZ) Testing

Combustion Safety - CO Alarms Installed

Continuously Operating Ventilation and Exhaust Fans

Direct Vent Equipment

Fireplaces and Wood Stoves Have Proper Ventilation

High-MERV Filters

Kitchen Exhaust Fans

Mechanical Ventilation for Attached Garage

Obvious Ventilation Controls

Outdoor Air Intake Damper Controlled

Proper Clothes Dryer Venting

Proper Installation of Furnace and Air-Handler Filters

Radon Fan

Reduce Pest Intrusion

Removing Construction Debris from Ducts

Screens and Other Deterrents for Birds, Rodents, and Other Pests

Thermostat Controls

Unvented Combustion Appliances