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Library

This library contains research reports produced by the Building America program and other building science resources used to support this Solution Center. The materials cover both new construction and existing homes. Use the search box and/or the filters to explore hundreds of residential building resources. Access to some references not produced by Building America may require purchase from the publisher. Documents are listed alphabetically. While we continually update our database, links may have changed since posting. Please contact our webmaster if you find broken links.

Showing results 1 - 24 of 24

Preparing for the Worst: DOE’s Building America Solution Center Disaster Resistance Tool

Author(s)
Gilbride Theresa
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Publication Date
Fact sheet poster describing an online tool offered within the Building America Solution Center which provides construction guidance for builders and contractors in building and renovating homes to be more resistant to natural disasters such as hurricanes, flooding, earthquakes and wildfires, etc.

The Home Improvement Expert

Author(s)
Gilbride Theresa
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Publication Date
Fact sheet poster describing a series of fact sheets and checklists for homeowners to share with contractors to help achieve cost-effective, energy-efficient retrofits for dozens of common home renovation projects.

Best Practices Series Volume 16: 40% Whole-House Energy Savings in the Mixed-Humid Climate

Author(s)
Baechler Michael C,
Gilbride Theresa L,
Hefty Marye G,
Cole Pam C,
Adams Karen T,
Butner Ryan S,
Ortiz S J,
Love Pat M
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
ORNL
Publication Date
Report describing measures that builders in mixed-humid climates can use to build homes that have whole-house energy savings of 40% over the Building America benchmark with no added overall costs for consumers.

Building America Performance Analysis Procedures: Revision 1

Author(s)
Hendron Robert,
Anderson Ren,
Judkoff Ron,
Christensen Craig,
Eastment Mark,
Norton Paul,
Reeves Paul,
Hancock Ed
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Partnership for Resource Conservation,
Mountain Energy Partnership
Publication Date
Document illustrating some analysis concepts that are proven to be effective and reliable in analyzing the transient energy usage of advanced energy systems as well as of entire houses.

Building Materials Property Table, Info-500

Author(s)
Building Science Corporation
Organization(s)
BSC
Publication Date
Document presenting some of the key technical properties of many of the most common building materials.

DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes

Author(s)
Gilbride Theresa
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Publication Date
Fact sheet poster describing benefits and qualification of U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) certified Zero Energy Ready Homes and providing eight examples of certified homes.

Electric Energy Management in the Smart Home: Perspectives on Enabling Technologies and Consumer Behavior

Author(s)
Zipperer Adam,
Aloise-Young Patricia A.,
Suryanarayanan Siddharth,
Roche Robin,
Earle Lieko,
Christensen Dane,
Bauleo Pablo,
Zimmerle Daniel
Organization(s)
Colorado State University,
CSU,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
University of Technology of Belfort-Montbeliard,
UTBM,
Fort Collins Utilities
Publication Date
Journal article presenting a discussion of the state-of-the- art in electricity management in smart homes, the various enabling technologies that will accelerate this concept, and topics around consumer behavior with respect to energy usage.

Field Test Protocol: Standard Internal Load Generation for Unoccupied Test Homes

Author(s)
Fang X,
Christensen Dane,
Barker Greg M,
Hancock Ed
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Mountain Energy Partnership
Publication Date
Report describing a simple and general way to generate House Simulation Protocol (HSP)-consistent internal sensible and latent loads in unoccupied homes.

Home Energy Displays: Consumer Adoption and Response

Author(s)
LaMarche Janelle,
Cheney Kate,
Akers Craig,
Roth Kurt,
Sachs Olga
Organization(s)
Fraunhofer Center for Sustainable Energy Systems,
Fraunhofer CSE,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL
Publication Date
Research study investigating the factors influencing consumer adoption of HEDs and evaluating the resulting electricity consumption.

NightCool: A Nocturnal Radiation Cooling Concept

Author(s)
Parker,
Sherwin,
Hermelink
Organization(s)
FSEC
Publication Date
Report about an experimental evaluation has been conducted on a night sky cooling system designed to substantially reduce space cooling needs in homes in North American climates.

Pilot Evaluation of Energy Savings and Persistence from Residential Energy Demand Feedback Devices in a Hot Climate

Author(s)
Parker Danny S,
Hoak David,
Cummings Jamie E
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC
Publication Date
Report briefly reviewing past research on the effects of occupant behavior on residential energy use and then covering a two year pilot evaluation of a low cost residential energy feedback system installed in twenty case study homes in Florida.

Pilot Evaluation of Energy Savings from Residential Energy Demand Feedback Devices

Author(s)
Parker Danny S,
Hoak David,
Cummings Jamie E
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC
Publication Date
Report briefly reviewing past research on the effects of occupant behavior on residential energy use and then covering a two year pilot evaluation of a low cost residential energy feedback system installed in twenty case study homes in Florida.

Public Housing: A Tailored Approach to Energy Retrofits

Author(s)
Dentz Jordan,
Conlin Francis,
Podorson David,
Alaigh Kunal,
Davis T
Organization(s)
Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions Collaborative,
ARIES,
Levy Partnership,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL
Publication Date
Report presenting ways public housing authorities (PHAs) can develop packages of energy efficiency retrofit measures the PHAs can cost-effectively implement with their own staff in the normal course of housing operations at the time when units are refurbished between occupancies.

READ THIS: Before You Design, Build or Renovate, GM-0602

Author(s)
Lstiburek Joseph,
Brennan Terry
Organization(s)
Building Science Corporation,
BSC
Publication Date
Document with important building science considerations, designed for members of the residential construction and remodeling industries, as well as owners and managers who work in affordable housing.

Residential Best Practices Criteria, Info-001

Author(s)
Building Science Corporation
Organization(s)
BSC
Publication Date
Document containing some of the basic characteristics for energy performance, durability, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality that should be met in all high performance homes.

Towards Sustainability - Green Building, Sustainability Objectives, and Building America Whole House Systems Research, BA-0801

Author(s)
Lukachko Alex,
Lstiburek Joseph
Organization(s)
Building Science Corporation,
BSC
Publication Date
Report discussing Building America whole house systems research within the broad effort to reduce or eliminate the environmental impact of building and provides specific recommendations for future Building America research based on Building Science Corporations experience with several recent...

Ventilation System Effectiveness and Tested Indoor Air Quality Impacts

Author(s)
Rudd,
Lstiburek
Organization(s)
Building Science Corporation
Publication Date
This report describes how twenty homes were tested and monitored in the Zone 2 climate of Houston, Texas, U.S.A., to evaluate the humidity control performance and operating cost of six different integrated dehumidification and ventilation systems that could be applied by production homebuilders.