Organization(s)
American Lung Association
Publication Date
Description
Document outlining important factors for homeowners to be aware of regarding healthy air in homes.
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 - 50 of 91
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2009 edition of code establishing a baseline for existing building retrofits to reach appropriate safety levels under new construction requirements covered in other ICC codes.
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2012 edition of code establishing a baseline for existing building retrofits to reach appropriate safety levels under new construction requirements covered in other ICC codes.
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2015 edition of code establishing a baseline for existing building retrofits to reach appropriate safety levels under new construction requirements covered in other ICC codes.
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2015 edition of code establishing a baseline for energy efficiency by setting performance standards for the building envelope (defined as the boundary that separates heated/cooled air from unconditioned, outside air), mechanical systems, lighting systems and service water heating systems in homes...
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2018 edition of code establishing a baseline for existing building retrofits to reach appropriate safety levels under new construction requirements covered in other ICC codes.
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2018 edition of code establishing a baseline for energy efficiency by setting performance standards for the building envelope (defined as the boundary that separates heated/cooled air from unconditioned, outside air), mechanical systems, lighting systems and service water heating systems in homes...
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Publication Date
Description
Report discussing opportunities and trends in the U.S. home performance contracting industry, along with market drivers such as consumer demand; federal, state, and local programs; and utility and non-governmental programs.
Organization(s)
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA
Publication Date
Description
Document describing advancement in factory built housing innovations.
Organization(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
LBNL
Publication Date
Description
Report describing testing and analysis on deep energy retrofits of existing single-family homes in the U.S.
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL
Publication Date
Description
Report describing an analysis method for determining optimal residential energy efficiency retrofit packages and applies the analysis method to a 1960s-era home in eight U.S. cities.
Organization(s)
ASHRAE,
American National Standards Institute,
ANSI
Publication Date
Description
Standard 55 specifies conditions for acceptable thermal environments and is intended for use in design, operation, and commissioning of buildings and other occupied spaces. This is the current version of the standard, which was published in the year 2021, and is available for preview and purchase at...
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Publication Date
Description
Report describing methodology to assess and improve the accuracy of whole building energy analysis for residential buildings.
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL
Publication Date
Description
Report assessing the accuracy of HEST as it was being developed and to provide information useful to DOE program managers and HEST development team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.
Organization(s)
Hammer & Hand
Publication Date
Description
This Best Practices Manual is the product of Hammer & Hand’s ongoing work to document and internally codify our standard operating procedures for construction practice.
Organization(s)
Building Science Corporation
Publication Date
Description
Book presenting the best techniques for energy and resource efficient residential construction in the colder climates of North America.
Organization(s)
Building Science Corporation
Publication Date
Description
The Builder's Guide provides the building industry with the latest and best practical information on how to apply building science principles to structures as systems in hot-humid climate regions.
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL,
Kaufman Heritage Conservation
Publication Date
Description
Document providing a resource to help contractors renovate historic houses, while addressing issues such as building durability, indoor air quality, and occupant health, safety, and comfort.
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Partnership for Resource Conservation,
Mountain Energy Partnership
Publication Date
Description
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.
Organization(s)
CCEI
Description
Report presenting the building america research to market plan.
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Publication Date
Description
Document about testing software predictions of retrofit energy savings in existing homes.
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
J. Neymark & Associates
Publication Date
Description
Document providing an example procedure for establishing acceptance-range criteria to assess results from software undergoing BESTEST-EX.
Organization(s)
BSC
Publication Date
Description
Document presenting some of the key technical properties of many of the most common building materials.
Organization(s)
BPI
Publication Date
Description
A comprehensive list of professional certifications offered by the Building Performance Institute. The webpage includes links to overviews of the different certificates, certification scheme handbooks, and directions for taking certification exams and recertification.
Organization(s)
Building Science Corporation
Publication Date
Description
Article describing research encouraging use of exterior insulation to warm interior sheathing surfaces in walls and roof assemblies to reduce the likelihood of condensation during cold weather
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report describing the analytical study of renewable energy retrofits to homes built before 1980 and whether it is cost efficient or not.
Organization(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
LBNL
Description
Guidance document on deep energy retrofits.
Organization(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date
Description
Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Design and Construction Process chapter provides detailed guidance for each process phase: pre-planning, planning, construction, test-out and post-occupancy.
Organization(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date
Description
Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Lessons Learned chapter focuses on successful deep energy retrofit projects throughout the U.S.
Organization(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date
Description
Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Occupant Behavior chapter discusses how to assess homeowner behavior patterns and use these patterns to enhance overall energy savings.
Organization(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date
Description
Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Over Time, Phased Guidance chapter presents a phased approach to deep energy retrofits.
Organization(s)
NAHB Research Center,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Publication Date
Description
Report identifying business models for the remodeling industry that foster remodelers adoption of energy efficiency services.
Organization(s)
City of San Jose Planning Building and Code Enforcement
Publication Date
Description
Factsheet describing ways to retrofit a home to make it more earthquake resistant.
Organization(s)
EIA
Publication Date
Description
Federal statistics about national energy consumption in residential homes.
Organization(s)
Colorado State University,
CSU,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
University of Technology of Belfort-Montbeliard,
UTBM,
Fort Collins Utilities
Publication Date
Description
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.
Organization(s)
California Energy Commission
Publication Date
Description
Research project addressing low-cost options that reduce monthly energy costs and improve the quality of life by enhancing comfort levels in low-income homes.
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL
Publication Date
Description
Document presenting a simple starting point to determine the most cost-effective Energy Savings Measure Packages (ESMP) for existing homes to achieve 15% and 30% savings in 37 locations across the United States.
Organization(s)
EPA
Publication Date
Description
ENERGY STAR website providing information about programs, products and energy efficiency information.
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Colorado School of Mines
Publication Date
Description
Research study simulation adapting and applies the general framework described in Building Energy Simulation Test for Existing Homes for self-testing residential building energy model calibration methods.
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC
Publication Date
Description
Report evaluating the accuracy of the regression technique used in 2006 by using the same least-squares regression analysis on data created from hourly energy simulation software.
Organization(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
ARBI,
Davis Energy Group
Publication Date
Description
Report evaluating opportunities to improve and streamline delivery of residential retrofit measures.
Organization(s)
FSEC
Publication Date
Description
Report about an experimental evaluation conducted on a night sky cooling system designed to substantially reduce space cooling needs in homes in North American climates.
Organization(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
ARBI,
Davis Energy Group
Publication Date
Description
Expert meeting on the topic of performance guarantees and financing vehicles for energy efficiency upgrades.
Organization(s)
Extension Foundation,
Cooperative Extension System
Publication Date
Description
Homepage for Extension Foundation, a partner of the Cooperative Extension System, whose goal is providing an interactive learning environment delivering the best, most researched knowledge from the best land-grant university minds across America.
Organization(s)
LSU AgCenter
Publication Date
Description
Webpage from LSU AgCenter answering frequently asked questions after gutting a flooded home, including mitigation strategies for future floods.
Organization(s)
FEMA
Publication Date
Description
Report from FEMA on how to reduce damage from localized flooding including planning, drainage, building codes and retrofits, and regulations.
Organization(s)
FEMA
Publication Date
Description
Report from FEMA describing techniques for floodproofing structures.
Organization(s)
NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership,
NorthernSTAR,
University of Minnesota
Publication Date
Description
Report describing a project focused on the use of home energy ratings as a tool to promote energy retrofits in existing homes.
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Mountain Energy Partnership
Publication Date
Description
Report describing a simple and general way to generate House Simulation Protocol (HSP)-consistent internal sensible and latent loads in unoccupied homes.
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC,
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy,
ACEEE
Publication Date
Description
Conference paper describing how retrofits were used in a Florida home to change it from a high energy user to a near zero-energy home.