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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 - 37 of 37

Author(s)
International Code Council
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2021 edition of code establishing a baseline for existing building retrofits to reach appropriate safety levels under new construction requirements covered in other ICC codes.
Author(s)
International Code Council
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2021 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...
Author(s)
International Code Council
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2021 edition of code establishing regulations involving life and property safety from fires and explosion hazards, including emergency planning, fire department access and water supply, automatic sprinkler systems, fire alarms, and hazardous materials planning and storage.
Author(s)
International Code Council
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2021 edition of code establishing a baseline for the design and installation of fuel gas systems and gas fired appliances through performance requirements.
Author(s)
International Code Council
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2021 edition of code establishing minimum regulations for mechanical systems, including heating, cooling, ventilation, exhaust, ducts, fireplaces, combustion and hydronic systems, using prescriptive and performance-related provisions.
Author(s)
International Code Council
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2021 edition of code establishing minimum regulations for plumbing facilities, including fixtures, water heaters, water supply and distribution, sanitary drainage, storm drainage, etc.
Author(s)
International Code Council
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2021 edition of code for residential buildings that creates minimum regulations for one- and two-family dwellings of three stories or less, bringing together all building, plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, energy and electrical provisions for one- and two-family residences.
Author(s)
International Code Council
Organization(s)
ICC
Publication Date
Description
2021 edition of the code establishing regulations to safeguard life and property from the intrusion of wildland fire and to prevent structure fires from spreading to wildland fuels; regulates defensible space and provides ignition-resistant construction requirements to protect against fire exposure...
Author(s)
Baechler Michael C,
Antonopoulos Chrissi A,
Sevigny M,
Gilbride Theresa L,
Hefty Marye G
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.
Author(s)
Air Conditioning Contractors of America
Organization(s)
ACCA
Publication Date
Description
Standard covering equipment sizing loads for single-family-detached homes, small multi-unit structures, condo­miniums, town houses and manufactured homes.
Author(s)
Rudd
Organization(s)
Building Science Corporation
Publication Date
Description
This report describes research conducted to evaluate air transfer between the garage and living space in a single-family detached home constructed to the 2009 IECC by a production home builder in Maryland.
Author(s)
American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers
Organization(s)
ASHRAE,
American National Standards Institute,
ANSI
Publication Date
Description
Standard that defines the roles of and minimum requirements for mechanical and natural ventilation systems and the building envelope intended to provide acceptable indoor air quality in low-rise residential buildings. This version of the standard was published in the year 2010, and is available for...
Author(s)
American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers
Organization(s)
ASHRAE,
American National Standards Institute,
ANSI
Publication Date
Description
Standard that defines the roles of and minimum requirements for mechanical and natural ventilation systems and the building envelope intended to provide acceptable indoor air quality in low-rise residential buildings. This version of the standard was published in the year 2013, and is available for...
Author(s)
American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers
Organization(s)
ASHRAE
Publication Date
Description
Standard that defines the roles of and minimum requirements for mechanical and natural ventilation systems and the building envelope intended to provide acceptable indoor air quality in low-rise residential buildings. This version of the standard was published in the year 2016, and is available for...
Author(s)
Thomas-Rees Stephanie,
Beal David,
Martin Eric,
Fonorow Ken
Organization(s)
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC,
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC,
Florida Home Energy and Resources Organization,
FLHero,
Florida HERO
Publication Date
Description
Report describing partner approaches to achieving the Building America goal of 30% whole-house source energy savings using packages adopted at the community scale, using building projects in Florida as a reference.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Document testing feasibility of constructing a new single-family home engineered to reduce the home's energy loads to an absolute minimum so that most needs could be met by solar systems.
Author(s)
Spanier J,
Scheu R,
Brand Larry,
Yang J
Organization(s)
Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit,
PARR,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Gas Technology Institute,
GTI Energy
Publication Date
Description
Report identifying housing characteristics and energy use for fifteen single-family housing types and specifies measure packages that provide an optimum level of energy savings based on a BEopt analysis.
Author(s)
Frost-Tift,
Mahadevia,
Mills Reeder,
Sheldon,
Squerciati
Organization(s)
Department of City Planning,
New York City
Publication Date
Description
Report describing retrofitting options and methodology for architects, developers, and property owners to use when making decisions about retrofits for common building types in NY.
Author(s)
Schoenbauer B,
Bohac D,
Huelman Patrick
Organization(s)
NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership,
NorthernSTAR,
University of Minnesota
Publication Date
Description
Report describing combined space- and water-heating (combi) systems using a high-efficiency direct-vent burner.
Author(s)
Casey Sean,
Booten Chuck
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.
Author(s)
Todd
Organization(s)
Home Energy Magazine
Publication Date
Description
Article describing methods to manage moisture, rainwater, and vapor in basements and crawlspaces.
Author(s)
Christian Jeffrey E
Organization(s)
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
ORNL
Publication Date
Description
Report presenting construction methods, building products, appliances and equipment of four single-family houses that achieve dramatic energy reductions and approach “net zero energy” use.
Author(s)
U.S Green Building Council
Organization(s)
USGBC
Publication Date
Description
Website explaining the LEED v4.1 program and providing a portal for those who want to investigate or start a LEED project.
Author(s)
Stecher Dave,
Allison Katherine,
Prahl Duncan
Organization(s)
IBACOS,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL
Publication Date
Description
Report presenting a cold climate project that examines the relationships among energy efficient single-family residential thermal enclosures, room-to-room temperature variations, and simplified space conditioning systems.
Author(s)
Stecher Dave,
Allison Katherine
Organization(s)
IBACOS,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL
Publication Date
Description
Report about a two-year study intended to document the energy performance of a house in each sub-metered area and compare the performance to modeled predictions and to assess the thermal comfort performance of the single point mini-split heat pump.
Author(s)
Metzger Cheryn E,
Goyal Siddharth,
Baechler Michael C
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Publication Date
Description
This research paper outlines residential HVAC advanced controls and sensors. It includes a technology review, applications, maintenance and commissioning, occupant behavior and a summary of the state-of-the-art technologies for advanced controls for residential HVAC.
Author(s)
Puttagunta,
Grab,
Williamson
Organization(s)
CARB,
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA
Publication Date
Description
Report about seeking a 30% source energy savings targets over a comparable 2009 International Energy Conservation Code-built home in the cold climate zone, using simple measures.
Author(s)
Hales
Organization(s)
Home Energy Magazine
Publication Date
Description
Article describing the risks associated with vented and unvented crawlspaces in different climate zones.