Library | Building America Solution Center

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 - 25 of 25

Guide to Determining Climate Zone by County: Building America and IECC 2021 Updates

Author(s)

Gilbride Theresa L,

Antonopoulos Chrissi A,

Margiotta Evan R,

Cragin Molly,

Kaltreider Christian E

Organization(s)

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL

Publication Date

September, 2022

Report identifying Building America and 2021 International Energy Conservation Code climate zone designations for every county in the United States; where a county's climate zone designation has changed since the 2018 IECC, that change is indicated as well.

Construction Guide - Next Generation High Performance Walls Climate Zones 3-5 Part I: 2x6 Walls

Author(s)

Kochkin Vladimir,

Wiehagen Joseph

Organization(s)

Home Innovation Research Labs,

HIRL

Publication Date

June, 2017

Part I of the Guide addresses walls constructed with 2x6 wood frame studs, wood structural panel (WSP) sheathing as exterior sheathing, gypsum board as interior sheathing, and a cladding system installed over WSP sheathing in low-rise residential buildings up to three stories in height. Walls with...

Field Evaluation of Advances in Energy-Efficiency Practices for Manufactured Homes

Author(s)

Dentz Jordan,

Ansanelli Eric,

Levy Emanuel,

Barker Greg M,

Dadia D,

Rath Pournamasi

Organization(s)

Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions,

ARIES

Publication Date

March, 2016

Report on the field evaluation of whole-building approaches and estimation of the relative contributions of select technologies toward reducing energy use related to space conditioning in new manufactured homes.

Analysis of Joint Masonry Moisture Content Monitoring

Author(s)

Ueno Kohta

Organization(s)

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

Publication Date

October, 2015

Report on adding insulation to load-bearing mass masonry buildings.

Field Testing Unvented Roofs with Asphalt Shingles in Cold and Hot-Humid Climates

Author(s)

Ueno Kohta,

Lstiburek Joseph W

Organization(s)

Building Science Corporation,

BSC,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Publication Date

September, 2015

Report to understand the long-term moisture performance of unvented roof assemblies with fibrous insulation.

Climate-Specific Passive Building Standards

Author(s)

Wright Graham S,

Klingenberg Katrin

Organization(s)

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Publication Date

July, 2015

Report on improving passive design adoption rates.

Retrofitting a 1960s Split-Level, Cold-Climate Home

Author(s)

Puttagunta Srikanth

Organization(s)

Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,

CARB,

Steven Winter Associates,

SWA

Publication Date

July, 2015

Report on air-sealing programs for energy-efficiency retrofits.

Sealed Crawl Spaces with Integrated Whole-House Ventilation in a Cold Climate

Author(s)

Puttagunta Srikanth,

Zoeller William,

Williamson James

Organization(s)

Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,

CARB,

Steven Winter Associates,

SWA

Publication Date

July, 2015

Report on hybrid ventilation methods for insulated and sealed crawl spaces.

Deep Energy Retrofits - Reducing Costs and Increasing Cost-Effectiveness

Author(s)

Less Brennan,

Walker Iain S

Organization(s)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,

LBNL

Publication Date

January, 2015

Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Reducing costs and Increasing Cost-Effectiveness chapter provides suggestions for controlling deep retrofit costs, including both 'do's' and 'don'ts'.

Deep Energy Retrofits - Source Energy and Carbon Decisions

Author(s)

Less Brennan,

Walker Iain S

Organization(s)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,

LBNL

Publication Date

January, 2015

Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Source Energy and Carbon Decisions chapter helps users carefully assess the impacts of switching from gas to electricity for heating end-uses, using source energy and/or carbon emissions...

Deep Energy Retrofits - Occupant Behavior

Author(s)

Less Brennan,

Walker Iain S

Organization(s)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,

LBNL

Publication Date

January, 2015

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.

Deep Energy Retrofits - Over-Time, Phased Guidance

Author(s)

Less Brennan,

Walker Iain S

Organization(s)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,

LBNL

Publication Date

January, 2015

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.

Analysis of Pre-Retrofit Building and Utility Data

Author(s)

Prahl Duncan,

Beach Robert

Organization(s)

Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,

IBACOS

Publication Date

December, 2014

Report outlining workflow and results of regression models on monthly and daily utility data (meter readings of electricity consumption), outlining a process for screening and gathering useful results from inverse models.

Conway Street Apartments: A Multifamily Deep Energy Retrofit

Author(s)

Aldrich Robb,

Williamson Jim

Organization(s)

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE,

Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,

CARB

Publication Date

November, 2014

Research report anayzing the results of a large retrofit project, turining an old school into near zero energy consumption apartments in Greenfield MA.

Hood River Passive House

Author(s)

Hales David

Organization(s)

WSU Extension Energy Programs,

Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,

BA-PIRC

Publication Date

March, 2013

Report documenting short-term test results of the Shift House and compares the results of Passive House Planning Package and Building Energy Optimization modeling of the project.

Approaches to 30% Energy Savings at the Community Scale in the Hot-Humid Climate

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 HERO,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Publication Date

March, 2013

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.

Survey of Whole House Programs in Midwestern Climates

Author(s)

McGeough U,

Baker Will,

Peters J,

Beitel Annette

Organization(s)

Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit,

PARR,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Publication Date

November, 2012

Research study making several recommendations to whole-home program designers and implementers for improving the cost effectiveness and reach of whole-home programs.

Achieving Very High Efficiency and Net Zero Energy in an Existing Home in a Hot-Humid Climate: Long-Term Utility and Monitoring Data

Author(s)

Parker Danny S,

Sherwin John S

Organization(s)

Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,

BA-PIRC,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Publication Date

October, 2012

Research study describing how envelope modifications in heating, ventilation, and air conditioning, and domestic hot water and renewable resources can result in considerable energy reductions, using the first full year of detailed data collected about a single-family home that experienced a series...

Types of Insulation

Author(s)

U.S. Department of Energy

Organization(s)

DOE

Publication Date

May, 2012

Information sheet about types and installation of insulation.

BSD-163: Controlling Cold-Weather Condensation Using Insulation

Author(s)

Straube John

Organization(s)

BSC,

Building Science Corporation

Publication Date

October, 2011

Article describing selecting insulation for minimizing condensation risks.

Exploring Cost-Effective High Performance Residential Retrofits for Affordable Housing in the Hot Humid Climate

Author(s)

McIlvaine Janet,

Sutherland Karen,

Schleith Kevin,

Chandra Subrato

Organization(s)

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC,

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL

Publication Date

August, 2010

Report presenting the process of a residential retrofit project for houses in the states of Florida and Alabama, including findings at the time of reporting and highlights of the first home to meet the target HERS Index of 70.

Evaluation of Bias Issues within Regression-Based Inverse Modeling Methods Against Climate and Building Characteristics Using Synthetic Data

Author(s)

Cummings Jamie E,

Parker Danny S,

Sutherland Karen

Organization(s)

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC

Publication Date

July, 2010

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.

An Overview of Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership (BAIHP) Activities in Hot-Humid Climates

Author(s)

Chandra Subrato,

Parker Danny S,

Colon Carlos J,

Fonorow Ken,

Stroer Dennis,

Martin Eric,

McIlvaine Janet E R,

Chasar Dave,

Moyer Neil,

Thomas-Rees Stephanie,

Hoak David,

Beal David,

Gil Camilo,

Sherwin John S

Organization(s)

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC,

University of Central Florida,

UCF

Publication Date

April, 2009

Report summarizing systems research activities for new housing in hot-humid climates, including NightCool, interior duct systems in manufactured housing, ventilation and dehumidification, plug load reduction and solar and conventional hot water.

Building America Residential System Research Results - Achieving 30% Whole House Energy Savings Level in Marine Climates, January 2006 - December 2006

Author(s)

Building America Industrialized Housing Partnership,

Building Industry Research Alliance,

Building Science Corporation,

Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,

Davis Energy Group,

National Association of Home Builders Research Center,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

Integrated Building and Construction Solutions

Organization(s)

BAIHP,

BIRA,

BSC,

CARB,

DEG,

IBACOS,

NAHBRC,

NREL,

IBCS

Publication Date

December, 2006

Report summarizing research results for the 30% energy savings level and demonstrates that lead builders can successfully provide 30% homes in the Marine Climate Region on a cost-neutral basis.

Residential Dehumidification Systems Research for Hot-Humid Climates

Author(s)

Lstiburek Joseph W,

Rudd Armin,

Eng P,

Ueno Kohta

Organization(s)

Building Science Corporation,

BSC,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL

Publication Date

February, 2005

Research study identifying the best performing, most energy-efficient and cost- effective techniques to provide controlled mechanical ventilation and humidity control in hot- humid climates with thermally efficient building envelopes.