Library

Fact sheet describing the function of housewrap, its attributes, and common problems associated with its use, including housewrap vs. building paper and housewrap installation; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Fact sheet describing effects of planning, siting, and design decisions on coastal home costs, including initial, operating, and long-term costs; risk determination; and the effect on costs of meeting and exceeding code and NFIP design and construction requirements; also published in FEMA P-499...

Website with articles on home ventilation and indoor air quality.

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.

Article describing considerations for choosing a room-level air cleaner to improve indoor air quality.

Companion document to the Indoor airPLUS Construction Specifications, providing guidance on identifying compliant products, including industry databases and examples of product labeling.

Article describing how to use radiator inlet orifices optimize two-pipe steam heating systems.

Factsheet describing how to partially install a heat pump in a manufactured home in the manufactured home factory.

Website blog with guidance about calculating heat-loss.

Checklist for verifying FORTIFIED levels and documentation needed.

Factsheet outlining the advantages of using heat pumps, which are an efficient way to heat and cool a home.

Report providing the results of an analysis of humidity control and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system efficiency in three new multifamily buildings in New York, NY.

Fact Sheet describing the need for supplemental dehumidification, dehumidifier configuration options, and design considerations.

Webpage providing curriculum with links to presentations and problem sets for teaching an understanding of sizing cold climate heat pumps.

Report providing information about energy-efficient heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) equipment options to help homeowners cut their energy use, reduce their carbon footprint, and increase their homes comfort, health, and safety.

Standards criteria supporting ICC HVAC duct support standards.

Paper providing a comprehensive overview of HVAC system design considerations and challenges specific to multifamily residential buildings, focusing on optimizing performance and addressing common issues.

Software tool available free online that can help calculate heating and cooling requirements to accurately size HVAC equipment in as little as 15 minutes.

Correcting pressure imbalances in your HVAC system can result in a healthier, more efficient home.

Publication specifying HVI’s prescriptive procedures for testing and rating airflow of residential ventilation products in accordance with ANSI consensus standards.

Publication describing the requirements and procedures for the certified performance ratings program for residential ventilation products administered by the Home Ventilating Institute.

Website providing an online directory of more than 3,600 residential ventilation products lisiting flowrates, sones, watts, and other performance metrics; all listed products have been tested by the Home Ventilating Institute.

Report summarizing the status of a central hydronic heating system project in multifamily housing at the conclusion of the 20112012 heating season.

Report evaluating the relative effectiveness of various control and distribution strategies to improve hydronic space heating performance in existing low-rise multifamily buildings

Journal article detailing laboratory and simulation studies quantifying the impact that heat pump and air conditioner installation faults have on system capacity and efficiency.

The study described in this white paper is based on building energy modeling with an important focus on the indoor humidity impacts of ventilation.

Report summarizing approaches to addressing duct leakage in hot humid climates.

Report presenting improved air conditioner (AC) and heat pump (HP) modeling methods in the context of whole-building simulation tools.

Presentation on Improving Air-Conditioner and Heat Pump Modeling.

Report examining the impacts that common installation practices and age- induced equipment degradation may have on the installed performance of natural gas furnaces, as measured by steady-state efficiency and AFUE.

Standard supporting indoor air quality performance by producers, purchasers and policy makers to improve the environmental performance of products and services.

Document outlining specifications that were developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recognize new homes equipped with a comprehensive set of indoor air quality (IAQ) features.

Website providing the technical specifications and related documents for home builders, subcontractors, architects, and other housing professionals interested in certifying a home to the EPA's Indoor airPLUS program requirements.

Article describing what evaporative coolers are, how they work, different types, performance, where they are appropriate, and how to install and maintain them.

Website providing builders with information about meeting RESNET Grade 1 criteria when installing insulation.

Fact sheet describing the newly developed Ventilation-Integrated Comfort System (VICS) that reduces space requirements and eliminates costly ductwork for separate heating, cooling, and ventilation systems, all while enhancing performance, addressing the demand for energy-efficient homes, and...

Webpage providing all versions of the International Building Code (IBC) which is code for commercial buildings that brings together all structural, plumbing, mechanical, fuel gas, energy and electrical provisions for all buildings except detached one- and two-family residences and townhouses up to...

List of acceptance criteria for the ICC.

Webpage describing current and past versions of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), establishing a baseline for energy efficiency with performance standards for building envelopes, mechanical systems, lighting systems and service water heating systems in homes and commercial...

Webpage with all versions of the International Fire Code (IFC), 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...

Website with all versions of the International Plumbing Code (IPC), code establishing minimum regulations for plumbing facilities, including fixtures, water heaters, water supply and distribution, sanitary drainage, storm drainage, etc.

Webpage providing the latest versions of the International Wildland-Urban Interface Code (IWUIC), 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...

Report about promoting energy efficiency for Hilton Head Island.

Website providing a probabilistic map of the expected number of damaging earthquakes around the U.S.

Report describing as-found interior platform return plenums, the magnitude of their contribution to the total amount of duct leakage, and techniques and results of retrofits executed by the HVAC trade during equipment replacement.

Report describing the results of a 21-home field study investigating the effectiveness and failure rates of whole-house mechanical ventilation systems installed in Florida homes over the last 15 years.

Research report discussing the reduction of HVAC energy consumption to meet U.S. greenhouse gas targets and DOE's energy-efficient building goals. It introduces iComfort, an IoT-based system for optimizing home comfort and energy savings.

Information sheet about efficiency and health benefits of MERV filters.

Article describing air leakage in buildings.