Library

Webpage describing federal regulation related to excess flow valves on residential natural gas lines.

Best Practices document providing an introduction to current photovoltaic and solar thermal building practices.

Website describing ways to prevent home house fires.

Website providing certified rating programs to help manufacturers, builders, contractors and homeowners compare performance of ventilation products for air flow, sound, and other performance characteristics.

Report on a project that enhanced the HWSIM distribution system model to more accurately model pipe heat transfer.

Article describing the factors that can lead to inefficient hot water distribution systems in homes.

Guide describing how to choose energy-efficient water heaters, including heat pump models, with tips on installation, rebates, and incentives for maximizing energy savings.

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...

ENERGY STAR webpage describing how a heat pump water heater works.

Website with articles on home ventilation and 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.

Checklist for verifying FORTIFIED levels and documentation needed.

Report describing the identification of barriers and proposed practical solutions for the design, installation, and market adoption of heat pump water heaters in new low-rise multifamily housing, focusing on studio and one-bedroom units.

Standards criteria supporting ICC HVAC duct support standards.

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.

Journal article presenting modeling of residential gas water heaters via dynamic simulation models to determine the effect of the pilot light on their annual energy consumption.

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.

Report describing the performance, economics, space heating impacts, and user satisfaction of heat pump water heaters (HPWHs) in the upper Midwest, based on a field study and survey of participants in the MECA HPWH incentive program.

Fact sheet describing principles of insulating steam distribution and condensate return lines as an effective way to prevent energy loss.

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

Report describing the objective evaluation of space conditioning interactions between heat pump water heaters and home heating systems during winter 2016-2017, revealing a smaller than anticipated impact on space conditioning loads.

This webpage provides an interactive walk-through of the installation of a heat pump water heater in a home in Massachusetts, including how-to videos of the installation, video interviews with the homeowners, installer, and utility program partners, and visual tours of the home before and after...

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...

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.

Federal Trade Commission (FTC) Regulation 16 CFR Part 460: Federal regulation on labeling of home insulation products.

Report summarizing results of testing emerging combo water heating technologies under controlled laboratory operations, that differentiate the performance of the various packaged equipment configurations being offered.

Report describing research conducted to support California’s Title 24, Part 6 Building Energy Efficiency Standards by analyzing the impact of installation location and ventilation on heat pump water heater (HPWH) performance, emphasizing the need for proper installation to maximize efficiency...

Website describing the wildland-urban interface code and providing links to resources.

2017 version of a standard covering requirements for single- and dual-pane windows, glazed side-hinged door systems, sliding doors, tubular daylighting devices, and unit skylights developed jointly by the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA), the Canadian Standards Association...

Website describing the EPA Lead Renovation, Repair, and Painting Rule that establishes requirements to reduce lead exposure for firms and individuals performing renovations that might disturb painted surfaces in buildings and homes built pre 1978 that might be occupied by children.

Guide describing sound mitigation measures to lower building natural disaster vulnerability to assist local officials and community decision makers in coastal areas.

Report identifying the target market for solar water heaters and potential pathways and cost/performance targets that must be met for these systems to realize large energy savings.

This webpage provides an interactive walk-through of the installation of a heat pump water heater in a home in Maine, including how-to videos of the installation, video interviews with the homeowners, installer, and utility program partners, and visual tours of the home before and after installation...

Guidebook providing useful examples of high performance retrofit techniques for the building enclosure of wood frame residential construction in a cold and somewhat wet climate.

Document pertaining to design and application guidance for combination space and tankless domestic hot water heating systems used in residential buildings, based on field evaluation, testing, and industry meetings.

Report describing the installation and operation of forced-air heating and domestic hot water combi systems in residential homes.

Document developed to help residential builders and retrofitters transition from tank-type water heaters to tankless water heaters.

Web resource that lays out the pre-work considerations, methods and finishes for installing mechanical insulation.

A presentation describing the standards regarding who is responsible for what part of the design to ensure the roof truss is properly designed and braced.