Library

Report providing a collection of fact sheets describing guidance for constructing homes in wildfire zones.

Research study investigating the factors influencing consumer adoption of HEDs and evaluating the resulting electricity consumption.

Website describing ways to prevent home house fires.

A comprehensive list of all ENERGY STAR home performance programs.

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.

Guidebook that provides information on earthquake hazards that can damage homes, the design and retrofit of earthquake resistant housing, and how to find more information on earthquake safety.

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.

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.”

Report detailing an evaluation of Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) residential energy efficiency demand side management (DSM) programs to assess their impacts and relative measures of energy and economic performance.

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.

A report describing how to build a high-performance affordable house to achieve 30% whole house energy savings in the mixed-humid climate region.

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.

Factsheet describing the performance criteria and key components of DOE Zero Energy Ready homes.

Factsheet describing the importance of building enclosures and their impact on energy efficiency.

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.

Wildfire guidance for homes located in the wildland urban interface, focused on site design and individual pieces of the home.

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 from Building Science Corporation explaining 'wash and wear buildings' that are designed to be flooded and washed out afterwards.

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

Guide describing the use of a collaborative, multidisciplinary process that considers and optimizes the building as an entire system including its technical equipment and surroundings for efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective construction and operation over the building’s entire lifespan.

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 that describes BSC's Houses That Work II (HTWII) climate-specific technical resource, beginning with an overall HTWII introduction and four sections explaining the four most important hygro-thermal climate regions: Hot-Humid, Mixed-Humid, Cold, and Hot-Dry/Mixed-Dry.

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.

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.

Website explaining the LEED v4.1 program and providing a portal for those who want to investigate or start a LEED project.

Webpage published by the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) that lists more than 300 consensus codes and standards intended to minimize the possibility and effects of fire and other risks.

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

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.

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.

Report using a field test plan to evaluate the success of implementing energy efficiency upgrades at the community scale incorporating whole-house systems integrated measures package (SIMP).

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.

Report summarizing a case study about the performance of three occupied homes built in 2009 in San Antonio, Texas.

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.