Library

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.

Article summarizing for potential homeowners items to check or demand from the builder in designing a home for a cold climate.

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 how triple-pane windows can outperform standard single and double-pane windows.

Factsheet describing re-siding retrofits containing exterior insulation and window upgrades aimed at improved energy savings and comfort.

Factsheet outlining how window attachments like cellular shades, roller shades, storm windows with low-emissivity coatings, and solar screens are low-cost steps that can be implemented to keep homes cool in the summer.

NOAA webpage providing images and short descriptions of different types of hurricane shutters.

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.

Study evaluating opportunities for reducing cooling energy use in a hot dry climate through the use of shading and window options.

Study using simulations to understand the impact that shading and natural ventilation would have had on the survivability of non-air-conditioned buildings during the 2021 heat wave in the Pacific Northwest.

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.

This document covers how broken windows can allow wind and rain inside the house and even lead to roof failure.

Report with guidance for installing windows with foam sheathing on wood-frame walls.

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

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.

Report describing ways to retrofit a home to make it more hurricane resistant.

Article from University of Arizona on keeping homes cool during extreme heat, both personal and system changes.

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.

Report examining performance measures in the context of a large-scale renovation project.

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

Brochure describing use of low-e storm windows as effective ways weatherization programs can increase the efficiency of windows without significant costs.

Technical report assessing the market for Low-e storm windows based on market data, case studies, and recent experience with weatherization deployment programs.

Document describing a process to help builders, homeowners, and designers select energy-efficient windows for new and existing residential construction in all U.S. climate zones.

Document providing information and guidance about rehabilitating, retrofitting, and replacing wood window assemblies in residential construction.

Technical article presenting the results of an analysis on the effect of insect screens on window solar heat gain coefficients and U-values.

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.

Standard that prescribes a testing method to determine the efficiency of space heating and/or cooling thermal distribution systems under seasonal and design conditions. This version of the standard was published in the year 2014, and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. The...

Standard using performance-based principles to determine dead, live, soil, flood, tsunami, snow, rain, atmospheric ice, earthquake, wind, and fire loads, and their combinations for general structural design. This version of the standard was published in the year 2016 and is available in both digital...

Standard using performance-based principles to determine dead, live, soil, flood, tsunami, snow, rain, atmospheric ice, seismic, and wind loads, and their combinations for general structural design. The current version of this standard was published in the year 2022 and is available in both digital...

Standard using performance-based principles to determine dead, live, soil, flood, snow, rain, atmospheric ice, earthquake, and wind loads, and their combinations for general structural design. This version of the standard was published in the year 2010 and is available in both digital and print...

Webpage for the CEC’s Modern Appliance Efficiency Database System

List of appliance brands and models, showing their performance and efficiency as tested by the appropriate standard.

This report requires all elements of rooftop PV panel systems to be designed for component and cladding pressures per ASCE 7-10.