Library

Federal statistics about national energy consumption in residential homes.

Article describing vapor retarder requirements in the International Residential Code and International Building Code 2021.

Report providing builders in the hot-dry and mixed-dry climates with guidance for building homes that have whole-house energy savings of 40% over the Building America benchmark with no added overall costs for consumers.

Article describing thermal bridging, construction practices that encourage thermal bridging, and solutions.

Guide providing information for homeowners and renters on how to clean up residential mold problems and how to prevent mold growth.

Report discussing opportunities and trends in the U.S. home performance contracting industry, along with market drivers such as consumer demand; federal, state, and local programs; and utility and non-governmental programs.

Guide for homeowners describing how to find and seal basement and attic air leaks, determine if attic insulation is adequate, make improvements safely, and reduce energy bills.

Article describing utility rates, net metering policies, installation costs, financial incentives, and other info for both consumers who are interested in installing renewable energy systems and for energy justice and clean energy advocates.

Report describing testing and analysis on deep energy retrofits of existing single-family homes in the U.S.

Article describing methods for thermally isolating a garage in a Passive House-certified multifamily building.

Fact sheet poster describing how to add exterior, continuous, rigid insulation to the exterior walls when replacing siding on an existing home.

A website explaining the process of sealing a home with Aeroseal & how the technology is used to seal holes in the air ducts and vents of the home.

Technical report describing the SPS (Structural Panel System), an innovative implementation of the "perfect wall" concept, situating environmental control layers on the exterior side of structural components for improved constructability, cost-effectiveness, and performance, validated through the...

Brochure describing the benefits of air-sealing for homeowners.

Website article interviewing the inventor of the Larsen truss, a history of its use, and a discussion of its advantages and disadvantages.

Article about different types of weather resistant barrier.

Report that collected field data from a whole-home program in Illinois are utilized to compare marketplace-installed measures to the energy saving optimal packages previously developed for 15 housing types.

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

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.

Website homepage of APA – The Engineered Wood Association, a nonprofit trade association combining the research efforts of scientists and engineers, APA promotes new solutions and improved processes that benefit the entire industry.

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.

Report about a building project in the marine climate.

Technical report describing the thermal performance of 40 common building envelope details for mid- and high-rise buildings, including analyses to optimize energy efficiency and reduce thermal bridging.

Report focused on foundation insulation R-values for cold climates and the design, construction, and performance implications.

Report about a project that examines implementation of advanced retrofit measures in the context of a large-scale weatherization program and the archetypal Chicago, Illinois, brick bungalow.

This report outlines research activities that are expected to facilitate the adoption of energy retrofits by remodeling contractors and roofing contractors using retrofit panels which applicable to many existing house designs in most climates and markets.

Article describing the building science implications of insulating vented or unvented attics.

Article describing the research into insulating vented versus unvented attics.

SPFA website signup page to access SPFA documents.

Report describing approaches to insulating basements in homes built to meet Energy Star levels of performance of heat loss reduction.

Information sheet describing techniques for insulating basements.

Report summarizing commissioning, short-term testing, utility bill data analysis, and results of on-site monitoring of a deep energy retrofit.

This Best Practices Manual is the product of Hammer & Hand’s ongoing work to document and internally codify our standard operating procedures for construction practice.

Brochure explaining the essential basis for advanced framing and some of the more common advanced framing details.

Information sheet about insulating slabs.

Information sheet providing recommendations on the installation of vapor control layers.

Article describing selecting insulation for minimizing condensation risks.

A book about structurally insulated panels.

Case study about Artistic Homes of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the first home builder in the United States to offer true net zero energy construction to the average home buyer on every home it builds.

Web based tool providing decision-making guidance for selecting wall assembly components.

Report presenting the building america research to market plan.

This report will review, and summarize the current state of understanding and research into enclosures with higher thermal resistance, so-called “High-R Enclosures.” Recommendations are provided for further research.

Research study describing a number of promising foundation and basement insulation strategies that can meet the requirement for better thermal control in colder climates while enhancing moisture control, health, and comfort.

Article describing the control layers (air, thermal, and vapor barriers) needed to build homes successfully in very cold locations.

Document presenting some of the key technical properties of many of the most common building materials.

Guide informing builders and developers about efficient building practice for constructing homes with structural insulated panels.

Reference investigating the strategy of using buried and/or encapsulated ducts to reduce duct thermal losses in residential buildings.

Report describing a deep energy retrofit project for a two-family wood framed home located in Belmont, Massachusetts.

Article describing correct ways to eliminate water damage by incorporating a sacrificial layer to foundation walls and footings.

Website of the Cold Climate Housing Research Center.