Library

Federal statistics about national energy consumption in residential homes.

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.

Report describing the results of a field study of five different ventilation system types in 29 homes in the Pacific Northwest.

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 an air distribution system composed of a series of uniformly-sized ducts that terminate in rooms throughout the home and return to a central manifold, similar in fashion to a “home-run” cross-linked polyethylene plumbing system.

Report (1) compares existing measurement methods, based on field testing in a wide range of buildings, (2) presents the development of two new methods to directly measure exterior and interior leakage of an attached unit, and compares to existing methods; and (3) experimentally evaluates the...

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...

Report describing two retrofit duct sealing techniques - manually-applied sealants and injecting a spray sealant, that were implemented in several low-rise multi-unit buildings in North Carolina.

Brochure describing the benefits of air-sealing for homeowners.

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.

ASHRAE Standard prescribing an field evaluation and test method to measure and score the performance of unitary HVAC systems.

This ANSI/RESNET/ICC standard provides a consistent, uniform methodology for evaluating the airtightness of building, dwelling unit, and sleeping unit enclosures and heating and cooling air distribution systems, and the air flows of mechanical ventilation systems.

Standard covering updates to the expected leakage rates for ductwork constructed to the SMACNA HVAC Duct Construction Standards—Metal & Flexible, duct leakage test procedures; includes recommendations on use of leakage testing, types of test apparatus, and test setup and sample leakage analysis.

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.

Standard establishing test methods for determining air leakage in duct systems using fan pressurization in low-rise residential and commercial buildings.

Article by the Canadian Government on attic ventilation and considerations for moisture and ice dams.

Report covering interior energy retrofits of masonry buildings.

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.

Document focusing on the design and wall components that contribute to a pressure equalized rain screen wall, including the frequency of the weep holes and other brick masonry rain screen wall requirements.

Document providing guidance to U.S. home builders who want to accept the challenge.

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

Report presenting the building america research to market plan.

Document about testing software predictions of retrofit energy savings in existing homes.

Document providing an example procedure for establishing acceptance-range criteria to assess results from software undergoing BESTEST-EX.

California Office of the State Fire Marshal's homepage for the Building Materials Listing Program, providing builders, contractors, architects, and others with access to a database of fire alarm systems and fire-resistant construction materials including roof coverings, wall, ceiling, and floor...

California Office of the State Fire Marshal's compiled and searchable list of different building materials and their test results for fire resistance.

Article describing the principle of capillarity in construction materials.

Article describing customer tip sheet and how ceiling fans are one of the most popular and generally well regarded of all home energy efficiency features.

Report summarizing the key opportunities, gaps, and barriers identified by the national laboratory white papers discussing long-term 50% energy reduction goals.

This is a guide for establishing smoke-free policies in public housing and multifamily properties.

Report recording the results of a field study conducted in a single historic home in Seattle, Washington, to document the performance of Indow Windows' interior storm window inserts.

You can save energy and maintain a comfortable swimming pool temperature by using a smaller, higher efficiency pump and by operating it less.

Article describing how closed crawlspaces can do "double duty" by controlling moisture and providing energy savings.

A website explaining the various shades of light, from warm to cool colors, with a visual diagram illustrating the various shades of light.

Report describing how space-conditioning systems are operating in the field and if these systems are meeting required standards.

Report about instrumentation and limited short-term testing completed on a retrofit unoccupied test house in Fresno, California.

Report outlining the steps developers can take to create high-performance standards on a community-wide scale.

Research study comparing various retrofit models in Wisconsin to evaluate performance in terms of savings per home and program cost per home to assess the relative cost effectiveness of each program design.

Article introducing the FTC’s new EnergyGuide label, including estimates of annual energy usage.

Document discussing moisture considerations and testing techniques for concrete floors.

Guidance from Zero Energy Project on construction techniques for warmer climates, such as home orientation, and insulation requirements.

A website explaining how to properly dispose of old refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment.

Article about how mortar droppings during the installation of a brick veneer can clog the weep holes in the wall assembly causing moisture damage. The article also illustrates products that can be installed in the ventilated cavity to mitigate this problem.

The Guide addresses walls constructed with 2x4 wood frame studs, wood structural panel (WSP) sheathing as wall bracing and added backing for foam sheathing, a layer of rigid foam sheathing insulation up to 1.5 in. thick over the WSP, and a cladding system installed over the foam sheathing in low...

Brochure helping homeowners identify hazards, work with contractors to remove the hazards, help ensure the work is done properly, and educate when they can return safely to the home.

Report telling consumers how radon gets into a home and how to reduce radon entry into a home.

Report exploring alternative methods to find long-term solutions to energy loss in 1 ½-story homes to save energy, improve comfort, prevent frost buildup on the underside of the roof deck, and reduce the risk of ice dam formation/reformation.

Research study evaluating energy savings and cost effectiveness of installing low-emissivity (low-e) storm windows over existing windows in residential homes in all climate zones.