Library

Information sheet with details on a building enclosure designed for Albuquerque, NM, as an example for building enclosures built for hot-dry and mixed-dry climates.

Information sheet briefly summarizing double stud wall construction including the advantages and disadvantages of this construction strategy.

Information sheet briefly summarizing double stud with spray foam wall construction including the advantages and disadvantages of this construction strategy.

Information sheet that summarizes Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) construction including advantages and disadvantages of this construction strategy.

Information sheet briefly summarizing truss wall construction including the advantages and disadvantages of this construction strategy.

Report exploring feasibility of designing prescriptive retrofit measure packages for typical Chicago region multifamily buildings in order to achieve 25% source energy savings.

Study investigating homeowner measure package choices in the Illinois Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program compared to cost-optimal choices determined through Building Energy Optimization (BEopt) modeling software.

Report about the Advanced Envelope Research effort will provide factory homebuilders with urgently-needed, cost effective methods for meeting emerging energy code requirements.

Report about an expert meeting focused on issues surrounding cladding attachment and performance of walls with exterior insulating sheathing.

Expert Meeting about interior insulation retrofit of mass masonry wall assemblies held on July 30, 2011.

Report that demonstrates the durability, constructability, and cost-effectiveness of the extended plate and beam (EP&B) wall system for new construction housing projects in compliance with the International Energy Conservation Code, addressing moisture risk management and high-performance envelope...

Report on high-R wall design called extended plate and beam that uses foam sheathing insulation with wall framing.

Fact sheet describing the Extended Plate Wall (EPW) a system that incorporates a 2-inch layer of foam plastic insulative sheathing within the framing for top and bottom plates, streamlining air sealing, window and door installation, weather resistive barrier application, and cladding attachment for...

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is interested in finding cost-effective solutions for deep energy retrofits (DERs) related to exterior wall insulation in a cold climate, with targets of 50% peak load reduction and 50% space conditioning energy savings.

Research study developing baseline engineering analysis to support the installation of thick layers of exterior insulation (2 in. to 8 in.) on existing masonry walls and wood framed walls.

Webpage from LSU AgCenter answering frequently asked questions after gutting a flooded home, including mitigation strategies for future floods.

Information sheet about what length screws should be used, and how closely to space the screws when fastening furring strips to a foam-sheathed wall.

An example of a commercially available thermally expansive fire stopping product for controlling the spread of fires in a rainscreen cavity.

Article explaining what a continuous load path is and the key connection points that make it up.

Research study evaluating the dynamic heat transmission characteristics through two identical Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) wall assemblies in Ottawa, Canada.

Report on the field evaluation of whole-building approaches and estimation of the relative contributions of select technologies toward reducing energy use related to space conditioning in new manufactured homes.

A guide for designers, architects, engineers, and fire experts on how to design rainscreen and ventilated cavities such that they don’t contribute to the spread of a fire.

Article discussing flow-through assemblies of walls.

Journal article describing lessons learned from updating a 16-year-old deep-energy retrofit.

Information sheet with manufacturer specifications about insulated concrete forms.

Website with information for consumers about solar thermal systems for homes.

Detailed information about Formaldehyde including health effects and strategies to reduce exposure.

Report about development of effective strategies to reduce the overall building energy use in line with Building America goals in this modestly priced market rate project.

Webpage describing homeowner resources program designed to strengthen homes and commercial buildings against severe weather such as high winds, hail, hurricanes, and even tornadoes.

Report investigating the status of the geothermal heat pump (GHP) industry and technology in the United States, assembling GHP energy savings potential, identifying key barriers to application of GHPs, and identifying actions that could accelerate adoption of GHPs.

Guide providing information on using exterior foam insulating sheathing in building wall assemblies to enhance thermal performance.

Report about indoor air quality related to indoor mold growth.

A article about the best practice method of installing fiber cement siding, to install flashing at the butt joints of the siding boards, rather than face caulking the butt joints afterwards.

Document providing supplemental information for code enforcement professionals about header hangers in bearing walls.

Webpage that describes health problems that can be caused by secondhand smoke.

LBNL webpage introducing heat island effect and cool materials concepts, and providing links to LBNL pages explaining cool pavements, cool roofs, and cool walls.

Provides consumers with general information on solar water heating systems and how to select a contractor.

Report providing information for HVAC designers, installers, and consumers about air source heat pumps.

Case study of new home construction in the hot-dry and mixed-dry climate zones.

Brochure describing advanced framing techniques.

Article from NREL on wall construction guidelines for homes in hot climate zones.

Report that considers a number of promising wall systems that can meet the requirement for better thermal control.

Report providing testing methodology to evaluate structural rim header designs over openings up to 6 ft. wide and applicable to one- and two-story homes.

Report with test results that serve as a baseline of data for further material tests of other high-R wall systems and for comparison to whole-house wind pressure testing.

Research study presenting results of an existing home monitoring project designed to measure wall cavity moisture characteristics.

Report covering control of hydrostatic pressure in wall assemblies.

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.

A starting point for ballparking and comparing the cost of different siding materials and a brief overview of the pros and cons of different siding materials.

Article describing considerations for choosing a room-level air cleaner to improve indoor air quality.