Library

Expert meeting report recommending approaches to humidity control in high performance homes.

Report presenting the process of a residential retrofit project for houses in the states of Florida and Alabama, including findings at the time of reporting and highlights of the first home to meet the target HERS Index of 70.

Report describing a project focused on the use of home energy ratings as a tool to promote energy retrofits in existing homes.

Technical report on a field validation study that utilizes low-cost indoor air quality sensors to assess a smart ventilation system's effectiveness in maintaining acceptable indoor humidity in low-load homes in humid environments, revealing that while the smart ventilation algorithm demonstrated...

Report outlining the energy upgrade package implemented in Ft. Benning, GA, Indianhead Townhomes project and the findings of the Southface Energy Institute's post-renovation analysis.

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 detailing field walk-through evaluations, energy simulations for projected savings with exterior insulation upgrades, building envelope energy improvement cost estimates, and installation and maintenance of monitoring equipment and data.

Document providing guidance about building healthy homes using building science principles.

Webpage providing basic information on various types of heat pumps and their applications in Massachusetts.

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

Article describing how to use radiator inlet orifices optimize two-pipe steam heating systems.

Report providing information about energy-efficient heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) equipment options to help homeowners cut their energy use, reduce their carbon footprint, and increase their homes comfort, health, and safety.

Report evaluating the relative effectiveness of various control and distribution strategies to improve hydronic space heating performance in existing low-rise multifamily buildings

Book providing project management guidance in maintaining satisfactory indoor air quality (IAQ) of occupied buildings undergoing renovation or construction.

Journal article detailing laboratory and simulation studies quantifying the impact that heat pump and air conditioner installation faults have on system capacity and efficiency.

Report discussing the importance of durability and energy efficiency in building construction.

Report on performance of current diagnostics as well as a draft test method for use in future air flow evaluations.

Guidance on performance of current diagnostics as well as a draft test method for use in future air flow evaluations.

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).

Document providing information on the impact of various defects and the potential energy savings that can result from proper maintenance, and describing a two-step process for diagnosing and correcting faults. This document is targeted towards home performance contractors who are relatively...

Report providing step-by-step instructions for heating contractors and hydronic designers for selecting the proper control settings to maximize system performance and improve response time when using a thermostat setback.

Report describing a lighting and smart power strip retrofit evaluation that was conducted on 56 all-electric, existing Florida homes to see how lighting and miscellaneous electric loads might be reduced.

Report describing an analysis method for determining optimal residential energy efficiency retrofit packages and applies the analysis method to a 1960s-era home in eight U.S. cities.

Report discussing development of scopes of work and quality management for builders in mixed-humid climates.

Information sheet about the National Residential Efficiency Measures Database, a public database that characterizes the performance and costs of common residential energy efficiency measures.

Report investigating what motivates remodelers to become energy-focused and what technical knowledge that need to be energy-focused.

Research study using modeling to determine optimal combination(s) of components/pumps, high efficiency heat sources, plumbing configurations and controls that result in the highest overall efficiency for a hydronic system.

Report briefly reviewing past research on the effects of occupant behavior on residential energy use and then covering a two year pilot evaluation of a low cost residential energy feedback system installed in twenty case study homes in Florida.

Research study identifying best practices of three successful high performance, custom home builders in the upper Midwest.

Document outlining the approach to quality assurance in the construction process as recommended by Building Science Corporation for new residential construction.

Report designed to help a builder understand quality management and its role in transitioning from conventional to HPH building and remodeling.

Webpage describing the Quality Install Tool, an open-source web app designed to simplify, standardize, and expedite the creation of high-quality installation documentation for HVAC installations and efficiency upgrades.

Document containing some of the basic characteristics for energy performance, durability, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality that should be met in all high performance homes.

Research study identifying the best performing, most energy-efficient and cost- effective techniques to provide controlled mechanical ventilation and humidity control in hot- humid climates with thermally efficient building envelopes.

U.S. DOE report summarizing findings from literature and research relevant to HVAC installation practices.

Report summarizing the results of laboratory testing of 20 advanced power strip products.

Report describing research efforts focused on examining the audit reports for quality, comprehensiveness, and consistency.

Report about a tool developed to enable users to compare a typical 1970s ranch home against an IECC 2009 code-compliant home of the same configuration and against the 70s base case plus retrofits.

This research paper outlines residential HVAC advanced controls and sensors. It includes a technology review, applications, maintenance and commissioning, occupant behavior and a summary of the state-of-the-art technologies for advanced controls for residential HVAC.

Document reviewing current and potential ventilation technologies for residential buildings with particular emphasis on North American climates and construction.

Information sheet describing solar PV upgrade for an existing homes.

Information sheet describing tankless hot water heating systems in existing homes.

Information sheet describing solar hot water systems in existing homes.

Information sheet about envelope and roof moisture control retrofit for a home.

Infographic providing details on choosing the right advanced power strip based on your habits to reduce the electricity wasted when your electronic devices are idle.

Technical study exploring the impact of different installation faults on heat pump performance in a single-family house.

Report summarizing commissioning, short-term testing, and analysis that occurred before, during, and just after the actual retrofit of the Bay Ridge project.

Paper describing the development and testing of an affordable net-zero energy house in Lenoir City, Tennessee.

Fact sheet describing field validations of a smart ventilation system to assess its effectiveness in assisting low-load homes in humid environments by maintaining acceptable indoor humidity conditions while ensuring adequate ventilation and indoor air quality.

Webpage describing the STEP campaign encouraging the use of smart diagnostic tools to reduce installation faults.