Library

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

Webpage listing ACCA Manual J and D calculation software that is approved by ACCA.

Report providing guidance on wet floodproofing crawlspaces, unfinished basements, and garages.

Report providing guidance to homeowners and business owners on protecting crawlspaces from flood damage.

Manual describing best practices or home construction in Alaska and northern climates.

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 assessing the accuracy of HEST as it was being developed and to provide information useful to DOE program managers and HEST development team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Guide describing methodologies for assessing and mitigating thermal bridging in building envelopes, featuring detailed performance data, interface solutions, and assembly-specific strategies for energy-efficient construction.

Report aimed to quantify the impact of closed crawlspaces in new homes, and investigate modeling software to ensure accuracy of energy consumption predictions in these homes.

Guide about designing and installing closed crawlspaces in the Southeast.

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

Information sheet discussing the properties and benefits of insulating concrete forms.

Report outlining how conditioned crawlspaces perform better than vented crawlspaces in terms of safety, health, comfort, durability and energy consumption.

Information sheet about crawlspace insulation, including installation details.

Article discussing whether or not to seal and insulate crawlspaces.

Information sheet providing information about investigating the thermal effect of staggering the inner and outer wall studs on double walls in new construction.

Guide provides homeowners ways to prepare for an earthquake and protect a home against earthquake damage.

Report analyzing results in crawlspace retrofits in multifamily buildings.

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.

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

Article describing methods to manage moisture, rainwater, and vapor in basements and crawlspaces.

Handbook providing guidance on the design and construction of foundations for homes, including insulation, air sealing, and water management details for basements, crawlspaces, and slabs.

Article describing what the building codes say about frost-protected shallow foundations as a cost-saving alternative to conventional concrete foundations.

Guides describing frost-protected shallow foundations as an alternative method for building an energy-efficient foundation for a house in a cold climate that uses less concrete and saves on labor.

Article describing frost-protected shallow foundations with construction drawing details.

Document that gives a step-by-step approach for designing attachments for cladding materials through foam sheathing.

Online calculator for estimating payback of adding additional insulation to your house.

Factsheet describing how HEScore, a tool used for energy modeling, rates home energy performance based on physical assets and makes recommendations for improvement.

Report outlining results from a 2005 hygrothermal pilot study in the South.

Video describing how a frost-protected shallow foundation (FPSF) is constructed and including use of a stay-in-place EPS (expanded polystyrene) footing form that provides insulation and simplifies the installation of frost-protected monolithic concrete slab foundations.

Video describing how a frost-protected shallow foundation (FPSF) is constructed and including use of a stay-in-place EPS (expanded polystyrene) footing form that provides insulation and simplifies the installation of frost-protected monolithic concrete slab foundations.

Information sheet providing links and resources for insulating basements in cold climates.

Guidebook providing useful examples of high performance retrofit techniques for the building enclosure of wood frame residential construction in a cold and somewhat wet climate.

Report providing extensive guidance on controlling moisture in building envelopes through proper selection and installation on air, water, thermal, and vapor barriers.

Building science insight into crawlspaces.

Document describing guidance and requirements for flood openings in walls at and below grade.

Report providing guidance on protecting foundation walls and enclosures from flood damage.

Report highlighting the evaluation methods used and extent of wind washing found in a study analyzing wind washing in thirty-two two-story homes.

Report documenting actual energy savings of a retrofit project in Boulder, CO.

Information sheet including a checklist of steps to follow for pouring concrete.

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.

A free tool used to calculate the required minimum flow rate of dwelling-unit ventilation.

Software enabling low-carbon planning, implementation, monitoring and reporting.

Report describing how to construct a frost protected shallow foundation (FPSF) as a practical alternative to a deeper, more-costly foundation in cold regions with seasonal ground freezing and the potential for frost heave.

A CD guide intended to help communities mitigate damage or loss from tornadoes and other extremewind events, and provide public information resources for conveying the importance of safe room construction.

Report on hybrid ventilation methods for insulated and sealed crawl spaces.

Fact sheet describing building envelope performance measures applicable to residential and small commercial construction.

Tool determining the most economical and efficient photovoltaic array location and position.

Handheld solar site analysis tool capturing whole-horizon images for a site and generating shading analysis reports.

Fact sheet poster describing a DOE tool that walks homeowners through a series of simple questions to produce a list of retrofit recommendations to improve the energy efficiency, indoor air quality, and durability of the homeowners’ home, while also lowering their carbon footprint.