Library

Fact sheet providing an overview of the FEMA document Wind Retrofit Guide for Residential Buildings.

2012 edition of code establishing minimum regulations for mechanical systems, including heating, cooling, ventilation, exhaust, ducts, fireplaces, combustion and hydronic systems, using prescriptive and performance-related provisions.

Code set from IAPMO explaining plumbing standards. 2012 Publication.

Code describing energy codes for energy-conserving and compliant designs in Florida.

The purpose of this standard is to establish minimum requirements to safeguard the public health, safety and general welfare relative to the design, construction and installation of storm shelters constructed for protection from high winds associated with tornadoes and hurricanes.

Code set from IAPMO explaining plumbing standards. 2018 publication.

2019 version of the California Residential Code.

Report summarizing the requirements for strenghtening and protecting the roof, openings in the house, and creating a continuous load path to strengthen walls and foundation per the IBHS Fortified Homes Hurricane Standard for New Homes.

2020 energy efficiency code for the state of Florida.

Guide describing the requirements by FORTIFIED Home™ for improving the home's resistance in severe thunderstorms, straight-line wind events, and high winds at the outer edges of tornadoes.

Document containing a series of resource papers that describe earthquake design components, including shear walls, resiliency, ground motion, and story drift and deflection, among others.

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.

A guidebook helping builders in hot-humid climates design and construct homes for energy efficiency, durability, health, safety, and comfort.

Report describing measures that builders in mixed-humid climates can use to build homes that have whole-house energy savings of 40% over the Building America benchmark with no added overall costs for consumers.

Report telling consumers the risks of radon, how radon gets into a home, and steps consumers can take to reduce radon exposure in their homes.

Document describing advancement in factory built housing innovations.

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.

Standard outlining industry procedure for sizing residential duct systems.

Guide describing advanced framing, a system of construction framing techniques designed to optimize material usage and increase energy efficiency.

The research report outlines a practical and cost-effective strategy utilizing central HVAC systems to optimize humidity control and ventilation in energy-efficient homes located in hot-humid climates, demonstrating significant improvements without requiring complex equipment upgrades.

Document providing guideance and considerations for duct design in an energy efficient house.

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 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.

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

Report covering interior energy retrofits of masonry buildings.

YouTube channel featuring 90+ videos to educate Bay Area homeowners and contractors about seismic retrofitting, including information for various home and construction types.

Article describing how demand plumbing systems send cold water back to the water heater until hot water arrives at the sink, shower or other fixture where it is needed.

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.

Information sheet about soil gas control strategies for foundations.

Presentation about building highly efficient, affordable homes that will achieve 40% whole-house energy savings in mixed-humid climates.

Guide describing measures that builders in the cold and very cold climates can take to build homes that have whole-house energy savings of 40% over the Building America benchmark with no added overall costs for consumers.

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

Report summarizing research results for the 30% energy savings level and demonstrates that lead builders can successfully provide 30% homes in the Marine Climate Region on a cost-neutral basis.

Presentation about advanced framing techniques.

A comprehensive list of professional certifications offered by the Building Performance Institute. The webpage includes links to overviews of the different certificates, certification scheme handbooks, and directions for taking certification exams and recertification.

Website providing CAD files and drawings of advanced framing details.

Document detailing how to build radon-resistant homes.

Training manual on how to locate ducts within conditioned space and compact design.

Article describing the principle of capillarity in construction materials.

Design guide providing solutions and tools for designing central heat pump water heater systems in multifamily and other commercial buildings.

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

Volume II of a two-volume report providing a comprehensive approach to design, construction, and renovation of homes located in coastal environments.

Document containing a 3D drawing (CAD) of advanced framing details.

Webpage with instructions for heat pump installers to choose the most suitable type of heat pump system, according to a project’s specific requirements.

Document for contractors detailing how to prioritize, control, and configure heat pumps in a residence that uses two heating systems.

Document for customers describing the benefits of two-system controls for homes, including information answering how, when, why, and how two-system controls with multiple heating sources are employed.

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

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...