Library

Website tool intended to guide home builders in assessing whether a new home has the proper physical orientation to support a future installation of a solar energy system.

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.

Report proposes high performance duct measures for inclusion in California Title 24 building energy efficiency standards for 2016.

Website providing data on household energy usage collected from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), a nationally representative sample of more than 18,000 housing units, representing the 123.5 million housing units occupied as primary residences in the U.S.

Website with information and research about residential hot water distribution systems.

A fact sheet educating homeowners on the importance of residential safe rooms, including their cost and how to register a safe room with local officials.

Fact sheet describing residential tornado safe room doors.

Homepage for ENERGY STAR’s windows, skylights, and doors program providing information for consumers and links to product directories.

Website describing the USRC, which "brings an unparalleled level of capability to the mission of improving community resilience in the built environment."

Resource to help builders better understand the WaterSense requirements for labeled homes and assist them in meeting the criteria so they can receive the label for their new construction.

Fact sheet describing methods for flashing and air-sealing windows and doors.

Report about a deep energy retrofit Cool Energy House.

Information sheet describing solar PV upgrade for an existing homes.

Document describing precast concrete earthquake design considerations including connections, detailing, and forces, among others.

Website providing an introduction to the concepts and principles of seismic design.

Newsletter containing five articles focused on seismic retrofitting.

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

How hard can it be to insulate a flat sheet of concrete? I mean you only have three choices – on the top, on the bottom, or on the edge. OK, you might have some combination of the three as well.

A website discussing the use of consumer-grade small electric wind systems such as turbines to lower energy costs.

Report identifying the important aspects of building design and construction to enable installation of solar photovoltaic and heating systems at some time after the building is constructed.

A research paper exploring the design, installation, repair and maintenance of solar water and pool heating technologies.

The RERH specifications and checklists take a builder and a project design team through the steps of assessing a home’s solar resource potential and defining the minimum structural and system components needed to support a solar energy system.

Specifications to assist builders in designing and constructing homes equipped with a set of features that make the installation of solar energy systems after the completion of the home’s construction easier and less expensive.

Research study presenting a unique opportunity to both identify and evaluate deep retrofit measures that are practical and potentially cost effective for the retrofit market, as well as review the cost effectiveness of the Passive House design approach for achieving energy savings in deep retrofits.

ENERGY STAR webpage describing the benefits of storm windows and a link to a product list.

Webpage providing an ENERGY STAR climate zone map and criteria for ENERGY STAR storm windows per climate zone.

Document serving as a starting point that features initial tools and resources for teams to start collaborating to continually improve the energy efficiency and durability of new houses.

Research study providing a comparison of selected retrofit activity typically done, versus that same retrofit activity approached from an integrated high performance remodeling and quality management perspective.

The 2017 publication update to the SEAOC Wind Committee and SEAOC Solar Photovoltaic Systems Sub-Committee's 2012 report.

Fact sheet describing recommendations for exceeding NFIP regulatory requirements for new construction and for repairs, remodeling, and additions, including building foundations, enclosures below the Base Flood Elevation (BFE), use of nonstructural fill, use of space below the BFE, utilities...

Research study determining how well high performance envelope and innovative cooling system interact to cost effectively reduce cooling energy use in this hot-dry climate.

Research study making several recommendations to whole-home program designers and implementers for improving the cost effectiveness and reach of whole-home programs.

A guide for homeowners on determining the risks from tornadoes and hurricanes and selecting a safe room type and location, as well as providing detailed plans for safe room construction.

Fact sheet describing best practices for flashing doors and windows to minimize air and water intrusion.

Resource manual for builders, designers, architects, plumbers, and others interested in the WaterSense Labeled Homes Program providing an overview of the program, explains how to meet the program requirements, gives descriptions of water-saving technologies, and provides links to further resources.

FSEC certification and testing page for solar systems.

Report describing use of the Energy in Modular (EMOD) method to design, produce, and deliver affordable, net-zero energy, low-carbon, and healthier buildings through industrialized (factory) construction of modular buildings; modeling of whole buildings and subassemblies of components, pods, panels...

Report developed for Habitat for Humanity about lessons learned from demonstration retrofit projects undertaken by Habitat for Humanity affiliates in New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; with building systems consulting and technical assistance provided by Steven Winter Associates.

Even as the worst housing market correction in more than 60 years appeared to turn a corner in 2009, the fallout from sharply lower home prices and high unemployment continued.

Report presenting results from whole-house monitoring efforts in hope that they may be useful for others moving towards zero energy homes.

Document providing an overview of the Thermal Bypass Checklist for the ENERGY STAR Qualified Homes program.

Guide describing details that serve as a visual reference for each of the line items in the Thermal Enclosure System Rater Checklist.

Fact sheet poster describing the energy efficiency and comfort benefits of thin triple-pane windows as compared to standard triple-pane and double-pane windows.

Article describing how an affordable multifamily building achieved energy savings for the same cost as code-minimum construction.

Paper describing testing for the first of a series of six near net-zero-energy test houses, using the results to work towards the construction of a true net-zero-energy house.

Report discussing Building America whole house systems research within the broad effort to reduce or eliminate the environmental impact of building and provides specific recommendations for future Building America research based on Building Science Corporations experience with several recent...

Report documenting the process and outcomes involved in achieving the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program certification standards while helping homebuilders in Climate Zones 5 and 6 in the Upper Midwest achieve ZERH certification.

Fact sheet describing the certification requirements for structural design and methods of construction in V Zones; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Products and specification for a State of California-compliant earthquake-actuated automatic gas shutoff valve.

Information sheet with the Waste Reduction Model (WARM), designed to help solid waste planners and organizations track and voluntarily report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions from several different waste management practices.