Library

Five step plan from the Tahoe Fire & Fuels team outlining how to create an effective defensible space for wildfire protection. Recommendations include siting for homes on slopes.

Article describing five fundamental changes to building construction from the last 50 years and their modern construction consequences.

Brochure-guide describing swales and their qualities, including objective, maintenance, and design considerations.

Journal article describing energy impacts from shade trees and forests and solar heating and air infiltration.

Checklist providing recommendations for the right tape in order to reduce the risk of leaks during storms with wind-driven rain.

Checklist providing prescriptive instructions on how to retrofit ladder framing on gable end overhangs to achieve a maximum depth of 18 in. from the face of the wall.

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 Existing Homes.

Website providing resources for roofers to construct high-wind, hurricane, and hail-resistant roofs from IBHS Fortified program.

Checklist providing good and bad methods of fortifying the roof, especially in high wind situations.

Checklist providing good and bad methods of fortifying the roof, especially in hurricanes.

Checklist providing information about the specific requirements of FORTIFIED Roof™ design and construction standard for re-roofing specific for high wind resistance.

Checklist providing information about the specific requirements of FORTIFIED Roof™ design and construction standard for re-roofing specific for high wind and hail resistance.

Checklist providing information about the specific requirements of FORTIFIED Roof™ design and construction standard for re-roofing specific for hurricane resistance.

Website providing technical documents of checklists, calculators, bulletin, modular home toolkit, standard details, and corrosion resistance requirements – map set; describing the requirements of the IBHS Fortified Home program to improve the disaster resistance of new and existing homes.

Article describing a numerical model that can be used to size foundation heat exchanger (FHX) systems.

Website describing wet floodproofing measures to prevent against structural damage, internal damage and damage to electrical components.

Commercial website providing images to subscribers.

Document describing living shoreline techniques for shoreline stabilization.

Report identifying Building America and 2021 International Energy Conservation Code climate zone designations for every county in the United States; where a county's climate zone designation has changed since the 2018 IECC, that change is indicated as well.

Guide by the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships on how to size heat pumps in a cold climate.

Article describing tree preservation during the construction process.

Guide describing the requirements by FORTIFIED Home™ for improving the home's resistance to high wind and hail.

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

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.

Web article about solar site assessment.

A guide that summarizes building materials and design considerations for increasing wildfire-resistivity of homes in areas that are prone to wildfires.

Report presenting seismic design and construction guidance for one- and two-family houses for homebuilders, knowledgeable homeowners, and other non-engineers.

Information sheet presenting the correct methods for building an insulated cathedral ceiling.

Article from The Earthbound Report on passive cooling design strategies for homes located in hot climates.

Report describing the identification of barriers and proposed practical solutions for the design, installation, and market adoption of heat pump water heaters in new low-rise multifamily housing, focusing on studio and one-bedroom units.

A document aimed at reducing the vulnerability of a gable end roof to wind damage in a hurricane.

Article outlining the casuses and solutions for ice dam problems.

Wildfire guidance for homes located in the wildland urban interface, focused on site design and individual pieces of the home.

Ignition resistant residential construction and landscaping guidelines from FireSafe Montana.

Report on on lessons learned from building one multifamily home to the Zero Energy Ready Home program requirements.

Guide detailing best practices on how to build wall assemblies with absorptive claddings such as brick, stone that drain and dry well.

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

Article describing methods for designing and constructing multifamily buildings with insulating concrete forms (ICFs).

Guide describing the use of a collaborative, multidisciplinary process that considers and optimizes the building as an entire system including its technical equipment and surroundings for efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective construction and operation over the building’s entire lifespan.

Report describing as-found interior platform return plenums, the magnitude of their contribution to the total amount of duct leakage, and techniques and results of retrofits executed by the HVAC trade during equipment replacement.

Article from University of Arizona on keeping homes cool during extreme heat, both personal and system changes.

Guide describing landscaping tips for healthy and regionally-based gardens, including maintenance, mulching, water efficiency, and plant resources.

Paper describing vegetation impacts on cooling load for buildings.

Website explaining the LEED v4.1 program and providing a portal for those who want to investigate or start a LEED project.

Guide for homeowners describing actions they can take to modify their home and the surrounding site to create a survivable space to reduce the amount of damage a home would likely experience during a wildfire.

A webpage outlining CAL FIRE’s recommendations for creating defensible space.

Paper describing energy savings in space cooling from shading condenser units.

Report summarizing a case study about the performance of three occupied homes built in 2009 in San Antonio, Texas.

Standard that prescribes a testing method to determine the efficiency of space heating and/or cooling thermal distribution systems under seasonal and design conditions. This version of the standard was published in the year 2014, and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. The...