Library

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

A supplement to the 2012 Florida Building Code on energy efficiency and conservation.

Report summarizing the requirements to strenghthen new homes against property damage caused by high wind occurrences per the IBHS Fortified Homes High Wind Standard for New Homes.

Fact sheet summarizing the changes to the flood provisions in the 2012 I-Codes that appear in the 2015 edition.

Florida building code including all the amendments and additions by Florida for the wind-borne debris regions and the high-velocity hurricane zone.

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.

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.

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.

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.

Article from the Sierra Club explaining 5 steps to take to ensure your home's resistance to wildfires, including site maintenance and roof construction guidelines.

Web page describing essential guidelines and recommendations for optimal installation of ductless heat pumps in cold climates, ensuring maximum heating performance and long-term satisfaction for homeowners, supported by research-backed insights and detailed resources.

Article describing methods for venting a vented attic and a roof assembly over an unvented attic.

Research study estimating potential energy savings relative to conventional ducted air distribution, and identifying equipment requirements, costs, and barriers.

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.

Guide developed to help contractors, building operators, and city officials successfully adopt cool roof and pavement technology.

Energy Star web page providing guidance on attic ventilation.

Standard outlining industry procedure for sizing residential duct systems.

Standard providing guidance on how to select, size, and locate the supply air diffusers, grilles and registers, and the return grilles.

Technical manual from ACCA outlining correct methods for zoning of residential HVAC systems.

Fact sheet describing best strategies to bring ductwork on single-story homes with a slab-on-grade foundation in hot, dry climates into the conditioned envelope of the home intending to highlight the pros and cons of multiple ductwork integration strategies, including traditional duct systems in...

Standard for use and reference by designers, architects, engineers, contractors, installers and users for evaluating, selecting, specifying and properly installing flexible duct in heating and air conditioning systems.

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

Report describing two retrofit duct sealing techniques - manually-applied sealants and injecting a spray sealant, that were implemented in several low-rise multi-unit buildings in North Carolina.

Fact sheet describing air-sealing concerns and remedies, including HRV/ERV installation, caulking, spray foam, and weatherstrip installation.

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

Report summarizing systems research activities for new housing in hot-humid climates, including NightCool, interior duct systems in manufactured housing, ventilation and dehumidification, plug load reduction and solar and conventional hot water.

This ANSI/RESNET/ICC standard provides a consistent, uniform methodology for evaluating the airtightness of building, dwelling unit, and sleeping unit enclosures and heating and cooling air distribution systems, and the air flows of mechanical ventilation systems.

Standard covering updates to the expected leakage rates for ductwork constructed to the SMACNA HVAC Duct Construction Standards—Metal & Flexible, duct leakage test procedures; includes recommendations on use of leakage testing, types of test apparatus, and test setup and sample leakage analysis.

A publication highlighting recommendations that contribute to improved overall performance in the structural shell and focus on good connection details to tie together exterior walls, roofs and floors.

Webpage providing mapping tool for obtaining ground snow load, based on ASCE 7-10, for any location in the contiguous United States, with the exception of locations requiring a case study due to extreme local variations in ground snow loads. Fee required for some data.

Technical fact sheet describing ways to construct asphalt shingle roofs to be more resistant to high winds and hurricanes; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

ASTM standard providing test methods for determining duct air leakage in low-rise residential and commercial buildings.

Standard establishing test methods for determining air leakage in duct systems using fan pressurization in low-rise residential and commercial buildings.

Report about a project that examines implementation of advanced retrofit measures in the context of a large-scale weatherization program and the archetypal Chicago, Illinois, brick bungalow.

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.

Technical article describing issues and moisture concerns related to weatherization efforts.

SPFA website signup page to access SPFA documents.

Article from California Earthquake Authority on the benefits of retrofitting homes to withstand earthquake forces, with a focus on foundations, walls, and chimneys.

Brochure intended to provide readers with a working knowledge of residential heating and cooling duct systems.

Brochure with details on HVAC duct air sealing.

Brochure with information about ducts in conditioned space.

Report providing water management details for roof assemblies.

Report describing the recommended best practices to achieve energy savings without compromising health or safety.

Presentation describing details for installing structural insulated panels (SIPs).

Case study about Artistic Homes of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the first home builder in the United States to offer true net zero energy construction to the average home buyer on every home it builds.

Document describing the Building America research benchmark for the residential building program.

Report comparing a variety of roof insulating strategies to present their advantages and disadvantages according to several comparison criteria.

Article describing the control layers (air, thermal, and vapor barriers) needed to build homes successfully in very cold locations.

Document containing recommendations on how to brace roofs and gable end walls based on lessons learned from analyzing the destruction from hurricane Andrew.

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