Library

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

Report describing the results of a field study of five different ventilation system types in 29 homes in the Pacific Northwest.

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.

Article describing methods for thermally isolating a garage in a Passive House-certified multifamily building.

Report examining the structural properties and applications of an innovative studless building system, detailing its testing regime and providing an engineering guide for architects and engineers.

Report on the design and evaluation of extended plate and beam.

Case study on the design and evaluation of extended plate and beam, located in Mount Joy Pennsylvania.

Report describing advanced framing techniques, including discussion of cost and energy savings.

Report describing approaches to using less wood in home building that minimize waste.

Fact sheet describing advanced framing techniques that reduce the amount of lumber used in constructing wood-framed houses while providing more space for wall insulation.

Fact sheet describing advanced wall framing.

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 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.

Website article interviewing the inventor of the Larsen truss, a history of its use, and a discussion of its advantages and disadvantages.

Report on adding insulation to load-bearing mass masonry buildings.

ASHRAE Standard prescribing an field evaluation and test method to measure and score the performance of unitary HVAC systems.

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.

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

Brochure explaining the essential basis for advanced framing and some of the more common advanced framing details.

Document providing guidance to U.S. home builders who want to accept the challenge.

A book about structurally insulated panels.

Report investigating implementation of advanced framing in both production and prototype built homes built in a variety of climate regions across the USA.

Report considers a number of promising wall systems that can meet the requirement for better thermal control.

Document about testing software predictions of retrofit energy savings in existing homes.

Document providing an example procedure for establishing acceptance-range criteria to assess results from software undergoing BESTEST-EX.

Presentation about advanced framing techniques.

California Office of the State Fire Marshal's homepage for the Building Materials Listing Program, providing builders, contractors, architects, and others with access to a database of fire alarm systems and fire-resistant construction materials including roof coverings, wall, ceiling, and floor...

California Office of the State Fire Marshal's compiled and searchable list of different building materials and their test results for fire resistance.

Document presenting some of the key technical properties of many of the most common building materials.

Website providing CAD files and drawings of advanced framing details.

Website providing information about building plans for the ENERGY STAR thermal bypass checklist.

Information sheet containing images and descriptions of cantilevers.

Report summarizing the key opportunities, gaps, and barriers identified by the national laboratory white papers discussing long-term 50% energy reduction goals.

Report recording the results of a field study conducted in a single historic home in Seattle, Washington, to document the performance of Indow Windows' interior storm window inserts.

Document with information from a workshop addressing framing materials for residential buildings in California. A copy of the document can be requested at the resource link, and an online copy of the document can be found by searching for it on the California Energy Commission's Library Online...

Case study characterizing the framing factors for the exterior walls, ceilings, and floors of 180 wood-framed low-rise residential buildings across the United States.

Fact sheet describing the characteristics that make for a successful coastal residential building, including design and construction recommendations; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Report about instrumentation and limited short-term testing completed on a retrofit unoccupied test house in Fresno, California.

Research study comparing various retrofit models in Wisconsin to evaluate performance in terms of savings per home and program cost per home to assess the relative cost effectiveness of each program design.

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

Document discussing moisture considerations and testing techniques for concrete floors.

Report exploring alternative methods to find long-term solutions to energy loss in 1 ½-story homes to save energy, improve comfort, prevent frost buildup on the underside of the roof deck, and reduce the risk of ice dam formation/reformation.

Research study evaluating energy savings and cost effectiveness of installing low-emissivity (low-e) storm windows over existing windows in residential homes in all climate zones.

Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Occupant Behavior chapter discusses how to assess homeowner behavior patterns and use these patterns to enhance overall energy savings.

Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Over Time, Phased Guidance chapter presents a phased approach to deep energy retrofits.

Report describing the progress toward and issues related to developing a usable, standardized, empirical data-based software accuracy test suite.

Report identifying business models for the remodeling industry that foster remodelers adoption of energy efficiency services.

A website by the U.S. DOE highlighting the potential energy savings from upgrading energy inefficient windows with low-emissivity.

The objective of this research was to quantify the field performance of wood-frame walls clad with a variety of common claddings in a mixed-humid climate.