Library

Document providing supplemental information for code enforcement professionals about headers in nonbearing walls.

Fact sheet describing a novel, simplified air delivery system using a plug-and-play model that features 3-inch diameter flexible ducts, efficient fittings, and a simplified installation process that resulted in successful market engagement through commercialization.

Report describing a field study to measure pollutant concentrations in 324 homes in California.

Article from Smarter Homes NZ on home building techniques that incorporate passive cooling.

Book describing passive cooling techniques from a technical and academic perspective.

Website providing guidance on passive heating, cooling, and lighting methods.

Article from Williams College on the key elements of passive solar design for homes.

Paper summarizing passive and low-energy cooling systems for buildings.

Information sheet providing guidance about the placement of ventilation approaches.

Blog article describing considerations for how to use trees for shading to reduce cooling energy demand.

Report reviewing the design and the first four months of energy performance of a near zero energy project home in Callaway, Florida during the second half of 2008.

Report reviewing the design of a net zero energy home in Gainesville, Florida and then focusing on the first six months of energy performance of the project home during the second half of 2008.

Document reviewing ventilation strategies for different climate zones that also includes schematic drawings and photographs of various ventilation installations.

This study used an advanced airflow, energy and humidity modeling tool to evaluate the potential for residential mechanical pre-scooling strategies to reduce peak electriciy demand.

Article describing moisture and ice dam issues in attics and how to air seal the attic floor.

Technical report describing the research and development of the Ventilation-Integrated Comfort System (VICS) which is a specifically designed, energy-efficient solution that seamlessly integrates with low-capacity, ducted heating, and cooling systems, offering controllable, balanced energy recovery...

A free tool used to calculate the required minimum flow rate of dwelling-unit ventilation.

IECC code note explaining new fan efficacy requirements, along with how to determine which fans are affected by the new fan requirements.

Report providing guidance on indoor air quality in single-family and multifamily housing for designers, builders, property managers, homeowners, buyers, and renters.

Fact sheet describing how to install bracing to retrofit roof dormers for increased wind resistance.

Document reviewing current and potential ventilation technologies for residential buildings with particular emphasis on North American climates and construction.

Q&A article discussing how to address moisture issues in an attic in a wet and humid coastal climate.

Report on hybrid ventilation methods for insulated and sealed crawl spaces.

Report describing development of a package of energy efficiency measures to achieve 60% energy savings in a test house.

Fact sheet describing field validations of a smart ventilation system to assess its effectiveness in assisting low-load homes in humid environments by maintaining acceptable indoor humidity conditions while ensuring adequate ventilation and indoor air quality.

Article describing building smoke control systems.

Standard that defines the roles of and minimum requirements for mechanical and natural ventilation systems and the building envelope intended to provide acceptable indoor air quality in low-rise residential buildings. This version of the standard was published in the year 2016, and is available for...

Standard that defines the roles of and minimum requirements for mechanical and natural ventilation systems and the building envelope intended to provide acceptable indoor air quality in low-rise residential buildings; published in the year 2019, and is available for preview and purchase at the...

Standard that describes the minimum requirements for residential buildings to achieve acceptable indoor air quality via dwelling-unit ventilation, local mechanical exhaust, and source control. This version of the standard was published in the year 2022, and is available for preview and purchase at...

This Standard provides a consistent, uniform methodology for evaluating the airtightness of building envelopes and heating and cooling air ducts and the air flows of mechanical ventilation systems.

Standard describing methods for testing the airtightness of buildings and HVAC equipment.

Test method that measures the capture efficiency of wall-mounted domestic range hoods under controlled conditions in a test chambers which available for preview and purchase at the link and was published in the year 2018.

Presentation on sustainable development including water conservation, passive solar, daylighting, natural ventilation, and land use.

Presentation by the Washington University in St. Louis Office of Sustainability on saving energy.

Presentation on urban land use and sustainable building design.

Presentation describing how to make a Corsi-Rosenthal Box for air cleaning.

Article describing a field study that test ventilation performance in nine homes and found current ventilation was inadequate to remove PM2.5 and CO2 levels; however, a directly exhausting range hood can reduce peak PM2.5 concentrations by 75% or more.

Case study of new home construction in the hot-dry and mixed-dry climate zones.

Paper that illustrates a performance check between the thermal performance of a Massive Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) wall system mocked up and Whole Building Performance criteria such as total space heating and cooling loads (thermal comfort).

Article about installing balanced ventilation systems.

Article describing thermal bridging, construction practices that encourage thermal bridging, and solving thermal bridging through continuous exterior insulation.

Website providing consumer tips for using natural gas safely in the home, including guidance on cooking, fireplaces, ventilation, pilot lights, piping, etc.

BSD-102 report providing guidance about whether to construct a vented or unvented attic based on hygro-thermal zone.

Article describing the impact of increasingly stringent ventilation standards on multifamily buildings, highlighting the inefficiencies and challenges of exhaust-only ventilation in tightly sealed enclosures, the complications of achieving balanced ventilation, and the unintended consequences of...

Technical fact sheet highlighting important building connections and illustrating the proper use of various types of connection hardware; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

This study uses a computer simulation approach to examine the energy and indoor air quality implications of passive and hybrid ventilation systems.

Document presenting analysis results, focusing on relative humidity (RH) excursions, which are defined as unique events of indoor RH above a threshold.

Preliminary results of two monitored lab homes constructed to represent the thermal characteristics of typical existing Florida homes are presented.

Building science report describing issues with vented attics in hot-humid climates and how sealed attic construction may be a solution.