Library

Technical report describing the evaluation of four different ventilation strategies for providing make-up air in high-performance, new construction multifamily buildings in the Northeast, emphasizing the challenges posed by increasing airtightness standards and the variability of system performance...

Report describing research that helps inform best practices for air-sealing multifamily buildings in the Northeast.

Article describing RESNET guidance on evaporative coolers.

Article describing how evaporative coolers work and how to maintain them.

Web article describing the evolution of evaporative coolers, water usage of evaporative coolers, and links to information on selecting an evaporative cooler.

Article describing a study of the potential to use heat pumps to heat and cool homes across the United States, including cold climate locations like Alaska.

Article describing benefits of ECM motors and how they can be installed as retrofit motors in HVAC equipment.

Case study describing novel technique for installing exterior spray foam on foundation walls that uses high-pressure water sprayer and a “hydro vac” to remove dirt along the foundation wall.

Expert meeting identifying installation practices that provide the best installed efficiency for residential gas furnaces, explain how AFUE and field efficiency can differ, and investigate the impact of installation practices on the efficiency and long-term durability of the furnace.

Report about an expert meeting focused on issues surrounding cladding attachment and performance of walls with exterior insulating sheathing.

Expert meeting report describing the need for greater understanding of foundation systems including moisture and insulation issues.

Expert Meeting about interior insulation retrofit of mass masonry wall assemblies held on July 30, 2011.

Expert meeting held to discuss simplified space conditioning systems in low load homes, including the relationship between advanced thermal enclosures, space conditioning systems and comfort.

Report presenting the process of a residential retrofit project for houses in the states of Florida and Alabama, including findings at the time of reporting and highlights of the first home to meet the target HERS Index of 70.

Fact sheet describing the Extended Plate Wall (EPW) a system that incorporates a 2-inch layer of foam plastic insulative sheathing within the framing for top and bottom plates, streamlining air sealing, window and door installation, weather resistive barrier application, and cladding attachment for...

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is interested in finding cost-effective solutions for deep energy retrofits (DERs) related to exterior wall insulation in a cold climate, with targets of 50% peak load reduction and 50% space conditioning energy savings.

Research study developing baseline engineering analysis to support the installation of thick layers of exterior insulation (2 in. to 8 in.) on existing masonry walls and wood framed walls.

Article from Building Science Corporation on construction techniques for extreme heat conditions in Dubai and Las Vegas.

Information sheet providing detail about hand fabrication of a one-piece straight duct from a 48" x 120" x 1" thick (1.22 m x 3.05 m x 25 mm) sheet where the total inside duct dimensions equals 112" (2.84 m) or less.

Report outlining how Smart ventilation controls (SVC) balance energy consumption, comfort, and IAQ by optimizing mechanical ventilation operation to reduce the heating and/or cooling loads, improve management of indoor moisture, and maintain IAQ equivalence according to ASHRAE 62.2.

Report of a field evaluation of four novel roof designs to see how each design would reduce space-conditioned energy use so that the knowledge gained could be applied to the design of new manufactured homes.

Information sheet with an analysis of mini split heat pump systems.

Report about field testing that characterizes the uniformity of room-to-room ventilation air distribution under various operating conditions by examining multi-zone tracer gas decay curves and calculating local age-of-air.

Technical report on a field validation study that utilizes low-cost indoor air quality sensors to assess a smart ventilation system's effectiveness in maintaining acceptable indoor humidity in low-load homes in humid environments, revealing that while the smart ventilation algorithm demonstrated...

ASHRAE Q&A addressing HVAC filtration and disinfection for reducing the spread of COVID-19.

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

Standard providing a comprehensive approach to evaluating, selecting, specifying and installing flexible duct in HVAC systems.

Research study outlining savings from reducing air infiltration, with and without the addition of mechanical ventilation, using two identical laboratory homes designed to model existing Florida building stock.

This five-page brochure contains basic information on flood cleanup with illustrations and links to more detailed information.

Article discussing flow-through assemblies of walls.

Journal article describing lessons learned from updating a 16-year-old deep-energy retrofit.

Article describing the effective R-values of various subslab insulation products, including foil bubble pack.

Report outlining the energy upgrade package implemented in Ft. Benning, GA, Indianhead Townhomes project and the findings of the Southface Energy Institute's post-renovation analysis.

Report about development of effective strategies to reduce the overall building energy use in line with Building America goals in this modestly priced market rate project.

Handbook providing guidance on the design and construction of foundations for homes, including insulation, air sealing, and water management details for basements, crawlspaces, and slabs.

Report describing a project aimed at developing validated models and design tools for foundation heat exchangers.

A guideline containing fire sprinkler insulation requirements from the Prescott, Arizona Fire Department.

Article describing what the building codes say about frost-protected shallow foundations as a cost-saving alternative to conventional concrete foundations.

Guides describing frost-protected shallow foundations as an alternative method for building an energy-efficient foundation for a house in a cold climate that uses less concrete and saves on labor.

Article describing frost-protected shallow foundations with construction drawing details.

Report covering the fire performance of combustible cladding over combustible insulation.

Website highlighting the DOE Building Technologies Office Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings Initiative, including technical reports, other publications, resources, and presentations.

Report evaluating HVAC building technologies based on their ability to provide grid services and the type of value provided, including efficiency, load shed, load shift, and modulation.

Report evaluating lighting and electronic building technologies based on their ability to provide grid services and the type of value provided, including efficiency, load shed, load shift, and modulation.

Report providing an introduction to core concepts of GEBs, and explaining how flexible building loads can be integrated and controlled to benefit consumers, the grid, and society more broadly.

Report addressing the current state of these technologies and the challenges of adapting these to the GEB context.

Report focuseing on dynamic window and opaque envelope technologies for GEBs, including electrochromic glazing, automated attachments, and thermal storage.

Report presenting a cold climate project examining and alternative approach to ground source heat pump ground loop design.

Factsheet describing how to install air source heat pumps for residential heating and cooling in cold climates.

Factsheet describing how to install air source heat pumps for residential heating and cooling in cold climates.