Library | Building America Solution Center

This library contains research reports produced by the Building America program and other building science resources used to support this Solution Center. The materials cover both new construction and existing homes. Use the search box and/or the filters to explore hundreds of residential building resources. Access to some references not produced by Building America may require purchase from the publisher. Documents are listed alphabetically. While we continually update our database, links may have changed since posting. Please contact our webmaster if you find broken links.

Showing results 1 - 18 of 18

ACCA Manual RS - Comfort, Air Quality, and Efficiency by Design

Author(s)

Air Conditioning Contractors of America

Organization(s)

ACCA

Publication Date

December, 2015

The manual covers residential zoning issues - multiple, single-zone, and central multi-zone systems - and includes advice on working with homeowners to adapt the heating or cooling system design to meet modern home design features.

Boilers, Baseboard Radiation, Finned Tube (Commercial) Radiation, and Indirect-Fired Water Heaters

Author(s)

Air-Conditioning Heating and Refrigeration Institute

Organization(s)

AHRI

Publication Date

December, 2015

This directory contains the I=B=R Ratings for cast-iron, steel, aluminum and copper boilers, baseboard and finned tube radiation, indirect-fired water heaters, effective as of the date of this publication.

2012 International Fuel Gas Code - IFGC

Author(s)

International Code Council

Organization(s)

ICC

Publication Date

December, 2015

2012 edition of code establishing a baseline for the design and installation of fuel gas systems and gas fired appliances through performance requirements.

Field Evaluation of Four Novel Roof Designs for Energy-Efficient Manufactured Homes

Author(s)

Dentz Jordan,

Ansanelli Eric,

Dadia D,

Levy Emanuel,

Barker Greg M,

Rath Pournamasi

Organization(s)

Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions,

ARIES

Publication Date

December, 2015

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.

Clanging Pipes and Open Windows: Upgrading NYC Steam Heating Systems for the 21st Century

Author(s)

Flothow Jonathan

Organization(s)

Energy Efficiency for All,

EEFA,

Steven Winter Associates,

SWA

Publication Date

November, 2015

Report describing strategies to improve the aging steam heating systems in New York City to improve energy efficiency, reduce oil and gas usage, and cut maintenance costs.

National HVAC Design Report 1

Author(s)

ENERGY STAR,

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

Organization(s)

EPA

Publication Date

November, 2015

This report is designed to meet ASHRAE 62.2-2010/2013 and ANSI/ACCA’s 5 QI-2015 protocol, thereby improving the performance of HVAC equipment in new homes when compared to homes built to minimum code.

2015 International Mechanical Code - IMC

Author(s)

International Code Council

Organization(s)

ICC

Publication Date

November, 2015

2015 edition of code establishing minimum regulations for mechanical systems, including heating, cooling, ventilation, exhaust, ducts, fireplaces, combustion and hydronic systems, using prescriptive and performance-related provisions.

Analyzing Design Heating Loads in Superinsulated Buildings

Author(s)

Arena Lois

Organization(s)

Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,

CARB,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL

Publication Date

June, 2015

Report analyzing design heating load sizing methods for superinsulated homes in cold climates and comparing them to the actual energy usage to determine if the building load calculation methodology should be changed for calculating the design heating load of these homes.

Investigation of the Effectiveness and Failure Rates of Whole-House Mechanical Ventilation Systems in Florida

Author(s)

Withers Charles R,

Sonne Jeffrey K,

Vieira Robin K

Organization(s)

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC

Publication Date

June, 2015

Report describing the results of a 21-home field study investigating the effectiveness and failure rates of whole-house mechanical ventilation systems installed in Florida homes over the last 15 years.

Long-Term Monitoring of Mini-Split Ductless Heat Pumps in the Northeast

Author(s)

Ueno Kohta,

Loomis Honorata

Organization(s)

Building Science Corporation,

BSC,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Publication Date

June, 2015

Report on the long-term performance of mini-split heat pumps.

Cooling and Heating Season Impacts of Right-Sizing of Fixed- and Variable-Capacity Heat Pumps With Attic and Indoor Ductwork

Author(s)

Cummings James B,

Withers Charles R,

Kono Jamie E

Organization(s)

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE,

Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,

BA-PIRC

Publication Date

June, 2015

Report on experiments comparing the cooling and heating seasonal and peak demand performance of different variable-capacity air conditioning and heat pump units.

Exterior Insulation Implications on Heating and Cooling in Cold Climates

Author(s)

Herk Anastasia,

Poerschke Andrew

Organization(s)

Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,

IBACOS

Publication Date

April, 2015

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.

Marine Climate

Author(s)

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

U.S. Department of Energy

Organization(s)

PNNL,

DOE

Publication Date

March, 2015

Residential Ducts in Conditioned Space / High Performance Attics

Author(s)

Wei Julianna,

Pande Abhijeet,

Chappell Cathy,

Christie Matthew,

Dawe Megan

Organization(s)

TRC Energy Services

Publication Date

February, 2015

Report proposes high performance duct measures for inclusion in California Title 24 building energy efficiency standards for 2016.

Improving Gas Furnace Performance: A Field and Laboratory Study at End of Life

Author(s)

Brand Larry,

Baker Julie D,

Yee Shannon

Organization(s)

Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit,

PARR

Publication Date

February, 2015

Report examining the impacts that common installation practices and age- induced equipment degradation may have on the installed performance of natural gas furnaces, as measured by steady-state efficiency and AFUE.

Deep Energy Retrofits - Source Energy and Carbon Decisions

Author(s)

Less Brennan,

Walker Iain S

Organization(s)

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,

LBNL

Publication Date

January, 2015

Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Source Energy and Carbon Decisions chapter helps users carefully assess the impacts of switching from gas to electricity for heating end-uses, using source energy and/or carbon emissions...

Thermostatic Radiator Valve Evaluation

Author(s)

Dentz Jordan,

Ansanelli Eric

Organization(s)

Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions,

ARIES,

Levy Partnership

Publication Date

January, 2015

Report on a project conducted to better understand the current usage of thermostatic radiator valves by key market players in steam and hot water heating and to conduct limited experiments on the effectiveness of new and old thermostatic radiator valves as a means of controlling space temperatures...

Technician’s Guide & Workbook for Quality Installation

Author(s)

Air Conditioning Contractors of America

Organization(s)

ACCA

Publication Date

January, 2015

This guide and workbook offers practitioners with the knowledge to properly implement the measurement and documentation procedures required in the ANSI/ACCA 5.