Library

Report providing performance results of a home's heat pump water heater and whole-house dehumidifier over a six-month period.

A guide for homeowners on determining the risks from tornadoes and hurricanes and selecting a safe room type and location, as well as providing detailed plans for safe room construction.

Document about laboratory testing of five integrated heat pump water heaters (HPWH).

A story about bees building a hive in the drainage plane behind the brick veneer siding. The bees entered the wall through unprotected drainage holes.

Image depicting damage from termites in weatherboard cladding.

Projectile missile testing of various wall panel configuration to understand how the different wall constructions would perform when struck with wind driven debris from a hurricane.

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

Article describing the perfect wall and and in what order to control rain, air, vapor, and heat.

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

Research study investigating the thermal efficiency of fasteners, namely drywall screws and siding nails, in high-performance wood-framed walls.

Report proposing a procedure for estimating the whole opaque wall R-value (whole-wall R-value), independent of system type and construction materials.

Guide from Energy Star on smart thermostats and offering some guidance for choosing one.

This report describes the results of a multiyear research project that investigated the energy savings attributable to thermostatic radiator valves (TRVs) installed on one-pipe steam distribution systems.

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...

Article describing the evolution of the IRC to permit class 3 vapor retarders (latex paint) in walls coupled with exterior continuous insulation to allow drying and reduce condensation risk.

Research study describing a detailed 3D computational fluid dynamics model that evaluates the thermal performance of uninsulated wall assemblies.

Information sheet describing transfer ducts and grilles for HVAC.

Report about partnership to build three communities of net zero houses.

Technical conference paper discussing real world experience with Trombe walls.

Presentation report detailing Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH) interaction with space conditioning systems in real-life test scenarios that explains some of the problems arising from these interaction and information that can be used to make the system more efficient.

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.”

Users guide to help contractors and homeowners use the Cold Climate Heat Pump Sizing Support Tools developed by NEEP to size and select the best air source heat pumps for their cold climate location.

Report about a project with successful integration of numerous energy-conservation and renewable-energy features into a beautiful, comfortable, and very energy-efficient off-grid home.

Fact sheet describing the results of an analysis of humidity control and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system efficiency in three new multifamily buildings in New York, NY.

Report summarizing NRELs efforts to develop diagnostic test cases to conduct accurate energy simulations when phase change materials (PCMs) are modeled in residential buildings.

Research study developed and verified a fuel oil flow field measurement protocol that is cost effective and can be performed with little training for use by the BB program as well as other weatherization programs and building science researchers.

Publication with installation guidance for vinyl siding.

Document describing wall bracing techniques and suggestions for the city of Verona, WI building department.

A guide describing how to do wall bracing calculations and evaluations.

A presentation about the need for rainscreens including the damage water and moisture ingress into a home’s siding and framing can cause, and ways to design a resilient wall that drains and ventilates well.

Report describing a field study of 31 homes to test envelope and duct leakage and fan flowrates, and to determine ventilation operation characteristics.

An article written by Don Jackson of The Journal of Light Construction on how to detail brick veneer siding wall.

Web page explaining what a cool exterior wall is and how they work, as well as benefits to their use and links to research studies.

An article describing a way to protect drain and ventilation holes in brick veneer siding against pests. Selecting a fine screen mesh opening (1/55-inch or 0.5-mm) is important to guard against small insects such as subterranean termites.

Factsheet describing the importance of system charging, superheat and subcooling.

Conference paper presented at the 2020 Summer Study on Energy Efficiency in Buildings presenting the results of an evaluation of control strategies used when new mini-splits are installed in a home with an existing HVAC system.

Report describing work conducted by the Building Science Corporation (BSC) Building America Research Teams Energy Efficient Housing Research Partnerships project.

Article describing sustainable community development of near zero energy homes in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

Report describing the design and construction of a highly energy efficient community of ten duplexes in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

A hurricane retrofit guide describing techniques for strengthening roof-to-wall connections for family homes.

Research study describing demonstration homes that provided a wealth of information for the building community in terms of the science, effort, and cost of increasing the energy efficiency of our nation's housing stock.

Report detailing retrofit of two existing houses in the Wyandotte Neighborhood program.