Library | Building America Solution Center

Showing 1 - 50 of 79 results:

Adding Insulation when Re-Siding

2023

Gilbride Theresa L

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL

Fact sheet poster describing how to add exterior, continuous, rigid insulation to the exterior walls when replacing siding on an existing home.

Affordable Passive Solar Planbook for North Carolina

2005

Appalachian State University

AEC,

App State

Study from Appalachian State University on passive solar design to take advantage of local climate zones for energy conservation.

Architecture of New Mexico

2022

Albuquerque Museum

City of Albuquerque,

CABQ

Power Point PDF presentation on historical architecture in New Mexico

Brick Masonry Rain Screen Walls

1994

Brick Industry Association

BIA

Document focusing on the design and wall components that contribute to a pressure equalized rain screen wall, including the frequency of the weep holes and other brick masonry rain screen wall requirements.

Building a Better Trombe Wall

1998

National Renewable Energy Laboratory

NREL

Fact sheet providing background and technical information on Trombe wall design

Building America Building Science Advisor

2019

Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

U.S. Department of Energy

ORNL,

DOE

Web based tool providing decision-making guidance for selecting wall assembly components.

Building America Special Research Project - High-R Walls Case Study Analysis, RR-0903

2009

Straube John,

Smegal Jonathan

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

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

Building Orientation for Optimum Energy

2022

Gromicko Nick,

Gromicko Ben

InterACHI

Webpage explaining how to site and orient a house to take advantage of the solar path.

CBE Thermal Comfort Tool

2020

Tartarini Federico,

et al.

Center for the Built Environment,

CBE,

UC Berkeley,

SinBerBEST,

Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore,

BEARS

Online tool for thermal comfort calculations and visualizations SoftwareX 12, 100563 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2020.100563

Classic Rib® Install Guide

2019

Metal Sales Manufacturing Corporation

MS Manufacturing Corporation

Installation manual for installing metal panel siding.

Climate Consultant

2021

Milne Murray

Society of Building Science Educators,

SBSE,

University of California Los Angeles,

UCLA

Climate Consultant is a software tool for helping architects, builders, contractor, homeowners, and students to understand their local climate.

Common Siding Failures - Avoid errors that will cause a fiber-cement job to fail

2015

Parlee Mark

The Building Consultant

An article illustrating common errors found in fiber cement siding installations. Many of these errors and poor flashing examples apply to siding materials beyond fiber cement siding.

Concrete Homes

2012

Portland Cement Association

PCA

Information sheet discussing the properties and benefits of insulating concrete forms.

Concrete Wall Construction Process Including Materials

2022

The Constructor

Article describing the process of constructing concrete walls

Construction Defects – Mortar Bridging and Mortar Droppings Still Plague the Industry

2014

Stephan Bill

Metropolitan Engineering Consulting & Forensics,

MECF

Article about how mortar droppings during the installation of a brick veneer can clog the weep holes in the wall assembly causing moisture damage. The article also illustrates products that can be installed in the ventilated cavity to mitigate this problem.

Costs and Benefits of Insulating Concrete Forms for Residential Construction

2001

National Association of Home Builders Research Center,

et al.

NAHB Research Center,

HUD,

PDR,

PATH

Information sheet with construction details, pros and cons of insulated concrete forms.

Drain the Rain…On the Plane…the Drainage Plane, BSI–112

2019

Lstiburek Joseph W

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

Report covering the rainwater performance of building assemblies.

Electric Fan Use for Cooling During Hot Weather: A Biophysical Modelling Study

2021

Morris Nathan B,

et al.

University of Sydney,

University of Copenhagen,

University of Montreal,

Monash University,

The Lancet Planetary Health,

The Lancet Group

Study testing the effect of fan cooling on healthy adults at increased ambient temperatures.

Energy Benefits of Application of Massive Walls in Residential Buildings

2001

Kosny Jan,

et al.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

ORNL,

Technical University of Lodz,

TUL

Presentation about results from an insulating concrete form energy efficiency study in Knoxville, TN.

EPA Region 8 Headquarters

2007

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA

Brochure providing information on the design of the EPA Region 8 headquarters in Denver, CO.

ETW: Wall - ICF Wall Construction

2014

Building Science Corporation

BSC

Information sheet that summarizes Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) construction including advantages and disadvantages of this construction strategy.

Evaluation of the NightCool Nocturnal Radiation Cooling Concept: Annual Performance Assessment in Scale Test Buildings Stage Gate 1B

2008

Parker Danny S,

Sherwin John S

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC

Report about an experimental evaluation conducted on a night sky cooling system designed to substantially reduce space cooling needs in homes in North American climates.

Factor of Building Orientation Direction as Determinant the Thermal Comfort Quality

2019

Rilatupa James

Sriwijaya International Conference on Science Engineering and Technology,

Tarumanagara University,

Christian University of Indonesia,

Electrochemical Society,

ECS

Technical report describing the impact of orientation on thermal comfort.

FB Cavity Barrier – Fire rated ventilated cavity barrier

2021

Odice

An example of a commercially available thermally expansive fire stopping product for controlling the spread of fires in a rainscreen cavity.

Field Energy Performance of an Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) Wall

2012

Maref Wahid,

et al.

National Research Council Canada,

NRC,

ResearchGate

Research study evaluating the dynamic heat transmission characteristics through two identical Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) wall assemblies in Ottawa, Canada.

Great Fire of London, BSI–098

2017

Lstiburek Joseph W

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

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

HardiPlank Lap Siding Butt Joint Flashing

2021

Fratzel Todd

Home Construction and Improvement

A article about the best practice method of installing fiber cement siding, to install flashing at the butt joints of the siding boards, rather than face caulking the butt joints afterwards.

High Performance Builder Spotlight: NextGen Home, Las Vegas, Nevada

2009

U.S. Department of Energy

DOE

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

How Insulating Concrete Form vs. Conventional Construction of Exterior Walls Affects Whole Building Energy Consumption

2003

Petrie Thomas W,

et al.

Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

ORNL,

American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy,

ACEEE

Report sumarizing results of an ICF investigation of side-by-side houses in Knoxville, Tennessee.

How to Cool Your Home Without Relying on Air Conditioning

2021

Kaplan Sarah

Washington Post

Article from Washington Post on passive cooling measures for homes during extreme heat.

How to Create a Naturally Cool Building

2018

Williams Jeremy

The Earthbound Report

Article from The Earthbound Report on passive cooling design strategies for homes located in hot climates.

HUD 2024 Housing Innovation Showcase Poster: Re-Siding your Home?

2024

Patricia Gunderson,

Theresa Gilbride

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Factsheet describing re-siding retrofits containing exterior insulation and window upgrades aimed at improved energy savings and comfort.

Impacts of Shading and Glazing Combinations on Residential Energy Use in a Hot Dry Climate

2000

Farrar-Nagy Sara,

et al.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

Partnership for Resource Conservation,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Study evaluating opportunities for reducing cooling energy use in a hot dry climate through the use of shading and window options.

Improving Drainage and Drying Features in Certain Conditions: Rain Screen Design for Absorptive Cladding

2008

National Association of Home Builders

NAHB

Guide detailing best practices on how to build wall assemblies with absorptive claddings such as brick, stone that drain and dry well.

Inward Drive – Outward Drying, BSI-061

2017

Lstiburek Joseph W

Building Science Corporation,

BSC

Report covering reservoir claddings, back ventilation and vapor throttles.

Key Installation Checkpoints for Manufactured Stone Veneer

2021

National Concrete Masonry Association

NCMA

Article providing guidance for installing manufactured stone veneer, including information on rainscreens.

Low-Energy Cooling: A Guide to the Practical Application of Passive Cooling and Cooling Conservation Measures

1986

Abrams Donald

Van Nostrand Reinhold

Book detailing passive cooling methods including airflow methods, evaporative cooling, and earth cooling.

Masonry Detailing Series

2021

International Masonry Institute

Webpage featuring hundreds of illustrations of masonry construction details for brick, congrete, stone, tile, stucco, etc.

Measured Natural Cooling Enhancement of a Whole House Fan

1992

Parker Danny S

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC

Moisture Control for Residential Buildings

2020

Lstiburek Joseph W

Building Science Corporation,

BSC,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report providing extensive guidance on controlling moisture in building envelopes through proper selection and installation on air, water, thermal, and vapor barriers.

NightCool: A Nocturnal Radiation Cooling Concept

2008

Parker Danny S,

Hermelink Andreas H,

Sherwin John S

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC

Report about an experimental evaluation has been conducted on a night sky cooling system designed to substantially reduce space cooling needs in homes in North American climates.

NightCool: Nocturnal Radiation Cooling Concept Long Term Performance Evaluation

2009

Parker Danny S,

et al.

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC

Report describing the experimentally evaluated potential of a novel residential night cooling concept.

Passive Cooling

2022

Smarter Homes NZ

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

Passive Cooling

1989

Cook Jeffrey,

et al.

MIT Press,

Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

MIT

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

Passive Solar Design

2022

Williams College

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

Performance and Applicability of Passive and Low-Energy Cooling Systems

1991

Givoni Baruch

University of California Los Angeles,

UCLA

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

Performance profiles of exterior fire protective building envelopes

2016

Jarnskjold Tobias,

Jensen Geir,

Knudsen Atle

Edition Diffusion Presse Sciences,

EDP Sciences

A study on how fires spread through exterior building envelopes with discussion on how fires propagate in a rain screen cavity.

Phase Change Materials for Energy Efficiency in Buildings and Their Use in Mortars

2019

Frigione Mariaenrica,

Lettieri Mariateresa,

Sarcinella Antonella

Materials Journal

Report providing information on performance of mortars and concrete containing PCMs.

Plymouth Community Center Project

2021

City of Plymouth,

State of Minnesota

City of Plymouth,

State of Minnesota

City of Plymouth webpage providing information on the Plymouth Community Center Project.

Rain Screen Acknowledgement Form

2010

City of Newberg

An example of a form a building codes department created to ensure builders are fully aware and have taken steps to provide drainage so that water doesn’t accumulate behind siding. This example is from the city of Newberg, Oregon.