Library

Research study estimating potential energy savings relative to conventional ducted air distribution, and identifying equipment requirements, costs, and barriers.

Case study examining the problem of unwanted air transfer from garage to living space and the effectiveness of garage exhaust ventilation or house supply ventilation to provide a solution to that.

Brochure intended to provide readers with a working knowledge of residential heating and cooling duct systems.

Brochure with information about ducts in conditioned space.

Information sheet about reservoir claddings.

Information sheet about sealing combustion appliances to ensure good indoor air quality.

Information sheet about soil gas control strategies for foundations.

Information sheet providing recommendations on the installation of vapor control layers.

Case study about Artistic Homes of Albuquerque, New Mexico, the first home builder in the United States to offer true net zero energy construction to the average home buyer on every home it builds.

Expert meeting focusing on identifying gaps and barriers in combustion safety that need to be addressed by future research, and to develop data-driven technical recommendations for code updates so that a common approach for combustion safety can be adopted by all members of the building energy...

Document describing the Building America research benchmark for the residential building program.

Report on a simplified test procedure for combustion safety that is easier to implement and should produce fewer false positives than the previous procedure.

Report documenting the results of an in-depth evaluation of thermal comfort for two potential net zero-energy homes (NZEHs) in Massachusetts.

Research report anayzing the results of a large retrofit project, turining an old school into near zero energy consumption apartments in Greenfield MA.

This report evaluates the performance of variable-capacity comfort systems, with a focus on inverter-driven, variable-capacity systems, as well as proposed system enhancements.

Report describing the evaluation and selection of ventilation systems for homes retrofitted for energy aesthetic and health/safety improvements in Las Vegas.

Document reviewing four cold-climate northern Illinois energy efficiency retrofit programs to identify practices, tools, and approaches to streamline and reduce costs of comprehensive retrofits, and to improve the consistency of audit and retrofit delivery practices across different programs.

Case study on exhaust ventilation and corresponding outdoor air intake strategies implemented in high-performance new-construction multifamily buildings.

Research study documenting market-ready energy solutions to improve the efficiency of new affordable housing in the marine climate of Washington State.

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.

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 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...

Research report assessing the moisture and cooling load impacts of airtightness and mechanical ventilation in homes in hot-humid climates.

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.

Report explaining the issues and concerns with conventional ventilated crawlspaces and to outline prescriptive measures for improvements that will create healthier and more durable spaces.

Website providing information on low-energy and standard cooling systems, with a focus on saving energy.

The study described in this white paper is based on building energy modeling with an important focus on the indoor humidity impacts of ventilation.

Fact sheet describing the newly developed Ventilation-Integrated Comfort System (VICS) that reduces space requirements and eliminates costly ductwork for separate heating, cooling, and ventilation systems, all while enhancing performance, addressing the demand for energy-efficient homes, and...

Report that describes BSC's Houses That Work II (HTWII) climate-specific technical resource, beginning with an overall HTWII introduction and four sections explaining the four most important hygro-thermal climate regions: Hot-Humid, Mixed-Humid, Cold, and Hot-Dry/Mixed-Dry.

Report targeting the growing number of homes utilizing deep retrofit measures and new construction practices to realize sufficiently lower infiltration levels that require mechanical ventilation as prescribed by ASHRAE Standard 62.2.

Report focusing on managing the driving forces that move air and water vapor across the building envelope.

Report describing the use of passive vents as a source of outdoor air in multifamily buildings.

This document addresses adding—or improving—mechanical ventilation systems to existing homes. The purpose of ventilation is to remove contaminants from homes either directly or by dilution. This report discusses where, when, and how much ventilation is appropriate in a home, including some...

Guide describing proper application, design, and installation of mechanical ventilation cooling systems for homes located in hot-dry and cold-dry climates, as well as a means of understanding the benefits, costs, and tradeoffs of these systems.

Report describing the most cost-effective ventilation and indoor air quality solutions for multifamily homes that meet ASHRAE 62.2-2016.

Document describing a hygrothermal modeling study, including all of the US climate zones, a range of interior humidity levels and numerous arrangements and types of insulation.

Research study examining the performance of existing multifamily ventilation central systems and explored alternative solutions in retrofit situations.

Information sheet providing guidance about the placement of ventilation approaches.

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.

Report identifying the steps to take, with the help of a qualified home performance contractor, to seal unwanted air leaks while ensuring healthy levels of ventilation and avoiding sources of indoor air pollution.

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

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.

Fact sheet outlining the research behind how smart ventilation controls boost energy efficiency and indoor air quality, including research findings from seasonal temperature, timer, and real-time weather-based controls showing that all three systems showed potential for energy savings while...

Document targeting retrofit program managers, retrofit contractors, policy makers, academic researchers, and non-governmental organizations that work to realize energy savings from home energy upgrades (HEUs).