Library

LBNL webpage introducing heat island effect and cool materials concepts, and providing links to LBNL pages explaining cool pavements, cool roofs, and cool walls.

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

Brochure describing advanced framing techniques.

Article from NREL on wall construction guidelines for homes in hot climate zones.

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

Report providing testing methodology to evaluate structural rim header designs over openings up to 6 ft. wide and applicable to one- and two-story homes.

Report with test results that serve as a baseline of data for further material tests of other high-R wall systems and for comparison to whole-house wind pressure testing.

Research study presenting results of an existing home monitoring project designed to measure wall cavity moisture characteristics.

Report covering control of hydrostatic pressure in wall assemblies.

Report providing a collection of fact sheets describing guidance for constructing homes in wildfire zones.

A starting point for ballparking and comparing the cost of different siding materials and a brief overview of the pros and cons of different siding materials.

Article describing the impact of stack effect on building performance, highlighting how pressure differences caused by temperature and height affect air infiltration and exfiltration, and detailing strategies like compartmentalization and distributed mechanical systems to manage airflow and maintain...

Article describing considerations for choosing a room-level air cleaner to improve indoor air quality.

Companion document to the Indoor airPLUS Construction Specifications, providing guidance on identifying compliant products, including industry databases and examples of product labeling.

Checklist for verifying FORTIFIED levels and documentation needed.

Report describing ways to retrofit a home to make it more resistant to earthquakes.

Guide discussing observations, recommendations, and technical guidance as a result of Hurricane Katrina

Code describing the requirements for existing site-built single-family homes to receive roof-to-wall retrofits when re-roofing.

Report describing the hurricane retrofit guide with focus on walls and wooded framed walls.

Report detailing the design and construction of 10 new houses under the Wyandotte Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2.

Report exploring four questions to determine the level of risk associated with adding drained exterior insulation to the exterior of an existing home during an energy retrofit.

Book providing project management guidance in maintaining satisfactory indoor air quality (IAQ) of occupied buildings undergoing renovation or construction.

ICC-ES Evaluation Report reviewing proprietary steel shear wall panels developed by Simpson Strong-Tie Company to resist vertical and lateral loads in walls resulting from wind or earthquakes.

An impact test report from projectile missile tests against brick veneer, verifying that brick veneers perform well to resisting hurricane force wind driven debris.

Report documenting the results of a NYSERDA-funded research project to demonstrate the costs and benefits of a best practice systems approach to improving exhaust ventilation system performance in five multifamily buildings in New York State.

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

Article describing ways home owners can improve ventilation in their kitchens.

Webpage describing indoor air quality.

Standard supporting indoor air quality performance by producers, purchasers and policy makers to improve the environmental performance of products and services.

This research study used pollutant measurements, home inspections, diagnostic testing and occupant surveys to assess IAQ in 24 new or deeply retrofitted homes designed to be high performance green buildings in California.

Resource hub describing indoor air quality research performed by Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Website helping builders, designers, and home energy raters find products that are compliant with the EPA Indoor airPLUS Construction Specification requirements for low-emission materials.

Document outlining specifications that were developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to recognize new homes equipped with a comprehensive set of indoor air quality (IAQ) features.

Website providing the technical specifications and related documents for home builders, subcontractors, architects, and other housing professionals interested in certifying a home to the EPA's Indoor airPLUS program requirements.

Site showing flame spread ratings and definitions for common building materials.

Article explaining installing cavity insulation.

A guide for users and energy raters of insulated siding as home insulation.

Article describing how insulated siding can save homeowners energy by providing continuous exterior insulation.

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 about promoting energy efficiency for Hilton Head Island.

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 covering reservoir claddings, back ventilation and vapor throttles.

Research report discussing the reduction of HVAC energy consumption to meet U.S. greenhouse gas targets and DOE's energy-efficient building goals. It introduces iComfort, an IoT-based system for optimizing home comfort and energy savings.

Information sheet about efficiency and health benefits of MERV filters.

Report describing ways to retrofit a home to make it more hurricane resistant.

The purpose for this document is to provide basic guidance on the use of proven installation techniques that can be used by installers to help ensure correct “dense pack” application of JM Spider® in drill & fill applications.

Article describing walls and moisture development on them.

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