Library

Report providing builders in the hot-dry and mixed-dry climates with guidance for building homes that have whole-house energy savings of 40% over the Building America benchmark with no added overall costs for consumers.

Report examining the structural properties and applications of an innovative studless building system, detailing its testing regime and providing an engineering guide for architects and engineers.

Report on the design and evaluation of extended plate and beam.

Case study on the design and evaluation of extended plate and beam, located in Mount Joy Pennsylvania.

Brochure about creating an air barrier by sealing drywall assemblies.

Brochure about creating an air barrier at tub, shower and fireplace walls.

Report on adding insulation to load-bearing mass masonry buildings.

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.

Research study discussing how housewraps restrict or permit the passage of water molecules based on size, but cannot control the direction in which the water vapor molecules move.

Brochure explaining the essential basis for advanced framing and some of the more common advanced framing details.

Information sheet with details on pan flashing for exterior walls.

Document providing a resource to help builders large and small build high-quality, energy-efficient homes that achieve 30% energy savings in space conditioning and water heating in the cold and very cold climates.

Document providing a resource to help builders large and small build high-quality, energy-efficient homes that achieve 30% energy savings in space conditioning and water heating in the hot and humid climate.

Document providing a resource to help builders large and small build high-quality, energy-efficient homes that achieve 30% energy savings in space conditioning and water heating in the hot-dry and mixed-dry climates.

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.

Research study describing a number of promising foundation and basement insulation strategies that can meet the requirement for better thermal control in colder climates while enhancing moisture control, health, and comfort.

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

Report providing a summary of key lessons learned from the first ten years of the Building America program and also included a summary of the future challenges that must be met to reach the programs long term performance goals.

Report describing findings from a multifamily test home focusing on the combination of energy measures that are feasible, affordable and suitable for multifamily construction in cold climates.

Report about City of Meriden Housing Authority's (MHA) collaboration with Jonathon Rose Companies to complete a gut renovation of 126 residential units in the Chamberlain Heights retrofit project.

Article describing correct ways to attach rigid insulation to the exterior of commercial and residential buildings.

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

Part I of the Guide addresses walls constructed with 2x6 wood frame studs, wood structural panel (WSP) sheathing as exterior sheathing, gypsum board as interior sheathing, and a cladding system installed over WSP sheathing in low-rise residential buildings up to three stories in height.

The Guide addresses walls constructed with 2x4 wood frame studs, wood structural panel (WSP) sheathing as wall bracing and added backing for foam sheathing, a layer of rigid foam sheathing insulation up to 1.5 in. thick over the WSP, and a cladding system installed over the foam sheathing in low...

Job Process sheet for the manufactured housing industry showing how to cut insulation batts to fit wall cavities in a factory production environment.

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...

Report exploring feasibility of designing prescriptive retrofit measure packages for typical Chicago region multifamily buildings in order to achieve 25% source energy savings.

Report describing research that helps inform best practices for air-sealing multifamily buildings in the Northeast.

Report about the Advanced Envelope Research effort will provide factory homebuilders with urgently-needed, cost effective methods for meeting emerging energy code requirements.

Report about an expert meeting focused on issues surrounding cladding attachment and performance of walls with exterior insulating sheathing.

Expert Meeting about interior insulation retrofit of mass masonry wall assemblies held on July 30, 2011.

Report on high-R wall design called extended plate and beam that uses foam sheathing insulation with wall framing.

Fact sheet describing the Extended Plate Wall (EPW) a system that incorporates a 2-inch layer of foam plastic insulative sheathing within the framing for top and bottom plates, streamlining air sealing, window and door installation, weather resistive barrier application, and cladding attachment for...

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.

Research study developing baseline engineering analysis to support the installation of thick layers of exterior insulation (2 in. to 8 in.) on existing masonry walls and wood framed walls.

Report on the field evaluation of whole-building approaches and estimation of the relative contributions of select technologies toward reducing energy use related to space conditioning in new manufactured homes.

Report about development of effective strategies to reduce the overall building energy use in line with Building America goals in this modestly priced market rate project.

Guide providing information on using exterior foam insulating sheathing in building wall assemblies to enhance thermal performance.

Document providing supplemental information for code enforcement professionals about header hangers in bearing walls.

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

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

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 providing 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 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.

Article explaining installing cavity insulation.

Report about promoting energy efficiency for Hilton Head Island.

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