Library

List of recommendations from IBHS on how to protect homes from ice dam formation.

Report designed to help a builder understand quality management and its role in transitioning from conventional to HPH building and remodeling.

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.

Report showing how to identify, inventory, and screen buildings that are potentially hazardous because of seismic hazards.

Article describing moisture and ice dam issues in attics and how to air seal the attic floor.

Data tables on U.S. renewable energy consumption and general trends in the market for renewable energy.

The RERH specifications and checklists take a builder and a project design team through the steps of assessing a home’s solar resource potential and defining the minimum structural and system components needed to support a solar energy system.

Website tool intended to guide home builders in assessing whether a new home has the proper physical orientation to support a future installation of a solar energy system.

Website providing data on household energy usage collected from the Residential Energy Consumption Survey (RECS), a nationally representative sample of more than 18,000 housing units, representing the 123.5 million housing units occupied as primary residences in the U.S.

A fact sheet educating homeowners on the importance of residential safe rooms, including their cost and how to register a safe room with local officials.

Homepage for ENERGY STAR’s windows, skylights, and doors program providing information for consumers and links to product directories.

Website describing the USRC, which "brings an unparalleled level of capability to the mission of improving community resilience in the built environment."

Resource to help builders better understand the WaterSense requirements for labeled homes and assist them in meeting the criteria so they can receive the label for their new construction.

Fact sheet describing methods for flashing and air-sealing windows and doors.

Report about a deep energy retrofit Cool Energy House.

Information sheet describing solar PV upgrade for an existing homes.

Report from FEMA describing techniques for floodproofing structures.

Report summarizing commissioning, short-term testing, and analysis that occurred before, during, and just after the actual retrofit of the Bay Ridge project.

The RERH specifications and checklists take a builder and a project design team through the steps of assessing a home’s solar resource potential and defining the minimum structural and system components needed to support a solar energy system.

Specifications to assist builders in designing and constructing homes equipped with a set of features that make the installation of solar energy systems after the completion of the home’s construction easier and less expensive.

Research study presenting a unique opportunity to both identify and evaluate deep retrofit measures that are practical and potentially cost effective for the retrofit market, as well as review the cost effectiveness of the Passive House design approach for achieving energy savings in deep retrofits.

Standard describing a simple, relatively cost-effective approach to evaluating the ability of a variety of materials to support microbial growth using a small chamber method. A preview of the standard is available at the link, with the full version available for purchase.

Specification describing criteria for manufactured polymeric materials used to provide a rainscreen function, a means for the drainage of liquid moisture and the ventilation of vapor moisture that enters an above-grade exterior wall assembly which was published in the year 2019, and is available for...

ENERGY STAR webpage describing the benefits of storm windows and a link to a product list.

Webpage providing an ENERGY STAR climate zone map and criteria for ENERGY STAR storm windows per climate zone.

Document serving as a starting point that features initial tools and resources for teams to start collaborating to continually improve the energy efficiency and durability of new houses.

Research study determining how well high performance envelope and innovative cooling system interact to cost effectively reduce cooling energy use in this hot-dry climate.

Research study making several recommendations to whole-home program designers and implementers for improving the cost effectiveness and reach of whole-home programs.

Resource manual for builders, designers, architects, plumbers, and others interested in the WaterSense Labeled Homes Program providing an overview of the program, explains how to meet the program requirements, gives descriptions of water-saving technologies, and provides links to further resources.

Fact sheet describing water management in a residential building.

Report developed for Habitat for Humanity about lessons learned from demonstration retrofit projects undertaken by Habitat for Humanity affiliates in New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; with building systems consulting and technical assistance provided by Steven Winter Associates.

Even as the worst housing market correction in more than 60 years appeared to turn a corner in 2009, the fallout from sharply lower home prices and high unemployment continued.

Report presenting results from whole-house monitoring efforts in hope that they may be useful for others moving towards zero energy homes.

Document providing an overview of the Thermal Bypass Checklist for the ENERGY STAR Qualified Homes program.

Guide describing details that serve as a visual reference for each of the line items in the Thermal Enclosure System Rater Checklist.

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.

Report discussing Building America whole house systems research within the broad effort to reduce or eliminate the environmental impact of building and provides specific recommendations for future Building America research based on Building Science Corporations experience with several recent...

Report documenting the process and outcomes involved in achieving the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program certification standards while helping homebuilders in Climate Zones 5 and 6 in the Upper Midwest achieve ZERH certification.

Guide providing information on controlling attic ductwork sweating.

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.

Information sheet with the Waste Reduction Model (WARM), designed to help solid waste planners and organizations track and voluntarily report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions from several different waste management practices.

Guide describing details that serve as a visual reference for each of the line items in the Water Management System Builder Checklist.

Specification of criteria for lavatory faucets and faucet accessories under the U.S. EPA WaterSense Program.

Article describing the EPA WaterSense program, process, and benefits.

Web page providing links or specifications for homes to be labeled through the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA’s) WaterSense program.

Fact sheet outlining requirements for WaterSense labeled bathroom sink faucets, detailing their water-efficient features, compliance with flow rate standards, testing, construction, and verification.

Fact sheet describing the requirements for EPA WaterSense certified clothes washers that highlights the integrated water factor, integrated modified energy factor, top-loading vs. front-loading specifications, efficiency code standards, local requirements, faucet types and regulations for building...

Fact sheet describing the requirements for EPA WaterSense certified dishwashers that highlights water cycle specifications, efficiency code standards, water consumption level relation to criteria, the advantages of ENERGY STAR dishwashers, and the regulations for building and verifying a labeled...

Fact sheet describing protocols for detecting, addressing, and preventing water leaks in homes, covering pressure-loss testing, visual inspections, and specific leak tests for fixtures and appliances.