Library

Report discussing the potential energy savings of new high-efficiency downlights, and the results of product testing to date.

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.

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

Article describing how omission of two small but critical wall details, a kick-out flashing and a weep screed, lead to extensive water damage to a wall.

Website blog with guidance about calculating heat-loss.

Correcting pressure imbalances in your HVAC system can result in a healthier, more efficient home.

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

Report describing the results of a 21-home field study investigating the effectiveness and failure rates of whole-house mechanical ventilation systems installed in Florida homes over the last 15 years.

Article describing walls and moisture development on them.

Report describing research conducted to support California’s Title 24, Part 6 Building Energy Efficiency Standards by analyzing the impact of installation location and ventilation on heat pump water heater (HPWH) performance, emphasizing the need for proper installation to maximize efficiency...

Report using a field test plan to evaluate the success of implementing energy efficiency upgrades at the community scale incorporating whole-house systems integrated measures package (SIMP).

Factsheet describing how to test the duct leakage of a manufactured home in the manufactured home factory.

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

Siding installation guide for Ply Gem Siding Group products.

Measure Guideline describing how to assess and carry out the isolation of natural draft combustion appliances from the conditioned spaces of low-rise residential buildings.

This measure guideline provides guidance on combustion safety inspection procedures for appliances and heating equipment that use indoor air for combustion and dilution of flue gases in low-rise residential buildings.

Repor ourlining testing results from a 53 home monitored sample, long-term energy use of electric resistance clothes dryers.

Report describing a lighting and smart power strip retrofit evaluation that was conducted on 56 all-electric, existing Florida homes to see how lighting and miscellaneous electric loads might be reduced.

Report describing an analysis method for determining optimal residential energy efficiency retrofit packages and applies the analysis method to a 1960s-era home in eight U.S. cities.

Standard that prescribes a testing method to determine the efficiency of space heating and/or cooling thermal distribution systems under seasonal and design conditions. This version of the standard was published in the year 2014, and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. The...

Fact sheet describing how typical wall moisture barrier systems work, the moisture barrier system and common problems associated with them; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Article describing how moisture accumulates inside of structures and issues that result.

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

Practical guide describing the management of moisture during a building's design, construction and maintenance.

EPA guidance document providing information on moisture control in buildings.

Article discussing moisture control in buildings as well as building design and construction strategies for keeping buildings dry and allowing buildings to dry out if they do get wet.

The next generation of building enclosures is a key step toward achieving high-performance goals through decreasing energy load demand and enabling advanced space-conditioning systems. Yet the adoption of high-R enclosures and particularly high-R walls has been a slow-growing trend because...

Website providing guidance about mold and moisture for homes, schools, multifamily and commercial buildings.

Online course providing an overview of mold prevention and mold remediation.

Report on a study monitoring moisture conditions of double-stud wall assemblies with different insulation in Devens, Massachusetts.

Article describing mulch requirements and benefits.

Building science insight into crawlspaces.

Document about development of a new test procedure to increase the quality and accuracy of energy analysis tools for the building retrofit market.

Report presenting performance results from tests conducted on an energy efficiency retrofit project in Stockton, California.

Paper examining the monitored performance of four newly constructed near zero energy homes in Florida.

Report briefly reviewing past research on the effects of occupant behavior on residential energy use and then covering a two year pilot evaluation of a low cost residential energy feedback system installed in twenty case study homes in Florida.

Report briefly reviewing past research on the effects of occupant behavior on residential energy use and then covering a two year pilot evaluation of a low cost residential energy feedback system installed in twenty case study homes in Florida.

Fact sheet from Wisconsin Focus on Energy explaining how to prevent future ice dams on homes by learning about their formation and mitigation of contributing factors.

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.

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

Paper covering a parametric study of foundation heat exchanger-based ground source heat pump systems for several house configurations in a range of European locations, with an emphasis on determining feasible combinations.

Report summarizing the results of laboratory testing of 20 advanced power strip products.

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

Report about a tool developed to enable users to compare a typical 1970s ranch home against an IECC 2009 code-compliant home of the same configuration and against the 70s base case plus retrofits.

Research report detailing Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) partnership with Manatee County Habitat for Humanity to design a compact, Zero Energy Ready Home in Florida, tackling challenges like equipment sizing and indoor air quality, offering insights for projects surpassing building code...

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.

Manual that identifies certain leakage limits for ducts and outlines procedures for testing ducts for conformity with air leakage limits that are set forth in a designer’s project specification.