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Library

This library contains research reports produced by the Building America program and other building science resources used to support this Solution Center. The materials cover both new construction and existing homes. Use the search box and/or the filters to explore hundreds of residential building resources. Access to some references not produced by Building America may require purchase from the publisher. Documents are listed alphabetically. While we continually update our database, links may have changed since posting. Please contact our webmaster if you find broken links.

Showing results 1 - 50 of 54

Author(s)
Spirko Jack
Organization(s)
Permaculture Research Institute
Publication Date
Description
Article describing the difference between swales and hugels (berms used to create soil from woody debris).
Author(s)
Fernandez Nick,
Wang Weimin,
Alvine Kyle J,
Katipamula Srinivas
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Technical report evaluating the energy savings potential of radiative cooling technologies, particularly photonic 'selective emittance' materials.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
Office of Policy Development and Research
Organization(s)
HUD,
PD&R
Publication Date
Description
Designer checklist covering hazards involving ground and surface water, rain and water vapor, HVAC and plumbing, sunlight, insects, decay, and natural hazards, and builder checklist covering all disaster resistance, sorted by building component.
Author(s)
Ribeiro David,
Mackres Eric,
Baatz Brendon,
Cluett Rachel,
Jarrett Michael,
Kelly Meegan,
Vaidyanathan Shruti
Organization(s)
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy,
ACEEE
Publication Date
Description
Report describing the research gap in the connection between resilience and energy efficiency.
Author(s)
Wilkerson
Organization(s)
Medeek Design
Publication Date
Description
Webpage providing information about design snow loads and a free interactive ground snow load mapping tool for the contiguous United States, as well as snow load calculation methods.
Author(s)
Olsen Tim,
Preus Robert
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL
Publication Date
Description
Technical report providing site selection guidance for installation of small wind turbines.
Author(s)
Keote Shreyas Ashok,
Kumar Dhanendra,
Singh Rishabh
Organization(s)
Journal of Energy and Power Sources,
Indian Institute of Technology BHU Varanasi,
IIT BHU
Publication Date
Description
Article describing construction best practices to help reduce the wind-induced pressure loads on a low-rise building during a hurricane.
Author(s)
Lstiburek Joseph W
Organization(s)
Building Science Corporation,
BSC
Publication Date
Description
Article describing the difference between conditioned or unvented attics and unconditioned or vented attics.
Author(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Federal Emergency Management Agency,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Organization(s)
EPA,
FEMA,
HUD
Publication Date
Description
Homeowner guidance from EPA, FEMA, HUD, and NIH on dealing with radon following a natural disaster.
Author(s)
National Institution of Health,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Organization(s)
NIH,
OSHA,
EPA,
HUD
Publication Date
Description
Guidance from HUD, EPA, NIH, and FEMA for workers who deal directly with asbestos.
Author(s)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Federal Emergency Management Agency,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
National Institutes of Health,
Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force
Organization(s)
CDC,
EPA,
FEMA,
HUD,
NIH
Publication Date
Description
Homeowner guidance from CDC, EPA, FEMA, HUD, and NIH on how to safely clean up mold issues following flooding from a natural disaster.
Author(s)
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Federal Emergency Management Agency,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
National Institutes of Health,
Hurricane Sandy Rebuilding Task Force
Organization(s)
FEMA,
EPA,
HUD,
NIH,
CDC
Publication Date
Description
Guidance from EPA, FEMA, HUD, and NIH on how to deal with asbestos in homes following natural disasters.
Author(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
Federal Emergency Management Agency,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
National Institute of Health Division of Technical Resources
Organization(s)
EPA,
FEMA,
HUD,
NIH
Publication Date
Description
Guidance from EPA, FEMA, HUD, and NIH on homeowner safety dealing with lead contaminants.
Author(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Organization(s)
EPA,
HUD,
NIH,
OSHA
Publication Date
Description
Guidance from EPA, HUD, NIH, and OSHA on worker and employer interactions with lead contaminants.
Author(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Organization(s)
EPA,
HUD,
NIH,
OSHA
Publication Date
Description
Worker guidance from EPA, HUD, NIH, and OSHA on how to deal with mold in homes following natural disasters.
Author(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development,
National Institute of Health Division of Technical Resources,
Occupational Safety and Health Administration
Organization(s)
EPA,
HUD,
NIH,
OSHA
Publication Date
Description
Worker guidance from EPA, HUD, NIH, and OSHA for radon issues following a natural disaster.
Author(s)
Habian Bob
Organization(s)
National Council of Structural Engineers Association,
NCSEA
Publication Date
Description
Article detailing a case study in which thermal mass was used as part of an overall Net Zero solution for a university building.
Author(s)
Irtaza,
Javed,
Jameel
Organization(s)
Asian Journal of Civil Engineering
Publication Date
Description
Article presenting a numerical study of wind pressure on the low-rise hip-roof building by varying the roof pitch using computational fluid dynamics computer modeling and wind tunnel testing of hip roofs with different roof pitches: 15°, 20°, 30° and 40°.
Author(s)
Resilient Design Institute
Organization(s)
Resilient Design Institute
Publication Date
Description
Website describing wet floodproofing measures to prevent against structural damage, internal damage and damage to electrical components.
Author(s)
Duarte Carlos,
Gandhi Priya,
Kim Antony,
Landsman Jared,
Santos Luis,
Tepfer Sara,
Wang Taoning
Organization(s)
Center for the Built Environment,
CBE,
University of California Berkeley,
UC Berkeley
Publication Date
Description
Presentation on urban land use and sustainable building design.
Author(s)
The Getty Conservation Institute
Organization(s)
The GCI
Publication Date
Description
Newsletter containing five articles focused on seismic retrofitting.
Author(s)
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Organization(s)
FEMA
Publication Date
Description
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.
Author(s)
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Organization(s)
FEMA
Publication Date
Description
Fact sheet summarizing the changes to the flood provisions in the 2012 I-Codes that appear in the 2015 edition.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Organization(s)
HUD
Publication Date
Description
Brochure helping homeowners identify hazards, work with contractors to remove the hazards, help ensure the work is done properly, and educate when they can return safely to the home.
Author(s)
Hoeschele Marc,
Springer David,
Dakin Bill,
German Alea
Organization(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
ARBI,
Davis Energy Group,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Article from NREL on wall construction guidelines for homes in hot climate zones.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
Organization(s)
HUD
Publication Date
Description
Newsletter reviewing federal disaster policy, the research basis for resilience, and three models of building resilient communities.
Author(s)
Enterprise Green Communities
Organization(s)
Enterprise Green Communities
Publication Date
Description
Report providing strategies to support occupant behavior changes for enhancing resilience, and to reduce a building's vulnerability to extreme weather, climate change, and loss of power.
Author(s)
Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety
Organization(s)
IBHS
Publication Date
Description
Report summarizing the requirements to strenghthen new homes against property damage caused by high wind occurrences per the IBHS Fortified Homes High Wind Standard for New Homes.
Author(s)
International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials
Organization(s)
IAPMO
Publication Date
Description
Code set from IAPMO explaining plumbing standards. 2015 publication.
Author(s)
Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety
Organization(s)
IBHS
Publication Date
Description
Guide describing the requirements by FORTIFIED Home™ for improving the home's resistance in severe thunderstorms, straight-line wind events, and high winds at the outer edges of tornadoes.