Library

Report investigating what motivates remodelers to become energy-focused and what technical knowledge that need to be energy-focused.

Website of the New York Department of Environmental Conservation.

Report providing detailed steps for builders, architects, and property managers to take for integrated pest management for control of a variety of pests including insects, rodents, and birds.

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.

Research study identifying best practices of three successful high performance, custom home builders in the upper Midwest.

Document outlining the approach to quality assurance in the construction process as recommended by Building Science Corporation for new residential construction.

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

Webpage describing the Quality Install Tool, an open-source web app designed to simplify, standardize, and expedite the creation of high-quality installation documentation for HVAC installations and efficiency upgrades.

Website providing information about how to keep the properties rat-free and address conditions that can lead to rats.

Report describing steps homeowners can take to improve the indoor air quality in their home, including ventilating, preventing pests, and reducing pollutants in the home.

Guide describing ways builders can block off entry points and otherwise make homes inhospitable to all manner of pests.

Document containing some of the basic characteristics for energy performance, durability, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality that should be met in all high performance homes.

U.S. DOE report summarizing findings from literature and research relevant to HVAC installation practices.

Report describing research efforts focused on examining the audit reports for quality, comprehensiveness, and consistency.

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.

Information sheet describing solar PV upgrade for an existing homes.

Information sheet describing tankless hot water heating systems in existing homes.

Information sheet describing solar hot water systems in existing homes.

Information sheet about envelope and roof moisture control retrofit for a home.

Manual describing methods for rodent-proofing buildings.

Website providing information about how to prevent rodent entry in homes.

Technical study exploring the impact of different installation faults on heat pump performance in a single-family house.

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

Paper describing the development and testing of an affordable net-zero energy house in Lenoir City, Tennessee.

Webpage describing the STEP campaign encouraging the use of smart diagnostic tools to reduce installation faults.

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.

Website providing information on all types of pest management for multi-family housing.

Webpage providing information how to deal with rodents by knowing what they look like, where they live, and what they do.

Document identifying differences between the requirements for construction documents for high performance housing and the documents that are typically produced for conventional housing.

Report intending to provide useful information as the DOE/BA develops and implements comprehensive communications and outreach strategies for demonstration homes.

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 providing a comparison of selected retrofit activity typically done, versus that same retrofit activity approached from an integrated high performance remodeling and quality management perspective.

A report describing methods for constructing homes and treating soils to reduce the risk of termites in buildings.

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.

Report evaluating a test home built in Atlanta, GA in the mixed-humid climate zone. The report outlines the features of the house, discusses the implementation of the energy efficient design, and presents the results of short-term characterization testing.

This guide and workbook offers practitioners with the knowledge to properly implement the measurement and documentation procedures required in the ANSI/ACCA 5.

A story about bees building a hive in the drainage plane behind the brick veneer siding. The bees entered the wall through unprotected drainage holes.

Image depicting damage from termites in weatherboard cladding.

Article describing identification of termite infestations in homes and treatment options.

An introduction to the insect termites.

Document with information on preventing termites when using ICFs.

Report using data from various sources to characterize the impact on human health and property damage from indoor environmental quality and other hazards.

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.

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

Case study about affordable housing in a mixed, humid climate.

A website providing information on sealing the home against rodents and how to trap rodents once they have made their way into the home.

Web-based manual providing guidance for removal and preventing entry of nuisance wildlife.

Webpage describing how to flashing installation

An article describing a way to protect drain and ventilation holes in brick veneer siding against pests. Selecting a fine screen mesh opening (1/55-inch or 0.5-mm) is important to guard against small insects such as subterranean termites.