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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 113

2011 EnergyValue Housing Award Report

Author(s)
Del Bianco Marie,
Sagan D,
Wood Amber
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
National Association of Home Builders Research Center,
NAHBRC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Report assessing the energy performance of the 2011 EVHA winners and to align the EVHA program with the BA program.

45L Tax Credit Resource Hub - for Single-Family Homes

Author(s)
BetterBuilt Northwest,
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
Organization(s)
BetterBuiltNW,
NEEA
Publication Date
Webpage providing guidance on the 45L tax credit, assembling the most relevant information for Northwest builders to maximize their tax credit and build energy efficient homes.

A Business Case for Home Performance Contracting

Author(s)
Baechler Michael C,
Antonopoulos Chrissi A,
Sevigny M,
Gilbride Theresa L,
Hefty Marye G
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Publication Date
Report discussing opportunities and trends in the U.S. home performance contracting industry, along with market drivers such as consumer demand; federal, state, and local programs; and utility and non-governmental programs.

A guide to residential energy storage and rooftop solar: State net metering policies and utility rate tariff structures

Author(s)
Kerby Jessica,
Tarekegne Bethel
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Publication Date
Article describing utility rates, net metering policies, installation costs, financial incentives, and other info for both consumers who are interested in installing renewable energy systems and for energy justice and clean energy advocates.

Analysis of Illinois Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Measure Packages

Author(s)
Baker Julie D,
Brand Larry,
Yee Shannon
Organization(s)
Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit,
PARR,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance,
MEEA
Publication Date
Report that collected field data from a whole-home program in Illinois are utilized to compare marketplace-installed measures to the energy saving optimal packages previously developed for 15 housing types.

Are Your Multi-Family Buildings Accessible?

Author(s)
Stratton Petter A
Organization(s)
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA
Publication Date
Document highlighting federal accessibility laws which may apply to a housing development, and common mistakes made in the field which, if avoided, will help to ensure compliance.

Assessment of the U.S. Department of Energy's Home Energy Scoring Tool

Author(s)
Roberts David,
Merket Noel,
Heaney Mike,
Casey Sean,
Robertson Joseph,
Polly Benjamin
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Report assessing the accuracy of HEST as it was being developed and to provide information useful to DOE program managers and HEST development team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Builders Challenge Quality Criteria Support Document

Author(s)
Baechler Michael C,
Bartlett Rosemarie,
Gilbride Theresa L,
Love Pat M
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
ORNL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Document providing guidance to U.S. home builders who want to accept the challenge.

Building America Guidance for Identifying and Overcoming Code, Standard, and Rating Method Barriers

Author(s)
Cole Pam C,
Halverson Mark A
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Publication Date
Guidance document providing BA research teams and partners with specific information and approaches to identifying and overcoming potential barriers to Building America (BA) innovations arising in and/or stemming from codes, standards, and rating methods.

Building America Program

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
A website providing information on the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Solution Center, a source for innovations in residential building energy performance, energy efficiency, quality, affordability and comfort for more than 20 years.

Building Energy Efficiency Standards - Title 24

Author(s)
California Energy Commission
Organization(s)
CEC
Publication Date
Website providing information about the Title 24 building energy efficiency standards for the State of California and links to current and past standards including the 2025, 2022, 2019, and 2016 standards, etc.

Choose A Light Guide

Author(s)
ENERGY STAR
Organization(s)
ENERGY STAR
Publication Date
A simple three-step guide for homeowners who are looking to replace existing light bulbs with more energy-efficient, higher-performing bulbs.

Climate-Specific Passive Building Standards

Author(s)
Wright Graham S,
Klingenberg Katrin
Organization(s)
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Report on improving passive design adoption rates.

Comfort, Indoor Air Quality, and Energy Consumption in Low Energy Homes

Author(s)
Tiefenbeck Verena,
Roth Kurt,
Engelmann P
Organization(s)
Fraunhofer CSE,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Report documenting the results of an in-depth evaluation of thermal comfort for two potential net zero-energy homes (NZEHs) in Massachusetts.

Commissioning of the Fresno, California, Retrofit Unoccupied Test House

Author(s)
Stecher Dave,
Imm C
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Report about instrumentation and limited short-term testing completed on a retrofit unoccupied test house in Fresno, California.

Comparison of the ENERGYGAUGE USA and BEopt Building Energy Simulation Programs

Author(s)
Parker Danny S,
Cummings Jamie E
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Two hourly energy simulation software, BEopt and Energy Gauge USA, were compared to ensure accuracy and evaluate agreement on the impact of various energy efficiency improvements.

Consortium of Energy Efficiency

Author(s)
Consortium of Energy Efficiency Inc.
Organization(s)
CEE
Publication Date
Website for CEE, the US and Canadian consortium of natural gas and electric efficiency program administrators.

Deep Dive: Technical Details of the ENERGY STAR MFNC Program

Author(s)
Hudson Rebecca,
Vijayakumar Gayathri
Organization(s)
Steven Winter Associates,
U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Publication Date
A presentation describing the details of the ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction program requirements.

Deep Energy Retrofits - Lessons learned

Author(s)
Less Brennan,
Walker Iain S
Organization(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Publication Date
Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Lessons Learned chapter focuses on successful deep energy retrofit projects throughout the U.S.

Digital Coast

Author(s)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Organization(s)
NOAA
Publication Date
Website helping communities address coastal issues with data, tools, and training resources.

DOE Zero Energy Ready Home National Program Requirements

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
Website listing implementation timelines and links to various versions of the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home national program requirements.

Energy Efficient Low-Income Housing Program: PIER Final Project Report

Author(s)
ADM Associates,
California Energy Commission,
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
Florida Solar Energy Center
Organization(s)
CEC,
LBNL,
FSEC
Publication Date
Research project addressing low-cost options that reduce monthly energy costs and improve the quality of life by enhancing comfort levels in low-income homes.

Energy Efficient New Homes and Apartments

Author(s)
ENERGY STAR
Organization(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
EPA,
ENERGY STAR
Publication Date
Website describing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR New Homes and Apartments program with links to builder and homeowner resources.

ENERGY STAR HVAC Quality Installation Program

Author(s)
ENERGY STAR
Organization(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Publication Date
ENERGY STAR factsheet describing the HVAC Quality Installation Program

ENERGY STAR Most Efficient 2021 - Clothes Dryers

Author(s)
ENERGY STAR
Organization(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
EPA,
ENERGY STAR
Publication Date
A list of clothes dryers that made the EnergyStar Most Efficient list for 2021, delivering cutting technological innovation along with energy efficiency.

ENERGY STAR Most Efficient 2024

Author(s)
ENERGY STAR
Organization(s)
ENERGY STAR,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
EPA
Publication Date
Webpage on the ENERGY STAR website that list products that exceed the ENERGY STAR minimum criteria for their category, with links to several product categories, including windows, HVAC, home appliances, and computer monitors.

Example Procedures for Developing Acceptance-Range Criteria for BESTEST-EX

Author(s)
Judkoff Ron,
Polly Benjamin,
Bianchi Marcus V A,
Neymark Joel
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
J. Neymark & Associates
Publication Date
Document providing an example procedure for establishing acceptance-range criteria to assess results from software undergoing BESTEST-EX.

FEMA Earthquake Risk

Author(s)
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Organization(s)
FEMA
Publication Date
Website providing links to scalable guidance and tools about the importance of earthquake mitiation to the private sector, its owners, managers, and employees.

FEMA Flood Insurance

Author(s)
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Organization(s)
FEMA
Publication Date
Website describing the national flood insurance program and how to purchase flood insurance.

FEMA Hazard Mitigation Assistance Grant Program

Author(s)
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Organization(s)
FEMA
Publication Date
A website providing information on funding for mitigation programs to reduce disaster losses under FEMA's Hazard Mitigation Grant Program.

Field Assessment of Energy Audit Tools for Retrofit Programs

Author(s)
Bohac Dave,
Edwards Jenny,
Smith Isaac,
Nelson Carl
Organization(s)
NorthernSTAR,
University of Minnesota,
UMN
Publication Date
Report describing a project focused on the use of home energy ratings as a tool to promote energy retrofits in existing homes.

FORTIFIED Home Getting FORTIFIED Certified

Author(s)
Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety
Organization(s)
IBHS
Publication Date
Webpage providing access to the training for building professionals to earn certification as FORTIFIED™ Home Evaluators and FORTIFIED-Wise credentials.

Geothermal Heat Pumps Key Product Criteria

Author(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Organization(s)
EPA,
ENERGY STAR
Publication Date
Website with information about ENERGY STAR criteria for geothermal heat pumps.

Greenbelt Homes Pilot Energy Efficiency Programs Phase 1 Summary: Existing Conditions and Baseline Energy Use

Author(s)
Wiehagen Joseph,
Del Bianco Marie,
Wood Amber
Organization(s)
NAHB Research Center,
Home Innovation Research Labs,
HIRL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Report detailing field walk-through evaluations, energy simulations for projected savings with exterior insulation upgrades, building envelope energy improvement cost estimates, and installation and maintenance of monitoring equipment and data.

Housing Stock Characterization Study: An Innovative Approach to Measuring Retrofit Impact

Author(s)
Kipp Jennison M,
Taylor Nicholas W,
Jones Pierce H
Organization(s)
Building Energy Efficient Housing for America,
BEEHA,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL
Publication Date
Report detailing an evaluation of Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) residential energy efficiency demand side management (DSM) programs to assess their impacts and relative measures of energy and economic performance.

How to Design a Home for a Cold Climate

Author(s)
Diez Roy
Organization(s)
New Home Source
Publication Date
Article summarizing for potential homeowners items to check or demand from the builder in designing a home for a cold climate.

Implementing a Zero Energy Ready Home Multifamily Project

Author(s)
Springer David,
German Alea
Organization(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
ARBI,
Davis Energy Group
Publication Date
Report on on lessons learned from building one multifamily home to the Zero Energy Ready Home program requirements.

Implementing Green Infrastructure at Multiple Scales to Enhance Resilience

Author(s)
NOAA Office for Coastal Management
Organization(s)
NOAA
Publication Date
Case study describing Alachua County, Florida’s, green infrastructure strategy for land use development that incorporates rain gardens, ponds, swales, and native vegetation to manage stormwater.

Learn About Brightness

Author(s)
ENERGY STAR
Organization(s)
ENERGY STAR
Publication Date
A website explaining the measurement of light bulbs, measurable in lumens, & brightness levels that ENERGY STAR products produce.