Library | Building America Solution Center

Showing 1 - 50 of 264 results:

2011 EnergyValue Housing Award Report

2012

Del Bianco Marie,

Sagan D,

Wood Amber

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

National Association of Home Builders Research Center,

NAHBRC,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report assessing the energy performance of the 2011 EVHA winners and to align the EVHA program with the BA program.

2015 Residential Energy Consumption Survey - RECS Data

2015

U.S. Energy Information Administration

EIA

Federal statistics about national energy consumption in residential homes.

2020 Florida Building Code, Energy Conservation, Seventh Edition

2020

International Code Council

ICC

2020 energy efficiency code for the state of Florida.

2020 Minnesota State Mechanical Code MN rule chapter 1346

2020

Rosival Chris

Minnesota Department of Labor and Industry,

MNDLI

A presentation on the 2020 State Mechanical Code for easier understanding.

2021 Webinar Catalog - Region 2 Preparedness and Resilience Webinars

2022

Federal Emergency Management Agency

FEMA

Catalog describing FEMA preparedness seminars from 2021 including preparedness and natural hazards topics.

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

2024

BetterBuilt Northwest,

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance

BetterBuiltNW,

NEEA

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

2012

Baechler Michael C,

et al.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL

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 Decade of DOE ZERH: Making Zero Energy Homes Available Everywhere

2024

Theresa Gilbride,

et al.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Factsheet describing how the U.S. DOE's Zero Energy Ready Home program has evolved since 2013. This factsheet includes case studies, statistics about the program and specific building components, and a general outline of program requirements.

A Guide to Preserving Trees in Development Projects

2022

Elmendorf William,

Gerhold Henry,

Kuhns Larry

Pennsylvania State University Extension,

PennState Extension

Article describing tree health, environmental considerations, and details on how to preserve trees.

A Guide to Residential Energy Storage and Rooftop Solar: State Net Metering Policies and Utility Rate Tariff Structures

2024

Kerby Jessica,

Tarekegne Bethel

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL

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.

A Practical Guide to Climate-resilient Buildings & Communities

2021

United Nations Environment Programme

UNEP

Guidance document from the UN environment programme on climate-resilient buildings and communities practices, including guidance on heat waves, drought, hurricanes, and flooding.

A Practical Guide to Cool Roofs and Cool Pavements

2012

Global Cool Cities Alliance,

R20 Regions of Climate Action

GCCA,

R20

Guide developed to help contractors, building operators, and city officials successfully adopt cool roof and pavement technology.

ACEEE 2024 Summer Study on Energy-Efficiency in Buildings Factsheet: 2021 IECC-Compliant Houses that Work in Every Climate Zone

2024

Theresa Gilbride,

Kaltreider Christian E

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Factsheet describing the motivation for adopting the 2021 International Energy Conservation Code and how the 2021 IECC Assemblies Tool developed by PNNL can be used to find IECC compliant whole-house assembly drawings.

ACEEE 2024 Summer Study on Energy-Efficiency in Buildings Factsheet: Construction Challenges in DOE Zero Energy Ready and ENERGY STAR Multifamily Housing

2024

Kaltreider Christian E,

Theresa Gilbride

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Factsheet describing the challenges faced when achieving high-performance multifamily homes.

ACEEE 2024 Summer Study on Energy-Efficiency in Buildings Factsheet: Window Coverings that Can Take the Heat

2024

Katherine Cort,

Theresa Gilbride

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory

Factsheet describing how window shades can keep out unwanted heat, detailing the most effective products and practices.

Affordable Passive Solar Planbook for North Carolina

2005

Appalachian State University

AEC,

App State

Study from Appalachian State University on passive solar design to take advantage of local climate zones for energy conservation.

All About Shade Trees

2022

Huber Jeanne

This Old House

Article describing shade trees and how to plant, maintain, and replace them.

An Experimental Analysis of the Impact of Tree Shade on Electricity Consumption

2009

Laband David N,

Sophocleus John P

International Society of Arboriculture

Paper describing an experiment to quantify shade tree impacts on cooling-related electricity consumption, finding that there may be sizable benefits in hot regions.

Analysis of Illinois Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Measure Packages

2013

Baker Julie D,

Brand Larry,

Yee Shannon

Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit,

PARR,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance,

MEEA

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.

APA The Engineered Wood Association Homepage

2020

APA - The Engineered Wood Association

American Plywood Association,

APA

Website homepage of APA – The Engineered Wood Association, a nonprofit trade association combining the research efforts of scientists and engineers, APA promotes new solutions and improved processes that benefit the entire industry.

Architecture of New Mexico

2022

Albuquerque Museum

City of Albuquerque,

CABQ

Power Point PDF presentation on historical architecture in New Mexico

Are Your Multi-Family Buildings Accessible?

2009

Stratton Petter A

Steven Winter Associates,

SWA

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

2012

Roberts David,

et al.

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

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.

Attic Venting, Attic Moisture, and Ice Dams

1999

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

CMHC,

Government of Canada

Article by the Canadian Government on attic ventilation and considerations for moisture and ice dams.

Be Prepared For Extreme Heat, FEMA V-1004

2018

Federal Emergency Management Agency

FEMA

Information sheet from FEMA on preparation for extreme heat, including measures for keeping homes cool.

Benefits of Trees

2022

Arbor Day Foundation

Article describing the benefits trees provide through quotes and anecdotes.

Builders Challenge Quality Criteria Support Document

2010

Baechler Michael C,

et al.

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL,

Oak Ridge National Laboratory,

ORNL,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

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

2013

Cole Pam C,

Halverson Mark A

Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,

PNNL

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

2021

U.S. Department of Energy

DOE

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

2022

California Energy Commission

CEC

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.

Building Orientation for Optimum Energy

2022

Gromicko Nick,

Gromicko Ben

InterACHI

Webpage explaining how to site and orient a house to take advantage of the solar path.

Building Science Corporation (BSC) Building America Quality Control Checklist, GM-0802

2008

Building Science Corporation

BSC

Document with the Quality Control Checklist developed as both a guide to assist in the transition to high performance home building, and as a simplified tool to be used as part of any builder's on-site quality control procedures.

Building Thermal Performance, Extreme Heat, and Climate Change

2017

Nahlik Matthew J.,

et al.

American Society of Civil Engineers,

ASCE

Article published by American Society of Civil Engineers on different building types and their effectiveness resisting extreme heat from a building envelope perspective.

CBE Thermal Comfort Tool

2020

Tartarini Federico,

et al.

Center for the Built Environment,

CBE,

UC Berkeley,

SinBerBEST,

Berkeley Education Alliance for Research in Singapore,

BEARS

Online tool for thermal comfort calculations and visualizations SoftwareX 12, 100563 https://doi.org/10.1016/j.softx.2020.100563

Choose A Light Guide

2021

ENERGY STAR

A simple three-step guide for homeowners who are looking to replace existing light bulbs with more energy-efficient, higher-performing bulbs.

Climate Change Indicators in the United States

2024

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

EPA

Website providing data indicating climate change.

Climate Consultant

2021

Milne Murray

Society of Building Science Educators,

SBSE,

University of California Los Angeles,

UCLA

Climate Consultant is a software tool for helping architects, builders, contractor, homeowners, and students to understand their local climate.

Climate Safe Housing - Strategies for Multifamily Building Resilience

2023

Enterprise Community Partners

ECP

Webpage providing information on how window shading can reduce heat gain in summer and heat loss in winter.

Climate Science Special Report 4th National Climate Assessment Vol 1

2017

U.S. Global Change Research Program

USGCRP,

Climate Science Special Report,

CSSR

Report assessing the science of climate change with a focus on the U.S.

Climate-Specific Passive Building Standards

2015

Wright Graham S,

Klingenberg Katrin

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report on improving passive design adoption rates.

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

2013

Tiefenbeck Verena,

Roth Kurt,

Engelmann P

Fraunhofer CSE,

National Renewable Energy Laboratory,

NREL,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

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

2013

Stecher Dave,

Imm C

Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,

IBACOS,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

Report about instrumentation and limited short-term testing completed on a retrofit unoccupied test house in Fresno, California.

Comparative Evaluation of the Impact of Roofing Systems on Residential Cooling Energy Demand in Florida

2002

Parker Danny S,

Sonne Jeffrey K,

Sherwin John S

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC

Study investigating measured cooling energy performance in side-by-side identical homes with varying roof types, including cool roof technologies.

Comparison of the ENERGYGAUGE USA and BEopt Building Energy Simulation Programs

2009

Parker Danny S,

Cummings Jamie E

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC,

U.S. Department of Energy,

DOE

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.

Concluding Two-Year Rulemaking, FTC Announces New EnergyGuide Label

2007

Federal Trade Commission

FTC

Article introducing the FTC’s new EnergyGuide label, including estimates of annual energy usage.

Consortium for Energy Efficiency

2024

Consortium of Energy Efficiency Inc.

CEE

Website for CEE, the US and Canadian consortium of natural gas and electric efficiency program administrators.

Construction & Design Considerations in Warmer Climates

2022

Zero Energy Project

Guidance from Zero Energy Project on construction techniques for warmer climates, such as home orientation, and insulation requirements.

Cool Colored Materials for Roofs

2004

Akbari Hashem,

et al.

California Energy Commission,

CEC,

Public Interest Energy Research Program,

PIER,

Laboratory Directed Research and Development,

LDRD,

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,

LBNL

Study describing efforts and outcomes in developing color-pigmented roofing products with coatings to increase solar reflectance.

Cool Neighborhoods: The Measurement of Small Scale Heat Islands

2000

Sonne Jeffrey K,

Vieira Robin K

Florida Solar Energy Center,

FSEC,

European Council for an Energy Efficient Economy,

ECEEE

Paper describing the effects of tree canopies on residential climates indicating tree cover to be beneficial to climate conditions

Cool Roofs

2023

ENERGY STAR

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,

EPA,

ENERGY STAR

ENERGY STAR webpage discussing the costs and benefits of cool roofs.