Library

Website providing guidance for people to find and use tools, information, and subject matter expertise to build climate resilience.

A report examining the presence, reliability, effectiveness, and impact of sprinkler systems in structure fires.

Webpage for the United States Geological Survey for the Department of the Interior.

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

Report describing actions home and business owners can take to deal with underground storage tanks that are displaced by flood waters and preventative steps they can take to reduce the likelihood of tank displacement in the future.

Information sheet providing definitions, applications, and techniques for applying air barriers.

BSD-102 report providing guidance about whether to construct a vented or unvented attic based on hygro-thermal zone.

Guide providing information about controlling rainwater through use of drainage planes.

NAFA’s user guide for understanding ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 52.2-2012.

Information sheet describing the function of a vapor barrier, and methods to retard the migration of water vapor.

Documents describing Flood Resistant Provisions of codes published by the International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officers (IAPMO): the Uniform Mechanical Code; Uniform Plumbing Code; Uniform Swimming Pool, Spa and Hot Tub Code; and Uniform Solar, Hydronics and Geothermal Code (Uniform...

Webpage from Southern California Earthquake Center (SCEC) on identifying key problem spots on unreinforced masonry chimneys and how to retrofit them to withstand seismic forces.

Report reviewing unvented roof assemblies, such as conditioned attics and unvented cathedral ceilings that are becoming common in North American construction.

Document summarizing the various papers on unvented conditioned cathedralized attics found on BSC's website.

Report focusing on the performance and durability of unvented-cathedralized attics in hot-humid climates with both tile and asphalt shingle roofing.

Presentation describing the challenges of insulating an existing basement, presented to the Building America residential energy-efficiency stakeholder meeting.

Manual describing scientific, technical, and practical information needed to work with communities on urban forestry, including a section on trees and construction.

Interactive map maintained by the USDA showing plant hardiness zones throughout the U.S.

Fact sheet describing the purpose of Flood Insurance Rate Maps (FIRMs) and Digital Flood Insurance Rate Maps (DFIRMs), how to obtain FIRMs, DFIRMs, and Flood Insurance Studies (FISs), and highlighting features that are important to coastal builders, including flood zones and flood elevations;; also...

This study uses a computer simulation approach to examine the energy and indoor air quality implications of passive and hybrid ventilation systems.

Article describing how adhesives can be used to make homes in high-wind locations stronger and how adhesives could be too effective resulting in overloading foundation anchors under earthquake loads.

A reference guide providing basic tips on using backup generators safely and effectively.

Webpage describing the use of cool roofs to reduce heat islands and and benefits and costs.

Document presenting analysis results, focusing on relative humidity (RH) excursions, which are defined as unique events of indoor RH above a threshold.

Report on investigating the effectiveness of using solar thermal water heaters to address heat losses from piping while recirculating water in multifamily buildings.

Research study comparing TRNSYS Type 604 pipe model against laboratory pipe heat loss test data and detailed field monitoring data.

Research report that validates Pinhole Insulation®, offering a cost-effective, minimally invasive solution for enhancing insulation and air sealing in enclosed roof cavities, improving R-value by 60% compared to traditional methods.

Report discussing the measured variability in indoor space temperatures in a set of 60 homes located in Florida, New York, Oregon, and Washington.

Preliminary results of two monitored lab homes constructed to represent the thermal characteristics of typical existing Florida homes are presented.

Building science report describing issues with vented attics in hot-humid climates and how sealed attic construction may be a solution.

A review on the knowledge about ventilated wall claddings from field performance and hydrothermal modeling.

Information sheet about proper ventilation and air sealing.

Standard that provides procedures and methods for meeting minimum ventilation and indoor air quality requirements to engineers, design professionals, owners, and jurisdictional authorities where model codes have been adopted. This is the current version of the standard, which was published in the...

This report describes how twenty homes were tested and monitored in the Zone 2 climate of Houston, Texas, U.S.A., to evaluate the humidity control performance and operating cost of six different integrated dehumidification and ventilation systems that could be applied by production homebuilders.

Document outlining important safety considerations of ventless fireplaces.

Report summarizing NRELs efforts to develop diagnostic test cases to conduct accurate energy simulations when phase change materials (PCMs) are modeled in residential buildings.

Research study developed and verified a fuel oil flow field measurement protocol that is cost effective and can be performed with little training for use by the BB program as well as other weatherization programs and building science researchers.

Products and specification for a State of California-compliant earthquake-actuated automatic gas shutoff valve.

Document describing the measured annual performance data from 12 recent-vintage very low energy homes in the US.

Website describing proper methods for installing vinyl siding on homes.

Publication with installation guidance for vinyl siding.

Article describing ways to construct or retrofit a home to increase is resistance to high winds, hurricanes, and tornadoes.

Report covering the migration of wind-blown embers in roof vents.

Document describing wall bracing techniques and suggestions for the city of Verona, WI building department.

A guide describing how to do wall bracing calculations and evaluations.

A presentation about the need for rainscreens including the damage water and moisture ingress into a home’s siding and framing can cause, and ways to design a resilient wall that drains and ventilates well.

Fact sheet describing how to identify heat-related illness and what actions to take.

Information sheet with the Waste Reduction Model (WARM), designed to help solid waste planners and organizations track and voluntarily report greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions from several different waste management practices.

Document providing guidance on water management concepts and applications for residential buildings.