Library

Fact sheet providing information on building-scale and utility-scale battery storage for disaster resistance.

Report summarizing commissioning, short-term testing, utility bill data analysis, and results of on-site monitoring of a deep energy retrofit.

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

A webpage outlining recommendations for creating defensible space.

Article describing how to choose the right portable electric generator for a home and how to safely operate when power outages happen.

Article describing how demand plumbing systems send cold water back to the water heater until hot water arrives at the sink, shower or other fixture where it is needed.

Article from California Earthquake Authority on the benefits of retrofitting homes to withstand earthquake forces, with a focus on foundations, walls, and chimneys.

Article describing the benefits trees provide through quotes and anecdotes.

Report describing the best practices for the safe, efficient, and compliant installation of residential air source heat pump water heaters (HPWH) in California, aligning with the state's climate goals and providing guidance for educators, installers, and industry stakeholders.

This Best Practices Manual is the product of Hammer & Hand’s ongoing work to document and internally codify our standard operating procedures for construction practice.

Brochure intended to provide readers with a working knowledge of residential heating and cooling duct systems.

This directory contains the I=B=R Ratings for cast-iron, steel, aluminum and copper boilers, baseboard and finned tube radiation, indirect-fired water heaters, effective as of the date of this publication.

Code establishing the rules of safety relating only to pressure integrity for the design, fabrication, and inspection of boilers and pressure vessels during construction which was published in the year 2017 and is available to order at the referenced link.

Code establishing the rules of safety relating only to pressure integrity for the design, fabrication, and inspection of boilers and pressure vessels during construction which was published in the year 2021 and is available to order at the referenced link.

Document focusing on the design and wall components that contribute to a pressure equalized rain screen wall, including the frequency of the weep holes and other brick masonry rain screen wall requirements.

Research study discussing how housewraps restrict or permit the passage of water molecules based on size, but cannot control the direction in which the water vapor molecules move.

Brochure providing information about flashing in all cimates.

Brochure with details on HVAC duct air sealing.

Brochure with information about ducts in conditioned space.

Brochure with information on maintaining drainage plane continuity at deck ledger locations.

Information sheet about reservoir claddings.

Information sheet about sealing combustion appliances to ensure good indoor air quality.

Information sheet offering general recommendations on supplemental humidity control and outlines viable system configurations.

Information sheet providing recommendations on the installation of vapor control layers.

Information sheet providing information about vapor management in building assemblies.

Information sheet providing details on the vapor permeance of different types of materials used in building assemblies.

Report providing water management details for roof assemblies.

Book presenting the best techniques for energy and resource efficient residential construction in the colder climates of North America.

Report examining the cost differences between a typical home and a home constructed using wildfire-resistant materials and design features.

Guide describing measures that builders in the cold and very cold climates can take to build homes that have whole-house energy savings of 40% over the Building America benchmark with no added overall costs for consumers.

Expert meeting focusing on identifying gaps and barriers in combustion safety that need to be addressed by future research, and to develop data-driven technical recommendations for code updates so that a common approach for combustion safety can be adopted by all members of the building energy...

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.

Report provides a proposed set of guidelines for estimating the energy savings achieved by a package of retrofits or an extensive rehabilitation of an existing home.

Document illustrating some analysis concepts that are proven to be effective and reliable in analyzing the transient energy usage of advanced energy systems as well as of entire houses.

Report presenting the building america research to market plan.

This report will review, and summarize the current state of understanding and research into enclosures with higher thermal resistance, so-called “High-R Enclosures.” Recommendations are provided for further research.

Website with consumer and contractor information about building codes and regulations for solar water heating systems.

Document about testing software predictions of retrofit energy savings in existing homes.

Document providing an example procedure for establishing acceptance-range criteria to assess results from software undergoing BESTEST-EX.

California Office of the State Fire Marshal's homepage for the Building Materials Listing Program, providing builders, contractors, architects, and others with access to a database of fire alarm systems and fire-resistant construction materials including roof coverings, wall, ceiling, and floor...

California Office of the State Fire Marshal's compiled and searchable list of different building materials and their test results for fire resistance.

Document presenting some of the key technical properties of many of the most common building materials.

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

A comprehensive list of professional certifications offered by the Building Performance Institute. The webpage includes links to overviews of the different certificates, certification scheme handbooks, and directions for taking certification exams and recertification.

Document containing recommendations on how to brace roofs and gable end walls based on lessons learned from analyzing the destruction from hurricane Andrew.

Website providing information about building plans for the ENERGY STAR thermal bypass checklist.

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.

Report about the fundamental concepts that must be understood at the planning or initial nspection of existing homes regarding surface and ground water management.

Report describing a deep energy retrofit project for a two-family wood framed home located in Belmont, Massachusetts.