Library

High-density sidewall cavity insulation can be a major comfort and savings boost. It saves energy by slowing both conductive and convective losses, but only if the right things are done and done right. This always requires site-specific thinking.

Website providing information about INSULSPAN structurally insulated panels.

Fact sheet describing building envelope performance measures applicable to residential and small commercial construction.

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

Website providing consumers with resources to find, select and install heat pump water heaters.

Initiatives of smoke-free housing policies in New York State.

Toolkits for residents and owner/managers who live and work in federally assisted housing.

Guidelines to assist builders in designing and constructing homes equipped with a set of features that make the installation of solar energy systems after the completion of the home’s construction easier and less expensive.

Report identifying the important aspects of building design and construction to enable installation of solar photovoltaic and heating systems at some time after the building is constructed.

Website describing how solar water heaters -- also called solar domestic hot water systems -- can be a cost-effective way to generate hot water for your home.

The RERH specifications and checklists take a builder and a project design team through the steps of assessing a home’s solar resource potential and defining the minimum structural and system components needed to support a solar energy system.

Specifications to assist builders in designing and constructing homes equipped with a set of features that make the installation of solar energy systems after the completion of the home’s construction easier and less expensive.

California Energy Commission report presenting the concept of cool walls and providing guidelines for their building- and climate-appropriate use to conserve energy and reduce emissions.

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.

Job Process sheet for the manufactured housing industry showing how to split and notch insulation batts to fit around electrical boxes and wiring in a factory production environment.

Proposed HVAC filter labeling standard and underlying analysis by the California Energy Commission.

Standard that defines the roles of and minimum requirements for mechanical and natural ventilation systems and the building envelope intended to provide acceptable indoor air quality in low-rise residential buildings. This version of the standard was published in the year 2016, and is available for...

Standard 680 establishes definitions, classifications, test requirements, data requirements, ratings, operating requirements, marking and nameplate data and conformance conditions for residential air filter equipment.

This Standard provides a consistent, uniform methodology for evaluating the airtightness of building envelopes and heating and cooling air ducts and the air flows of mechanical ventilation systems.

Standard covering the installation of fenestration products in new and existing construction, which was published in the year 2019, and is available for preview and purchase at the referenced link.

Standard covering the installation of fenestration products in new and existing construction which was published in the year 2007, and is available for preview and purchase at the referenced link.

Standard describing methods for installing radon mitigation systems in existing residential buildings three stories or less in height which was published in the year 2021 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Guide describing the installation of windows in walls that have foam plastic insulating; guide provides several methods for attaching, supporting, and flashing windows in walls with rigid foam sheathing. (Note: The link only goes to the table of contents for the guide, the full guide can be...

Detailed requirements for testing, exposure modeling, and allowable limits for modeled indoor air concentrations.

Standard that covers the minimum performance and acceptance criteria for an air barrier (AB) material or system for framed walls of low-rise buildings with the service life of the building wall in mind. This link directs to a preview of the current version of the standard, published in the year 2019...

Standard that covers the minimum performance and acceptance criteria for an air barrier (AB) material or system for framed walls of low-rise buildings with the service life of the building wall in mind. This link directs to a preview of the version of the standard that was published in the year 2011...

Specification covering the standard requirements for application of full thickness Portland cement-based plaster for exterior (stucco) and interior work. This standard was produced in the year 2022, and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. There are also other versions of...

Specification covering the standard requirements for application of full thickness Portland cement-based plaster for exterior (stucco) and interior work. This standard was produced in the year 2023, and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. There are also other versions of...

Standard specification covering elastomeric cellular preformed gasket and sealing materials. This version of the standard was published in the year 2011 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. Other versions of the standard were published in the years 2021, 2015, 2006, and...

Standard specification covering elastomeric cellular preformed gasket and sealing materials. This version of the standard was published in the year 2021 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link. Other versions of the standard were published in the years 2015, 2011, 2006, and...

Standard specification covering the properties of a cured single- or multicomponent cold-applied elastomeric joint sealant for sealing, caulking, or glazing operations on buildings, plazas, and decks for vehicular or pedestrian use, and types of construction other than highway and airfield pavements...

A specification covering the application of Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) that act as permanent formwork for cast-in-place reinforced concrete beams & walls which was published in the year 2022 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Specification describing criteria for manufactured polymeric materials used to provide a rainscreen function, a means for the drainage of liquid moisture and the ventilation of vapor moisture that enters an above-grade exterior wall assembly which was published in the year 2019, and is available for...

Test method designed to calculate an assigned air permeance of flexible sheet or rigid panel-type materials at a reference air pressure differential of 75 Pa which was published in the year 2021 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Standard describing a test method measuring air-leakage rates through a building envelope under controlled pressurization and de-pressurization which was published in the year 2019 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Test method providing a rapid means of determining the steady-state thermal transmission properties of thermal insulations and other materials with a high level of accuracy when the apparatus has been calibrated appropriately. This version of the standard was published in the year 2021 and is...

Test method designed to obtain reliable values for the WVTR of plastic film and sheeting which was published in the year 2020 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Standard describing two techniques for measuring air leakage rates through a building envelope in buildings that may be configured to a single zone which was published in the year 2022 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Report addressing barriers to information, contractor resources and cost savings associated with steam balancing multifamily buildings.

Report about results of 10 test buildings in Chicago, studied to identify best practices for methodology, typical costs, and energy savings associated with steam system balancing.

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

Document describing correct construction of swales, designed to trap particulate pollutants (suspended solids and trace metals), promote infiltration, and reduce the flow velocity of storm water runoff.

ENERGY STAR webpage describing the benefits of storm windows and a link to a product list.

Webpage providing an ENERGY STAR climate zone map and criteria for ENERGY STAR storm windows per climate zone.

Report providing information based on research and case studies, to remodelers and consumers about opportunities to increase home energy performance.

Report about the impact on the loads when common safety factors are applied to the load calculation process using two houses that meet the 2009 IECC prescriptive path modeled as the accurate baseline.

Report following the evolution of the construction quality process from its development for new homes to its application construction of a HPH with enhanced specifications, and its application in a crawlspace renovation.

Document explaining the benefits of evaluating and identifying energy efficiency retrofit measures that could be made during renovation and maintenance of multifamily buildings.

Document offering methods to greatly reduce lighting energy use through the application of high quality fluorescent and light emitting diode (LED) technologies.

Report describing the equipment selection of a split system air conditioner and furnace for an example house in Chicago, Illinois, as well as a heat pump system for an example house in Orlando, Florida.