Library

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.

Report intending to provide useful information as the DOE/BA develops and implements comprehensive communications and outreach strategies for demonstration homes.

Document targeting retrofit program managers, retrofit contractors, policy makers, academic researchers, and non-governmental organizations that work to realize energy savings from home energy upgrades (HEUs).

Document serving as a starting point that features initial tools and resources for teams to start collaborating to continually improve the energy efficiency and durability of new houses.

A report describing methods for constructing homes and treating soils to reduce the risk of termites in buildings.

Report evaluating a test home built in Atlanta, GA in the mixed-humid climate zone. The report outlines the features of the house, discusses the implementation of the energy efficient design, and presents the results of short-term characterization testing.

Document about NREL's repository of residential building characteristics and historical energy use data, used to improve accuracy of residential energy analysis tools.

Fact sheet describing water management in a residential building.

Research study exploring retrofit procedures and simulated post-occupancy data for three homes in an effort to determine the effectiveness of retrofit packages.

Report using data from various sources to characterize the impact on human health and property damage from indoor environmental quality and other hazards.

Fact sheet describing the test procedure for wind and wind driven rain resistance of discontinuous roofing systems.

Report outlining a case study about a building project in the hot-humid climate zone.

Article from Texas A&M University and the University of Maryland analyzing why and how urban flooding happens and what can be done to mitigate damage.

Fact sheet poster describing a series of fact sheets and checklists for homeowners to share with contractors to help achieve cost-effective, energy-efficient retrofits for dozens of common home renovation projects.

Manuals describing design, materials, and installation techniques applicable to almost all types of roof systems; four-volume set includes Metal Panel and SPF Roof Systems, Membrane Roof Systems, Architectural Metal Flashing and Condensation and Air Leakage Control, and Steep-Slope Roof Systems.

Report providing a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis inherent to different models as a way of thinking about the transition from traditional business models into a viable model for delivering deep energy retrofits.

Report about seeking a 30% source energy savings targets over a comparable 2009 International Energy Conservation Code-built home in the cold climate zone, using simple measures.

Report developed for Habitat for Humanity about lessons learned from demonstration retrofit projects undertaken by Habitat for Humanity affiliates in New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; with building systems consulting and technical assistance provided by Steven Winter Associates.

Research study identifying barriers, industry status, critical obstacles to documenting added value from energy efficiency improvements, current opportunities to support reporting about energy efficiency, and next steps toward enabling energy efficiency financing market transformation.

Even as the worst housing market correction in more than 60 years appeared to turn a corner in 2009, the fallout from sharply lower home prices and high unemployment continued.

Article from Purdue University on the potential for white paint technology to lower air conditioning usage requirements.

Factsheet providing design guidance for engineers describing how to characterize snow drifts on roofs in three dimensions rather than two, as anticipated in the 2022 edition of the standards, ASCE 7 - Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures.

Fact sheet outlining best design and construction practices for tile roofing in high wind areas; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Report presenting information that aids qualified architects and engineers in the identification of the best available refuge areas in existing buildings for sheltering in place during a tornado.

Paper describing testing for the first of a series of six near net-zero-energy test houses, using the results to work towards the construction of a true net-zero-energy house.

Report discussing Building America whole house systems research within the broad effort to reduce or eliminate the environmental impact of building and provides specific recommendations for future Building America research based on Building Science Corporations experience with several recent...

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

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 addressing the ever increasing percentage of whole house energy use that is attributable to miscellaneous electricity loads (MELs) and major appliances.

Report covering wind uplift and roofing membrane failures.

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.

Document providing a case study of commissioned performance measures that justify costs for these demonstration and "live" show homes.

Article describing a method for flashing roof vent boots, describing how to flash the pipe, how to flash over and under the pan, and finish by shaping the shingles, as well as addressing potential water leakage by adding an additional seal with EPDM flashing tape with a butyl adhesive backing to the...

Report describing the formation of icicles and ice dams along poorly ventilated roofs and how to mitigate ventilation issues with insulation and vents.

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.

Report describing the use of attic ventilation to control moisture in cathedral roofs and avoid the formation of ice dams.

Guide providing information on controlling attic ductwork sweating.

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

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

Fact sheet describing the home certification organization, Home Innovation Research Labs and their requirements for whole house water management in a checklist format as well their compliance with certified Water Rating Index (WRI), organization scope, and information verifiers.

Webpage describing the home certification organization, 24/7 Certifications and their requirements for whole house water management in a checklist format.

Webpage describing the home certification program, Home Innovation Research Labs' requirements for whole house water management.

Webpage describing the home certification organization, RESNET and its requirements for whole house water management in a checklist format as well as the scope, information verifiers, and partners of the program.

Fact sheet describing how the Environmental Protection Agency ensures labeled homes meet the WaterSense efficiency requirements for whole house water management including a list of requirements and a data chart.

Fact sheet describing four different efficient hot water delivery (HWD) systems, the trunk-and branch, core, whole-house manifold, and recirculation, with emphasis on system schematics, piping materials, and regulations to design and verify the systems.

Document on the EPA WaterSense webpage describing the technical evaluation process used by EPA WaterSense to authorize home certification organizations to certify homes through the WaterSense program.

Article describing how to weatherproof dormers using peel-and-stick membranes when flashing a dormer.