Library

Guidance documents describing Erosion Control Blankets (ECBs) use as a construction material that provides temporary cover and support for establishing vegetation on bare soil. ECB holds topsoil and seed (typically grass) in place to minimize erosion during germination of seed.

Factsheet describing steps builders should take to reduce erosion and control sediment on construction sites during home construction.

Information sheet with details on a building enclosure designed for Albuquerque, NM, as an example for building enclosures built for hot-dry and mixed-dry climates.

Information sheet that summarizes Insulated Concrete Form (ICF) construction including advantages and disadvantages of this construction strategy.

Document explores alternatives to riprap on banks and waterways to mitigate bankside erosion in the Pacific Northwest.

Online geospatial map with interactive viewer showing flood risk areas and base flood elevations

A address searchable geographic information system for visualizing the flood hazard of an address and its surrounding area.

Report on the field evaluation of whole-building approaches and estimation of the relative contributions of select technologies toward reducing energy use related to space conditioning in new manufactured homes.

Guidelines from the University of California Cooperative Extension on how fires spread, how homes typically burn, and what homeowners can do to prepare their homes for wildfire season.

Articles, research, case studies, and more outlining considerations for planning and installation of a fire-protection system.

Webpage from FireSafe Marin explaining the vulnerability of different deck setups and materials.

Article from CAL FIRE on fire-resistant landscaping to mitigate ignition of homes.

List of guidelines for plants and their fire resistance from FIRESafe Marin.

Five step plan from the Tahoe Fire & Fuels team outlining how to create an effective defensible space for wildfire protection. Recommendations include siting for homes on slopes.

Research report assessing the moisture and cooling load impacts of airtightness and mechanical ventilation in homes in hot-humid climates.

Journal article describing energy impacts from shade trees and forests and solar heating and air infiltration.

Article describing a numerical model that can be used to size foundation heat exchanger (FHX) systems.

Document describing living shoreline techniques for shoreline stabilization.

Document that gives a step-by-step approach for designing attachments for cladding materials through foam sheathing.

Article describing tree preservation during the construction process.

Web article about solar site assessment.

Report presenting seismic design and construction guidance for one- and two-family houses for homebuilders, knowledgeable homeowners, and other non-engineers.

Article from The Earthbound Report on passive cooling design strategies for homes located in hot climates.

Wildfire guidance for homes located in the wildland urban interface, focused on site design and individual pieces of the home.

Ignition resistant residential construction and landscaping guidelines from FireSafe Montana.

Research study describing field testing performed in 32 two-story Florida homes to characterize wind washing failures of the house air and thermal boundary.

Article from University of Arizona on keeping homes cool during extreme heat, both personal and system changes.

Guide describing landscaping tips for healthy and regionally-based gardens, including maintenance, mulching, water efficiency, and plant resources.

Paper describing vegetation impacts on cooling load for buildings.

Guide for homeowners describing actions they can take to modify their home and the surrounding site to create a survivable space to reduce the amount of damage a home would likely experience during a wildfire.

Technical report assessing the market for Low-e storm windows based on market data, case studies, and recent experience with weatherization deployment programs.

A webpage outlining CAL FIRE’s recommendations for creating defensible space.

Guidebook providing useful examples of high performance retrofit techniques for the building enclosure of wood frame residential construction in a cold and somewhat wet climate.

Siding installation guide for Ply Gem Siding Group products.

Paper describing energy savings in space cooling from shading condenser units.

FEMA report describing findings from an investigation of Hurricane Ike in Texas and Louisiana and residential construction recommendations based on those findings.

Report providing extensive guidance on controlling moisture in building envelopes through proper selection and installation on air, water, thermal, and vapor barriers.

The next generation of building enclosures is a key step toward achieving high-performance goals through decreasing energy load demand and enabling advanced space-conditioning systems. Yet the adoption of high-R enclosures and particularly high-R walls has been a slow-growing trend because...

Conference paper making the case that moving ducts to conditioned space saves energy, is practical for production builders (when accompanied by careful pre-planning), and creates significant andmarketable energy savings for homebuyers.

Article describing mulch requirements and benefits.

Article describing mulching with lawn clippings.

Pamphlet describing different types of mulches and their benefits.

Online geospatial map with interactive viewer showing flood risk areas and base flood elevations

Report for local governments, planners, emergency managers, developers, insurers, and property owners describing ways to improve the wildfire resistance of buildings, infrastructure and communities in the wildland urban interface.

An NFPA Standard that identifies a method for determining the minimum water supply necessary for structural fire-fighting purposes in areas where it has been determined that there is no water or inadequate water for fire fighting.

An NFPA standards document that provides minimum requirements for the design, construction, installation, and maintenance of tanks and accessory equipment that supply water for private fire protection.

Report highlighting the evaluation methods used and extent of wind washing found in a study analyzing wind washing in thirty-two two-story homes.

Paper describing a study on savings in peak power and cooling energy for homes with shade trees.

Brochure describing what permeable pavement is, where to install it, and how to maintain it.