Library

Article from Williams College on the key elements of passive solar design for homes.

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

Paper summarizing passive and low-energy cooling systems for buildings.

Report presenting performance results from tests conducted on an energy efficiency retrofit project in Stockton, California.

Paper examining the monitored performance of four newly constructed near zero energy homes in Florida.

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

Report providing information on performance of mortars and concrete containing PCMs.

Report briefly reviewing past research on the effects of occupant behavior on residential energy use and then covering a two year pilot evaluation of a low cost residential energy feedback system installed in twenty case study homes in Florida.

Report briefly reviewing past research on the effects of occupant behavior on residential energy use and then covering a two year pilot evaluation of a low cost residential energy feedback system installed in twenty case study homes in Florida.

Blog article describing considerations for how to use trees for shading to reduce cooling energy demand.

City of Plymouth webpage providing information on the Plymouth Community Center Project.

Large scale simulation study investigating the effects of cool roofs and walls on buildings of various vintages across the U.S., with special attention given to California.

Database describing FEMA preparedness webinars including natural hazard preparedness.

Report designed to help a builder understand quality management and its role in transitioning from conventional to HPH building and remodeling.

Fact sheet describing analysis of potential heating and cooling savings from radiant barriers in attics.

Searchable database of over 3,000 roofing products that have undergone solar reflectance and thermal emittance testing.

Searchable database of wall cladding and coating products that have undergone solar reflectance and thermal emittance testing.

Guidance document describing urban heat islands, what they are, how they form, why we care, and including some strategies to reduce them.

Paper covering a parametric study of foundation heat exchanger-based ground source heat pump systems for several house configurations in a range of European locations, with an emphasis on determining feasible combinations.

Report describing a study using parametric computer simulations of 112 single-family and 63 multi-family residential building prototypes to quantify the contributions of building components such as roofs, walls, windows, infiltration, outside air, lighting, equipment, and people to the aggregate...

Report summarizing the results of laboratory testing of 20 advanced power strip products.

Report about a tool developed to enable users to compare a typical 1970s ranch home against an IECC 2009 code-compliant home of the same configuration and against the 70s base case plus retrofits.

Research report detailing Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) partnership with Manatee County Habitat for Humanity to design a compact, Zero Energy Ready Home in Florida, tackling challenges like equipment sizing and indoor air quality, offering insights for projects surpassing building code...

Webpage discussing the characteristics of sunlight and how cool roofs work to reduce solar heat gain.

Website tool that can search for trees by name or characteristics and retrieve data describing tree attributes including site preferences and general characteristics and considerations.

Report summarizing commissioning, short-term testing, and analysis that occurred before, during, and just after the actual retrofit of the Bay Ridge project.

Manual that identifies certain leakage limits for ducts and outlines procedures for testing ducts for conformity with air leakage limits that are set forth in a designer’s project specification.

Technical report providing site selection guidance for installation of small wind turbines.

Document providing incident solar radiation data and window overhang sizing guidance for multiple locations across the U.S.

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.

Spreadsheet tool that computes solar reflectance index (SRI) and roof surface temperature based on solar reflectance and thermal emittance using ASTM standard E 1980.

Standard describing methods for testing the airtightness of buildings and HVAC equipment.

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.

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...

ASTM standard test method for surface burning response of different building materials which was published in the year 2022 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

ASTM standard test method for testing the surface burning response of different building materials which was published in the year 2023 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Standard that describes the principles for the design of a hot box apparatus and the minimum requirements for the determination of steady state thermal performance of building assemblies when exposed to controlled laboratory conditions. The current version of the standard was published in 2019, and...

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.

Paper describing landscaping influences on heat gain through shading, infiltration shielding, and microclimate creation for nearby buildings.

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

Paper describing case studies on urban vegetation and greenways and their impacts on city climate and building performance.

Presentation on sustainable development including water conservation, passive solar, daylighting, natural ventilation, and land use.

Presentation by the Washington University in St. Louis Office of Sustainability on saving energy.

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.

Presentation on urban land use and sustainable building design.

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

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

FSEC certification and testing page for solar systems.

Study on the effects of wind, radiation, and pressure on apparent temperature.

Presentation describing how to make a Corsi-Rosenthal Box for air cleaning.