Library

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

Research study outlining savings from reducing air infiltration, with and without the addition of mechanical ventilation, using two identical laboratory homes designed to model existing Florida building stock.

Article discussing flow-through assemblies of walls.

Journal article describing lessons learned from updating a 16-year-old deep-energy retrofit.

Information sheet with manufacturer specifications about insulated concrete forms.

Report about development of effective strategies to reduce the overall building energy use in line with Building America goals in this modestly priced market rate project.

Article describing methods of smoke control in buildings.

Article describing issues with attic ventilation fans and why the state of Georgia residential code does not allow plug-in attic ventilation fans.

Report about opportunities for ventilation when traditional methods are limited by weather conditions or by contaminants in the outdoor air.

Report explaining the issues and concerns with conventional ventilated crawlspaces and to outline prescriptive measures for improvements that will create healthier and more durable spaces.

Guide providing information on using exterior foam insulating sheathing in building wall assemblies to enhance thermal performance.

Report describing the use of fresh air ventilation systems to eliminate the formation of icicles and ice dams along the eaves of roofs.

Report about indoor air quality related to indoor mold growth.

A article about the best practice method of installing fiber cement siding, to install flashing at the butt joints of the siding boards, rather than face caulking the butt joints afterwards.

Document providing supplemental information for code enforcement professionals about header hangers in bearing walls.

LBNL webpage introducing heat island effect and cool materials concepts, and providing links to LBNL pages explaining cool pavements, cool roofs, and cool walls.

Case study of new home construction in the hot-dry and mixed-dry climate zones.

Brochure describing advanced framing techniques.

Article from NREL on wall construction guidelines for homes in hot climate zones.

Report that considers a number of promising wall systems that can meet the requirement for better thermal control.

Report providing testing methodology to evaluate structural rim header designs over openings up to 6 ft. wide and applicable to one- and two-story homes.

Report with test results that serve as a baseline of data for further material tests of other high-R wall systems and for comparison to whole-house wind pressure testing.

Research study presenting results of an existing home monitoring project designed to measure wall cavity moisture characteristics.

Report covering control of hydrostatic pressure in wall assemblies.

Report providing a collection of fact sheets describing guidance for constructing homes in wildfire zones.

Website providing information on low-energy and standard cooling systems, with a focus on saving energy.

Website providing certified rating programs to help manufacturers, builders, contractors and homeowners compare performance of ventilation products for air flow, sound, and other performance characteristics.

A starting point for ballparking and comparing the cost of different siding materials and a brief overview of the pros and cons of different siding materials.

Article describing the impact of stack effect on building performance, highlighting how pressure differences caused by temperature and height affect air infiltration and exfiltration, and detailing strategies like compartmentalization and distributed mechanical systems to manage airflow and maintain...

Website with articles on home ventilation and indoor air quality.

Article describing considerations for choosing a room-level air cleaner to improve indoor air quality.

Article from Washington Post on passive cooling measures for homes during extreme heat.

Checklist for verifying FORTIFIED levels and documentation needed.

Report describing ways to retrofit a home to make it more resistant to earthquakes.

Guide discussing observations, recommendations, and technical guidance as a result of Hurricane Katrina

Code describing the requirements for existing site-built single-family homes to receive roof-to-wall retrofits when re-roofing.

Report describing the hurricane retrofit guide with focus on walls and wooded framed walls.

Paper providing a comprehensive overview of HVAC system design considerations and challenges specific to multifamily residential buildings, focusing on optimizing performance and addressing common issues.

Publication specifying HVI’s prescriptive procedures for testing and rating airflow of residential ventilation products in accordance with ANSI consensus standards.

Publication describing the requirements and procedures for the certified performance ratings program for residential ventilation products administered by the Home Ventilating Institute.

Website providing an online directory of more than 3,600 residential ventilation products lisiting flowrates, sones, watts, and other performance metrics; all listed products have been tested by the Home Ventilating Institute.

Report detailing the design and construction of 10 new houses under the Wyandotte Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2.

Report exploring four questions to determine the level of risk associated with adding drained exterior insulation to the exterior of an existing home during an energy retrofit.

ICC-ES Evaluation Report reviewing proprietary steel shear wall panels developed by Simpson Strong-Tie Company to resist vertical and lateral loads in walls resulting from wind or earthquakes.

The study described in this white paper is based on building energy modeling with an important focus on the indoor humidity impacts of ventilation.

An impact test report from projectile missile tests against brick veneer, verifying that brick veneers perform well to resisting hurricane force wind driven debris.

Report documenting the results of a NYSERDA-funded research project to demonstrate the costs and benefits of a best practice systems approach to improving exhaust ventilation system performance in five multifamily buildings in New York State.

Guide detailing best practices on how to build wall assemblies with absorptive claddings such as brick, stone that drain and dry well.

Study using simulations to understand the impact that shading and natural ventilation would have had on the survivability of non-air-conditioned buildings during the 2021 heat wave in the Pacific Northwest.

Fact sheet providing information on how to identify issues and improve performance in central exhaust systems.