Library

A free tool used to calculate the required minimum flow rate of dwelling-unit ventilation.

IECC code note explaining new fan efficacy requirements, along with how to determine which fans are affected by the new fan requirements.

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 providing guidance on indoor air quality in single-family and multifamily housing for designers, builders, property managers, homeowners, buyers, and renters.

Website providing resources for seismic retrofits for builders and homeowners as well as city permit requirements from the City of Portland OR.

Report providing architects, designers, and homeowners with information to make house plans useful for constructing a more wind resilient structure.

Report describing the testing of various siding materials for their ability to resist bullets from small firearms.

Fact sheet describing flashing of roof penetrations to make a home more resistant to high winds, hurricanes, and rainwater intrusion.

Document reviewing current and potential ventilation technologies for residential buildings with particular emphasis on North American climates and construction.

Information about a roof retrofit using a metal, cool roof system.

Q&A article discussing how to address moisture issues in an attic in a wet and humid coastal climate.

Fact sheet describing the importance of proper roof and deck flashing, and typical and enhanced flashing techniques for coastal homes; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Report on hybrid ventilation methods for insulated and sealed crawl spaces.

Report describing development of a package of energy efficiency measures to achieve 60% energy savings in a test house.

Website providing information about INSULSPAN structurally insulated panels.

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

Fact sheet describing field validations of a smart ventilation system to assess its effectiveness in assisting low-load homes in humid environments by maintaining acceptable indoor humidity conditions while ensuring adequate ventilation and indoor air quality.

Article describing building smoke control systems.

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.

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.

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 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; published in the year 2019, and is available for preview and purchase at the...

Standard that describes the minimum requirements for residential buildings to achieve acceptable indoor air quality via dwelling-unit ventilation, local mechanical exhaust, and source control. This version of the standard was published in the year 2022, and is available for preview and purchase at...

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

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...

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...

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 that measures the capture efficiency of wall-mounted domestic range hoods under controlled conditions in a test chambers which available for preview and purchase at the link and was published in the year 2018.

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

Report covering coating and back venting wood based claddings and trim.

Conference paper describing testing of the performance of fasteners used to attach rigid foam insulation to the exterior of walls.

Information sheet describing correct application of stucco.

Document describing issues of wind pressure resistance in walls with exterior rigid foam sheathing installed directly over framing members.

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.

A guide for homeowners on determining the risks from tornadoes and hurricanes and selecting a safe room type and location, as well as providing detailed plans for safe room construction.

Presentation on urban land use and sustainable building design.

A story about bees building a hive in the drainage plane behind the brick veneer siding. The bees entered the wall through unprotected drainage holes.

Image depicting damage from termites in weatherboard cladding.

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

Projectile missile testing of various wall panel configuration to understand how the different wall constructions would perform when struck with wind driven debris from a hurricane.

Article describing a field study that test ventilation performance in nine homes and found current ventilation was inadequate to remove PM2.5 and CO2 levels; however, a directly exhausting range hood can reduce peak PM2.5 concentrations by 75% or more.

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

Article describing the perfect wall and and in what order to control rain, air, vapor, and heat.

Paper that illustrates a performance check between the thermal performance of a Massive Insulating Concrete Form (ICF) wall system mocked up and Whole Building Performance criteria such as total space heating and cooling loads (thermal comfort).