Library

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.

Document pertaining to design and application guidance for combination space and tankless domestic hot water heating systems used in residential buildings, based on field evaluation, testing, and industry meetings.

Report describing the installation and operation of forced-air heating and domestic hot water combi systems in residential homes.

Document developed to help residential builders and retrofitters transition from tank-type water heaters to tankless water heaters.

Web resource that lays out the pre-work considerations, methods and finishes for installing mechanical insulation.

Report providing a resource that communities can use to identify and evaluate a range of potential mitigation actions for reducing risk to natural hazards and disasters.

This paper discusses model validation using data from three thermosiphon systems.

Study in which a central heat pump water heater system was monitored in detail and used to create a model for assessing similar systems in various climates.

National Fire Protection Association website.

Report updating and expanding on a 2005 study that found, among other things, that every $1 of natural hazard mitigation funded by FEMA between 1993 and 2003 saved the American people an average of $4 in avoided future losses.

Report describing the interactions, both positive and negative, between common green building practices and the robustness of residential buildings to withstand natural hazards.

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.

NFPA standard for design and installation of indoor automatic fire sprinkler systems.

NFPA standard for indoor automatic fire sprinkler design and installation, focused on residential dwellings.

NFPA standard for indoor automatic fire sprinkler design and installation for low-rise residential occupancies.

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.

An NFPA standard for inspection, testing, and maintenance of fire sprinklers, including fire pump operation and flow tests, evaluation techniques such as sprinkler inspections, valve status tests, internal piping assessments, and forward flow tests for backflow preventers, and water storage system...

This standard provides a benchmark for safe electrical design, installation, and inspection to protect people and property from electrical hazards and has been adopted in all 50 states.

Standard establishing criteria for levels of health care services or systems based on risk to the patients, staff, or visitors in health care facilities to minimize the hazards of fire, explosion, and electricity.

A nine-part fact sheet covering a variety of common questions surrounding wildfires and how to make a home more resilient to wildfires.

A webpage that provides wildfire preparedness and safety pictographs.

Report providing information to researchers, utility program managers, and building owners interested in controlling heating energy waste and improving resident comfort.

Article investigating how a linear input/output relationship can be used as a simple model of the performance of a combination hydronic heating system over heating only, DHW only, and combined loads.

A study on how fires spread through exterior building envelopes with discussion on how fires propagate in a rain screen cavity.

Report describing the key findings from the first third-party field validation of 120-volt heat pump water heater (HPWH) technology, addressing the significant barriers to their adoption and emphasizing their potential role in reducing carbon emissions from residential water heating.

Report describing a laboratory assessment on the performance of Rheem 120-volt heat pump water heaters (HPWH), aimed at identifying optimal installation locations for these new "plug-in" models based on comprehensive testing under various conditions.

Webpage offering recommendations to homeowners and contractors for retrofitting a home to make it more resistant to wildfires.

Website describing methods for homeowners to prepare their homes to withstand ember attacks and minimize the likelihood of flames or surface fire touching the home or any attachments.

Report providing wildfire protection guidance for homeowners in California.

Brochure describing multiple earthquake safety measures for homeowners to take, including home reinforcement, exterior maintenance, and recovery tips.

Article discussing fire safety for high-rise buildings.

Report providing strategies to support occupant behavior changes for enhancing resilience, and to reduce a building's vulnerability to extreme weather, climate change, and loss of power.

Fact sheet describing conditions for wildfire, how a home catches fire, how to create a survivable space, the ideal fire resistant home.

Website describing wildfire related research conducted by the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety at the IBHS Research Center.

Research project aimed to verify whether homes in the New Jersey HPwES program achieved 30% source energy savings, and if so, what measures were implemented to achieve them.

Free Online Training in Reducing Wildfire Risks to People and Property for Home and Business Owners.

Report discussing instrumentation methods and field operation characteristics of two GSHPs in test houses, including a comparison between the manufacturers listed COP values and the COPs calculated from field data.

Website with information and research about residential hot water distribution systems.

Brochure with information on residential solar hot water systems.

A student manual for containing information on residential sprinkler systems.

A retrofit sheet providing information on elevating and securing water heaters to protect against damage during a flood.

Report presenting results of a laboratory experiment studying combi systems as a mode to eliminate safety issues associated with natural draft appliances.

Information sheet describing tankless hot water heating systems in existing homes.

Document discussing changes in testing the annual performance ratings for solar water heaters.

Report covering non-combustible continuous exterior insulation and non-combustible roof venting.

Brochure for utility customers describing installation of an excess flow valve to automatically shut off natural gas flow into a home in the event of a gas line rupture.

A fact sheet providing homeowners with guidance on properly securing water heaters to prevent them from tipping in an earthquake.

Fact sheet for natural gas customers describing city’s seismic gas shut-off valve requirements.