Library

Website containing resources from the nonprofit FLASH, which "is the country’s leading consumer advocate for strengthening homes and safeguarding families from natural and manmade disasters."

Guide from Building Science Corporation on how to construct a flood and hurricane resistant home.

Report outlining the energy upgrade package implemented in Ft. Benning, GA, Indianhead Townhomes project and the findings of the Southface Energy Institute's post-renovation analysis.

Animated video demonstrating the continuous load path of a hurricane on a house.

Website describing the Insurance Institute for Business & Home Safety (IBHS)'s Fortified Home program which offers home builders standards and guidance for constructing and renovating homes for increased disaster resistance.

Checklist providing specific information about the type of residential building eligible for designation consideration in the FORTIFIED Home program.

A guideline containing fire sprinkler insulation requirements from the Prescott, Arizona Fire Department.

Conference paper describing how retrofits were used in a Florida home to change it from a high energy user to a near zero-energy home.

Webpage describing the safety hazards associated with natural gas and tips on how to avoid these hazards by a step process of turning off natural gas service to a home and restoring service afterwards.

Brochure for natural gas utility customers describing seismic valves and excess flow valves for homes.

Webpage describing when and how to safely turn off the natural gas to the home during an emergency.

Webpage with certification requirements for excess flow and earthquake valves from California's Division of the State Architect (DSA).

Report describing the cost-effectiveness and performance of all-electric, zero net energy multifamily buildings in California, detailing technical challenges and providing recommendations for design, construction, codes, standards, and operations to support future projects.

Report covering the fire performance of combustible cladding over combustible insulation.

Report detailing field walk-through evaluations, energy simulations for projected savings with exterior insulation upgrades, building envelope energy improvement cost estimates, and installation and maintenance of monitoring equipment and data.

Research report presenting results of short term tests on measures used in an energy efficiency retrofit project in California.

Guidance from HUD for volunteer team leaders, project managers and supervisors who work in recovery and rebuilding after natural disasters.

Webpage describing how to guard homes and properties against wildfire, as well as what to do during a wildfire, whether sheltering in place or attempting evacuation.

Webpage providing maps and information to assess the particular hazards and risks for an area.

Document providing guidance about building healthy homes using building science principles.

Webpage listing research projects studying deep energy retrofits of homes in Florida.

Document providing a roadmap to aid Habitat for Humanity affiliates in building high performing houses by using materials and techniques that are affordable, do not add any maintenance burden, and are volunteer friendly.

Webpage describing federal regulation related to excess flow valves on residential natural gas lines.

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

Research study investigating the factors influencing consumer adoption of HEDs and evaluating the resulting electricity consumption.

Website containing educational and marketing resources for residential fire sprinklers.

Report assessing the costs of home fire sprinkler systems.

A comprehensive list of all ENERGY STAR home performance programs.

A guide that summarizes building materials and design considerations for increasing wildfire-resistivity of homes in areas that are prone to wildfires.

Wildfire mitigation guidelines from the University of California outlining how to mitigate fire risk for attached decks.

Guidebook that provides information on earthquake hazards that can damage homes, the design and retrofit of earthquake resistant housing, and how to find more information on earthquake safety.

Report documenting short-term test results of the Shift House and compares the results of Passive House Planning Package and Building Energy Optimization modeling of the project.

Report detailing an evaluation of Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) residential energy efficiency demand side management (DSM) programs to assess their impacts and relative measures of energy and economic performance.

Report presenting construction methods, building products, appliances and equipment of four single-family houses that achieve dramatic energy reductions and approach “net zero energy” use.

A report describing how to build a high-performance affordable house to achieve 30% whole house energy savings in the mixed-humid climate region.

Factsheet describing defensible space and wildfire risk reduction steps that homeowners can take to make their homes safer during a wildfire.

Webpage describing how to locate and manually shut off natural gas service at the meter.

Factsheet describing the performance criteria and key components of DOE Zero Energy Ready homes.

Factsheet describing the importance of building enclosures and their impact on energy efficiency.

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.

Article describing excess flow valves installed on gas lines to shut-off natural gas flow to a home in the event that a gas line is severed due to an earthquake, natural disaster, earthquake, etc.

Article from Samuel L. Manzello and Sayaka Suzuki on tests undertaken to find the ideal amount of board spacing to resist deck ignition during fires.

Webpage detailing how to purchase and install the correct shut-off valve for homes in California, including differences between earthquake and excess flow valves and how to install each.

Site showing flame spread ratings and definitions for common building materials.

Article from Building Science Corporation explaining 'wash and wear buildings' that are designed to be flooded and washed out afterwards.

Guide describing the use of a collaborative, multidisciplinary process that considers and optimizes the building as an entire system including its technical equipment and surroundings for efficient, sustainable, and cost-effective construction and operation over the building’s entire lifespan.

Report that describes BSC's Houses That Work II (HTWII) climate-specific technical resource, beginning with an overall HTWII introduction and four sections explaining the four most important hygro-thermal climate regions: Hot-Humid, Mixed-Humid, Cold, and Hot-Dry/Mixed-Dry.

Website describing the wildland-urban interface code and providing links to resources.

Website explaining the LEED v4.1 program and providing a portal for those who want to investigate or start a LEED project.