Library

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.

Document identifying differences between the requirements for construction documents for high performance housing and the documents that are typically produced for conventional housing.

Report following the evolution of the construction quality process from its development for new homes to its application construction of a HPH with enhanced specifications, and its application in a crawlspace renovation.

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

Document targeting retrofit program managers, retrofit contractors, policy makers, academic researchers, and non-governmental organizations that work to realize energy savings from home energy upgrades (HEUs).

Document serving as a starting point that features initial tools and resources for teams to start collaborating to continually improve the energy efficiency and durability of new houses.

A report describing methods for constructing homes and treating soils to reduce the risk of termites in buildings.

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.

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

Research study exploring retrofit procedures and simulated post-occupancy data for three homes in an effort to determine the effectiveness of retrofit packages.

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

Report outlining a case study about a building project in the hot-humid climate zone.

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

Article describing a DIY air cleaning system for filtering smoke and viruses.

Article from Texas A&M University and the University of Maryland analyzing why and how urban flooding happens and what can be done to mitigate damage.

Fact sheet poster describing a series of fact sheets and checklists for homeowners to share with contractors to help achieve cost-effective, energy-efficient retrofits for dozens of common home renovation projects.

Report providing a strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (SWOT) analysis inherent to different models as a way of thinking about the transition from traditional business models into a viable model for delivering deep energy retrofits.

Report about seeking a 30% source energy savings targets over a comparable 2009 International Energy Conservation Code-built home in the cold climate zone, using simple measures.

Report developed for Habitat for Humanity about lessons learned from demonstration retrofit projects undertaken by Habitat for Humanity affiliates in New York, Maryland, and Pennsylvania; with building systems consulting and technical assistance provided by Steven Winter Associates.

Research study identifying barriers, industry status, critical obstacles to documenting added value from energy efficiency improvements, current opportunities to support reporting about energy efficiency, and next steps toward enabling energy efficiency financing market transformation.

Even as the worst housing market correction in more than 60 years appeared to turn a corner in 2009, the fallout from sharply lower home prices and high unemployment continued.

Webpage with data on the 20 largest wildfires in California that occurred between the year 1932 and present day.

Paper describing testing for the first of a series of six near net-zero-energy test houses, using the results to work towards the construction of a true net-zero-energy house.

Report discussing Building America whole house systems research within the broad effort to reduce or eliminate the environmental impact of building and provides specific recommendations for future Building America research based on Building Science Corporations experience with several recent...

Online course describing the behavior of wildfires for firefighters.

A report examining the presence, reliability, effectiveness, and impact of sprinkler systems in structure fires.

Case study about affordable housing in a mixed, humid climate.

Report addressing the ever increasing percentage of whole house energy use that is attributable to miscellaneous electricity loads (MELs) and major appliances.

Document presenting analysis results, focusing on relative humidity (RH) excursions, which are defined as unique events of indoor RH above a threshold.

Document providing a case study of commissioned performance measures that justify costs for these demonstration and "live" show homes.

This report describes how twenty homes were tested and monitored in the Zone 2 climate of Houston, Texas, U.S.A., to evaluate the humidity control performance and operating cost of six different integrated dehumidification and ventilation systems that could be applied by production homebuilders.

Document describing the measured annual performance data from 12 recent-vintage very low energy homes in the US.

A San Diego County standard outlining the requirements for installing fire protection water tanks.

Fact sheet describing the home certification organization, Home Innovation Research Labs and their requirements for whole house water management in a checklist format as well their compliance with certified Water Rating Index (WRI), organization scope, and information verifiers.

Webpage describing the home certification organization, 24/7 Certifications and their requirements for whole house water management in a checklist format.

Webpage describing the home certification program, Home Innovation Research Labs' requirements for whole house water management.

Webpage describing the home certification organization, RESNET and its requirements for whole house water management in a checklist format as well as the scope, information verifiers, and partners of the program.

Fact sheet describing how the Environmental Protection Agency ensures labeled homes meet the WaterSense efficiency requirements for whole house water management including a list of requirements and a data chart.

Fact sheet describing four different efficient hot water delivery (HWD) systems, the trunk-and branch, core, whole-house manifold, and recirculation, with emphasis on system schematics, piping materials, and regulations to design and verify the systems.

Document on the EPA WaterSense webpage describing the technical evaluation process used by EPA WaterSense to authorize home certification organizations to certify homes through the WaterSense program.

Webpage from NW Natural on how to prepare homes with natural gas service for earthquakes and floods, what to do during an emergency, and how to respond after the emergency has passed.

Web page providing statistics on weather related fatalities and injuries.

Report assessing the performance and cost-effectiveness of a zero net energy community project in Davis, CA.

Guidelines from IBHS on modifications to homes to prepare for a wildfire if evacuation orders are anticipated for the area.

Information sheet discussing the differences between homeowner energy consumption trends in highly efficient homes.

Webpage describing the Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) and how to plan residential building to mitigate wildfire risks associated with building in the WUI.

Webpage from USFA compiling resources from across the U.S. on Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) information.

Webpage from USDA and U.S. Forest Service with a map of potential wildfire risk across the U.S.

A report for homeowners and contractors providing specific recommendations for how to retrofit existing components of a home to withstand wildfire.