Library

Webpage on the ENERGY STAR website that list products that exceed the ENERGY STAR minimum criteria for their category, with links to several product categories, including windows, HVAC, home appliances, and computer monitors.

Website for finding rebates and special offers near you on ENERGY STAR certified products. Products that earn the ENERGY STAR label meet strict energy-efficiency specifications set by the U.S. EPA helping you save energy and money while protecting the environment.

Archived 2014 EPA newsroom release describing new EnergyStar standards for clothes dryers.

ENERGY STAR's Expert Home Improvements webpage.

Report that demonstrates the durability, constructability, and cost-effectiveness of the extended plate and beam (EP&B) wall system for new construction housing projects in compliance with the International Energy Conservation Code, addressing moisture risk management and high-performance envelope...

Report of a field evaluation of four novel roof designs to see how each design would reduce space-conditioned energy use so that the knowledge gained could be applied to the design of new manufactured homes.

ENERGY STAR article on finding a refrigerator or freezer recycling program.

Article describing five fundamental changes to building construction from the last 50 years and their modern construction consequences.

Calculator helping users determine cost savings of refrigerator replacement.

Regulatory compliance regarding furniture stability requirements

Article describing the danger of furniture tip-overs

Fact sheet defining a grid-interactive efficient building and its benefits.

Website highlighting the DOE Building Technologies Office Grid-interactive Efficient Buildings Initiative, including technical reports, other publications, resources, and presentations.

Report evaluating HVAC building technologies based on their ability to provide grid services and the type of value provided, including efficiency, load shed, load shift, and modulation.

Report evaluating lighting and electronic building technologies based on their ability to provide grid services and the type of value provided, including efficiency, load shed, load shift, and modulation.

Report providing an introduction to core concepts of GEBs, and explaining how flexible building loads can be integrated and controlled to benefit consumers, the grid, and society more broadly.

Report addressing the current state of these technologies and the challenges of adapting these to the GEB context.

Report focuseing on dynamic window and opaque envelope technologies for GEBs, including electrochromic glazing, automated attachments, and thermal storage.

Guide describing refrigeration leaks, including common leak points, how to fix them, and how to prevent them.

Blog post about heat pump clothes dryers.

A website detailing initiatives on the east coast for the installation and use of high efficiency products.

Factsheet profiling a simple modification that can be made to window air-conditioners to improve their energy efficiency.

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.

Resource that explains how water softeners work to reduce scale.

Report about measurements of three recent vintage dishwashers of very different efficiencies showing that while they are substantially more efficient than older dishwashers.

Installation tips and product suggestions for mounting hardware.

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

Article describing how omission of two small but critical wall details, a kick-out flashing and a weep screed, lead to extensive water damage to a wall.

FTC website explaining the usefulness of the EnergyGuide label when shopping for home appliances.

Includes several good how-to videos for anchoring furniture to different wall types

Factsheet describing the advantages and disadvantages of induction cooktops and the role they play in energy efficiency.

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

Article describing the correct installation of clothes dryer exhaust ducts.

PDF detailing the inspection and verification guidance for WaterSense labeled new homes including indoor and outdoor efficiency requirements, and homeowner and building management education.

Article discussing indoor water management.

Article describing walls and moisture development on them.

Factsheet with information on energy efficient pool pumps.

If your kitchen has a powerful exhaust fan, it may be pulling air down your chimney or water-heater flue.

Webpage featuring hundreds of illustrations of masonry construction details for brick, congrete, stone, tile, stucco, etc.

Siding installation guide for Ply Gem Siding Group products.

Measure Guideline describing how to assess and carry out the isolation of natural draft combustion appliances from the conditioned spaces of low-rise residential buildings.

This measure guideline provides guidance on combustion safety inspection procedures for appliances and heating equipment that use indoor air for combustion and dilution of flue gases in low-rise residential buildings.

Repor ourlining testing results from a 53 home monitored sample, long-term energy use of electric resistance clothes dryers.

Report describing a lighting and smart power strip retrofit evaluation that was conducted on 56 all-electric, existing Florida homes to see how lighting and miscellaneous electric loads might be reduced.

Webpage for the CEC’s Modern Appliance Efficiency Database System

List of appliance brands and models, showing their performance and efficiency as tested by the appropriate standard.

Fact sheet describing how typical wall moisture barrier systems work, the moisture barrier system and common problems associated with them; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Article describing how moisture accumulates inside of structures and issues that result.

Report providing extensive guidance on controlling moisture in building envelopes through proper selection and installation on air, water, thermal, and vapor barriers.

Practical guide describing the management of moisture during a building's design, construction and maintenance.