Library

Website providing an online calculator for determining energy and cost savings from installing radiant barriers in attics.

Fact sheet describing analysis of potential heating and cooling savings from radiant barriers in attics.

U.S. Department of Energy's website describing radiant barriers in homes.

Website with answers to some of the most commonly asked questions about attic radiant barriers.

Article describing moisture and ice dam issues in attics and how to air seal the attic floor.

Document containing some of the basic characteristics for energy performance, durability, thermal comfort, and indoor air quality that should be met in all high performance homes.

U.S. DOE report summarizing findings from literature and research relevant to HVAC installation practices.

Report describing research efforts focused on examining the audit reports for quality, comprehensiveness, and consistency.

Report describing the costs, benefits, and challenges of attic insulation retrofits in HUD-code manufactured homes.

Report about a tool developed to enable users to compare a typical 1970s ranch home against an IECC 2009 code-compliant home of the same configuration and against the 70s base case plus retrofits.

Information sheet describing solar PV upgrade for an existing homes.

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

Information sheet describing solar hot water systems in existing homes.

Information sheet about envelope and roof moisture control retrofit for a home.

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

Article describing how insulating and air sealing unfinished attic spaces can lead to reduced energy bills in some homes.

Technical study exploring the impact of different installation faults on heat pump performance in a single-family house.

Report summarizing commissioning, short-term testing, and analysis that occurred before, during, and just after the actual retrofit of the Bay Ridge project.

Paper describing the development and testing of an affordable net-zero energy house in Lenoir City, Tennessee.

Webpage describing the STEP campaign encouraging the use of smart diagnostic tools to reduce installation faults.

Research study presenting a unique opportunity to both identify and evaluate deep retrofit measures that are practical and potentially cost effective for the retrofit market, as well as review the cost effectiveness of the Passive House design approach for achieving energy savings in deep retrofits.

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

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

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.

Research study providing a comparison of selected retrofit activity typically done, versus that same retrofit activity approached from an integrated high performance remodeling and quality management perspective.

Research study determining how well high performance envelope and innovative cooling system interact to cost effectively reduce cooling energy use in this hot-dry climate.

Research study making several recommendations to whole-home program designers and implementers for improving the cost effectiveness and reach of whole-home programs.

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.

This guide and workbook offers practitioners with the knowledge to properly implement the measurement and documentation procedures required in the ANSI/ACCA 5.

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

Manuals describing design, materials, and installation techniques applicable to almost all types of roof systems; four-volume set includes Metal Panel and SPF Roof Systems, Membrane Roof Systems, Architectural Metal Flashing and Condensation and Air Leakage Control, and Steep-Slope Roof Systems.

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.

Report presenting results from whole-house monitoring efforts in hope that they may be useful for others moving towards zero energy homes.

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

Report reviewing unvented roof assemblies, such as conditioned attics and unvented cathedral ceilings that are becoming common in North American construction.

Document summarizing the various papers on unvented conditioned cathedralized attics found on BSC's website.

Report focusing on the performance and durability of unvented-cathedralized attics in hot-humid climates with both tile and asphalt shingle roofing.

Building science report describing issues with vented attics in hot-humid climates and how sealed attic construction may be a solution.

Report describing the use of attic ventilation to control moisture in cathedral roofs and avoid the formation of ice dams.

Guide providing information on controlling attic ductwork sweating.

Report covering the migration of wind-blown embers in roof vents.

Webpage describing how to flashing installation

Report describing sloped roof assemblies with high levels of thermal performance.

Webinar presenting best practices in HVAC design and commissioning

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

Article explaining the importance of expansion tank knowledge.

Report describing Net Zero house design with sloped roof assemblies.