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Library

Explore this extensive library of building science guidance including research reports from DOE’s Building America program as well as hundreds of other articles, fact sheets, webpages, and reference documents related to constructing and renovating homes.

Showing 1 - 50 of 169 results:

2011 EnergyValue Housing Award Report

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Del Bianco Marie,
Sagan D,
Wood Amber
·
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
National Association of Home Builders Research Center,
NAHBRC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Description
Report assessing the energy performance of the 2011 EVHA winners and to align the EVHA program with the BA program.

45L Tax Credit Resource Hub - for Single-Family Homes

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
BetterBuilt Northwest,
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance
·
Organization(s)
BetterBuiltNW,
NEEA
Description
Webpage providing guidance on the 45L tax credit, assembling the most relevant information for Northwest builders to maximize their tax credit and build energy efficient homes.

A Business Case for Home Performance Contracting

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Baechler Michael C,
et al.
·
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Description
Report discussing opportunities and trends in the U.S. home performance contracting industry, along with market drivers such as consumer demand; federal, state, and local programs; and utility and non-governmental programs.

A Decade of DOE ZERH: Making Zero Energy Homes Available Everywhere

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Theresa Gilbride,
et al.
·
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Description
Factsheet describing how the U.S. DOE's Zero Energy Ready Home program has evolved since 2013. This factsheet includes case studies, statistics about the program and specific building components, and a general outline of program requirements.

A Guide to Residential Energy Storage and Rooftop Solar: State Net Metering Policies and Utility Rate Tariff Structures

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Kerby Jessica,
Tarekegne Bethel
·
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Description
Article describing utility rates, net metering policies, installation costs, financial incentives, and other info for both consumers who are interested in installing renewable energy systems and for energy justice and clean energy advocates.

ACCA Manual ZR – Residential Zoning Systems

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Air Conditioning Contractors of America
·
Organization(s)
ACCA
Description
Technical manual from ACCA outlining correct methods for zoning of residential HVAC systems.

Analysis of Illinois Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Measure Packages

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Baker Julie D,
Brand Larry,
Yee Shannon
·
Organization(s)
Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit,
PARR,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance,
MEEA
Description
Report that collected field data from a whole-home program in Illinois are utilized to compare marketplace-installed measures to the energy saving optimal packages previously developed for 15 housing types.

Analyzing Design Heating Loads in Superinsulated Buildings

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Arena Lois
·
Organization(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
CARB,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL
Description
Report analyzing design heating load sizing methods for superinsulated homes in cold climates and comparing them to the actual energy usage to determine if the building load calculation methodology should be changed for calculating the design heating load of these homes.

Are Your Multi-Family Buildings Accessible?

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Stratton Petter A
·
Organization(s)
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA
Description
Document highlighting federal accessibility laws which may apply to a housing development, and common mistakes made in the field which, if avoided, will help to ensure compliance.

Assessment of the U.S. Department of Energy's Home Energy Scoring Tool

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Roberts David,
et al.
·
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Description
Report assessing the accuracy of HEST as it was being developed and to provide information useful to DOE program managers and HEST development team at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory.

Basement Insulation Systems, BA-0202

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Building Science Corporation
·
Organization(s)
BSC
Description
Report describing approaches to insulating basements in homes built to meet Energy Star levels of performance of heat loss reduction.

Basement Insulation Technology Fact Sheet

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Southface Energy Institute
·
Organization(s)
SEI,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
ORNL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Description
Fact sheet describing basement insulation considerations.

Basement Insulation, Info 511

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Building Science Corporation
·
Organization(s)
BSC
Description
Information sheet describing techniques for insulating basements.

Bay Area Seismic Retrofit

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Bay Area Retrofit
Description
YouTube channel featuring 90+ videos to educate Bay Area homeowners and contractors about seismic retrofitting, including information for various home and construction types.

BPVC Code Cases: Boilers and Pressure Vessels, BPVC.CC.BPV-2017

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
·
Organization(s)
ASME
Description
Code establishing the rules of safety relating only to pressure integrity for the design, fabrication, and inspection of boilers and pressure vessels during construction which was published in the year 2017 and is available to order at the referenced link.

BPVC Code Cases: Boilers and Pressure Vessels, BPVC.CC.BPV-2021

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
American Society of Mechanical Engineers
·
Organization(s)
ASME
Description
Code establishing the rules of safety relating only to pressure integrity for the design, fabrication, and inspection of boilers and pressure vessels during construction which was published in the year 2021 and is available to order at the referenced link.

Builders Challenge Quality Criteria Support Document

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Baechler Michael C,
et al.
·
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
ORNL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Description
Document providing guidance to U.S. home builders who want to accept the challenge.

Building America Program

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
·
Organization(s)
DOE
Description
A website providing information on the U.S. Department of Energy's Building America Solution Center, a source for innovations in residential building energy performance, energy efficiency, quality, affordability and comfort for more than 20 years.

Building Energy Efficiency Standards - Title 24

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
California Energy Commission
·
Organization(s)
CEC
Description
Website providing information about the Title 24 building energy efficiency standards for the State of California and links to current and past standards including the 2025, 2022, 2019, and 2016 standards, etc.

Building with Ducts in Conditioned Space

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Sullivan Bruce,
Schmiede Angela
·
Organization(s)
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE,
Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance,
NEEA
Description
Training manual on how to locate ducts within conditioned space and compact design.

Choose A Light Guide

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
ENERGY STAR
·
Organization(s)
ENERGY STAR
Description
A simple three-step guide for homeowners who are looking to replace existing light bulbs with more energy-efficient, higher-performing bulbs.

Climate-Specific Passive Building Standards

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Wright Graham S,
Klingenberg Katrin
·
Organization(s)
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Description
Report on improving passive design adoption rates.

Comfort, Indoor Air Quality, and Energy Consumption in Low Energy Homes

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Tiefenbeck Verena,
Roth Kurt,
Engelmann P
·
Organization(s)
Fraunhofer CSE,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Description
Report documenting the results of an in-depth evaluation of thermal comfort for two potential net zero-energy homes (NZEHs) in Massachusetts.

Commissioning of the Fresno, California, Retrofit Unoccupied Test House

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Stecher Dave,
Imm C
·
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Description
Report about instrumentation and limited short-term testing completed on a retrofit unoccupied test house in Fresno, California.

Comparison of the ENERGYGAUGE USA and BEopt Building Energy Simulation Programs

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Parker Danny S,
Cummings Jamie E
·
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Description
Two hourly energy simulation software, BEopt and Energy Gauge USA, were compared to ensure accuracy and evaluate agreement on the impact of various energy efficiency improvements.

Concrete Floor Problems, BSI-003

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Lstiburek Joseph W
·
Organization(s)
Building Science Corporation,
BSC
Description
Information guide describing issues with concrete floors, in multiple climate zones.

Consortium for Energy Efficiency

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Consortium of Energy Efficiency Inc.
·
Organization(s)
CEE
Description
Website for CEE, the US and Canadian consortium of natural gas and electric efficiency program administrators.

Crawlspace Insulation

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Southface Energy Institute,
et al.
·
Organization(s)
ORNL,
SEI,
DOE
Description
Information sheet about crawlspace insulation, including installation details.

Deep Dive: Technical Details of the ENERGY STAR MFNC Program

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Hudson Rebecca,
Vijayakumar Gayathri
·
Organization(s)
Steven Winter Associates,
U.S. Department of Energy and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Description
A presentation describing the details of the ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction program requirements.

Deep Energy Retrofits - Lessons learned

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Less Brennan,
Walker Iain S
·
Organization(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
Description
Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Lessons Learned chapter focuses on successful deep energy retrofit projects throughout the U.S.

Digital Coast

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
·
Organization(s)
NOAA
Description
Website helping communities address coastal issues with data, tools, and training resources.

Distribution and Room Air Mixing Risks to Retrofitted Homes

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
Burdick Arlan
·
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS
Description
Report outlining the issues with using existing ducts with a new low-load HVAC system, which reduces throw at supply registers causing decreased mixing of supply and room air, leading to potential thermal comfort complaints.

DOE Zero Energy Ready Home National Program Requirements

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
·
Organization(s)
DOE
Description
Website listing implementation timelines and links to various versions of the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home national program requirements.

Energy Efficient New Homes and Apartments

Publication Date
·
Author(s)
ENERGY STAR
·
Organization(s)
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency,
EPA,
ENERGY STAR
Description
Website describing the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR New Homes and Apartments program with links to builder and homeowner resources.