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Library

This library contains research reports produced by the Building America program and other building science resources used to support this Solution Center. The materials cover both new construction and existing homes. Use the search box and/or the filters to explore hundreds of residential building resources. Access to some references not produced by Building America may require purchase from the publisher. Documents are listed alphabetically. While we continually update our database, links may have changed since posting. Please contact our webmaster if you find broken links.

Showing results 1 - 50 of 62

Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Information about LED lighting technology.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
Description
A website covering the history of the lightbulb that includes a helpful timeline to illustrate lightbulb innovation from the 1800s - Present.
Author(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
CARB,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Reference investigating the strategy of using buried and/or encapsulated ducts to reduce duct thermal losses in residential buildings.
Author(s)
Burdick Arlan
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report summarizing one year of monitoring and analysis of the effectiveness of a space conditioning system at maintaining temperature and relative humidity levels in a test home, as well as room-to-room differences and the actual measured energy consumption by the space conditioning system.
Author(s)
Curcija Charlie,
Yazdanian Mehry,
Kohler Christian,
Hart Robert,
Mitchell Robin,
Vidanovic Simon
Organization(s)
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory,
LBNL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report describing a comprehensive analysis on energy savings from multiple types of shading devices in multiple climate zones.
Author(s)
Kunkle Rick,
Gordon Andrew,
Lubliner Michael,
Howard Luke
Organization(s)
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Research study documenting market-ready energy solutions to improve the efficiency of new affordable housing in the marine climate of Washington State.
Author(s)
Baker Peter
Organization(s)
Building Science Corporation,
BSC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report about an expert meeting focused on issues surrounding cladding attachment and performance of walls with exterior insulating sheathing.
Author(s)
Dentz Jordan,
Henderson Hugh,
Podorson David
Organization(s)
Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions,
ARIES,
Levy Partnership,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report providing information to researchers, utility program managers, and building owners interested in controlling heating energy waste and improving resident comfort.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Website with consumer information about various types of lighting.
Author(s)
Johnson R K
Organization(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
CARB,
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Research study outlining results of monitoring a low temperature heat pump.
Author(s)
Farley Jene,
Ruch Russell
Organization(s)
Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit,
PARR,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report exploring feasibility of designing prescriptive retrofit measure packages for typical Chicago region multifamily buildings in order to achieve 25% source energy savings.
Author(s)
U.S. Department of Energy
Organization(s)
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Factsheet profiling a simple modification that can be made to window air-conditioners to improve their energy efficiency.
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
Publication Date
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.
Author(s)
Puttagunta Srikanth,
Williamson James
Organization(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
CARB,
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report providing performance results of a home's heat pump water heater and whole-house dehumidifier over a six-month period.
Author(s)
Mantha Pallavi,
Zoeller William,
Shapiro Carl
Organization(s)
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Project discussing buried or encapsulated ducts and their pros and cons.
Author(s)
National Association of Home Builders Research Center,
U.S. Department of Energy,
Green Building Advisor,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Organization(s)
NAHB Research Center,
DOE,
GBA,
ORNL,
EPA
Publication Date
Description
Document presenting step-by-step process for installing rigid insulating sheathing over wood studs or house wrap.
Author(s)
Lyons James,
Moore Mike,
Thompson Margo
Organization(s)
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC,
Newport Ventures,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report summarizing commissioning, short-term testing, utility bill data analysis, and results of on-site monitoring of a deep energy retrofit.
Author(s)
Zoeller William,
Grab Joanna,
Slattery Matt
Organization(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
CARB,
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report about development of effective strategies to reduce the overall building energy use in line with Building America goals in this modestly priced market rate project.
Author(s)
Baker Julie D,
Brand Larry,
Wells J,
Yee Shannon
Organization(s)
Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit,
PARR,
Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance,
MEEA,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report using pre- and post-system upgrade data to analyze the energy savings associated with Iowa's HVAC SAVE program for space heating.
Author(s)
Mallay David,
Del Bianco Marie
Organization(s)
Partnership for Home Innovation,
PHI,
Home Innovation Research Labs,
HIRL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
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.
Author(s)
Backman Christine,
Hoeschele Marc
Organization(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
ARBI,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
Davis Energy Group,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Research study comparing TRNSYS Type 604 pipe model against laboratory pipe heat loss test data and detailed field monitoring data.
Author(s)
Henderson Hugh,
Dentz Jordan
Organization(s)
Advanced Residential Integrated Energy Solutions,
ARIES,
Levy Partnership,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Research study developed and verified a fuel oil flow field measurement protocol that is cost effective and can be performed with little training for use by the BB program as well as other weatherization programs and building science researchers.
Author(s)
Cort Katherine A
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Technical report assessing the market for Low-e storm windows based on market data, case studies, and recent experience with weatherization deployment programs.
Author(s)
Stecher Dave,
Imm C
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report about instrumentation and limited short-term testing completed on a retrofit unoccupied test house in Fresno, California.
Author(s)
Burdick Arlan
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Document covering the pros and cons of compact air distribution systems and the decision criteria that must be considered early in the whole-house design process.
Author(s)
Fang Xia,
Maguire Jeff,
Wilson Eric
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Research report providing a comparison of the most common residential water heating technologies to determine energy-efficient and cost-effective water heating technologies are when subjected to a variety of typical operating conditions.
Author(s)
Hoeschele Marc,
Weitzel Elizabeth
Organization(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
ARBI,
Davis Energy Group,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
The main objective of this expert meeting was to bring together a group of experts intimately involved with issues related to assessing the performance of residential high efficiency water heating systems.
Author(s)
Arena Lois,
Mantha Pallavi
Organization(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
CARB,
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA,
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report describing evaluation of several configurations of wall assemblies to determine the accuracy of moisture modeling and make recommendations to ensure durable, efficient assemblies.
Author(s)
Goldberg Louise F,
Steigauf Brianna
Organization(s)
NothernSTAR,
University of Minnesota,
UMN,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Research study describing an experimental and theoretical investigation of the energy and hygrothermal performance of retrofit foundation insulation systems in climate zones 6 and 7.
Author(s)
Brozyna Kevin,
Badger Leslie
Organization(s)
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions,
IBACOS,
Vermont Energy Investment Corporation,
VEIC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Document explaining the benefits of evaluating and identifying energy efficiency retrofit measures that could be made during renovation and maintenance of multifamily buildings.
Author(s)
Choi Jayne,
Ludwig Peter,
Brand Larry
Organization(s)
Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit,
PARR,
Gas Technology Institute,
GTI Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE,
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC
Publication Date
Description
Document intending to put some context and structure around the process of balancing and tuning one-pipe steam systems to help practitioners begin to garner the potential in energy savings that this measure presents.
Author(s)
Brand Larry
Organization(s)
Partnership for Advanced Residential Retrofit,
PARR,
Gas Technology Institute,
GTI Energy,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Expert meeting focusing on identifying gaps and barriers in combustion safety that need to be addressed by future research, and to develop data-driven technical recommendations for code updates so that a common approach for combustion safety can be adopted by all members of the building energy...
Author(s)
Thomas-Rees Stephanie,
Beal David,
Martin Eric,
Fonorow Ken
Organization(s)
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC,
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC,
Florida HERO,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report describing partner approaches to achieving the Building America goal of 30% whole-house source energy savings using packages adopted at the community scale, using building projects in Florida as a reference.
Author(s)
Cunningham Kerrie,
Hannigan Eileen
Organization(s)
University of Minnesota,
UMN,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Research study comparing various retrofit models in Wisconsin to evaluate performance in terms of savings per home and program cost per home to assess the relative cost effectiveness of each program design.
Author(s)
Colon Carlos J,
Parker Danny S
Organization(s)
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC,
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Document about testing of seven water heating systems in the Hot Water Systems laboratory in central Florida.
Author(s)
Butler Tom,
Curtis O,
Kim E,
Roberts S,
Stephenson R
Organization(s)
NAHB Research Center,
Home Innovation Research Labs,
HIRL,
Southface,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
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.
Author(s)
Chasar Dave,
Withers Charles R
Organization(s)
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC,
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Research study analyzing measured energy savings from a moderate retrofit by comparing post-retrofit performance with measured pre-retrofit monitored data.
Author(s)
Mosiman Garrett,
Wagner Terence L,
Schirber Tom
Organization(s)
NorthernSTAR,
University of Minnesota,
U.S. Department of Labor,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Research study searching for combinations of existing technologies that could enable a minimally invasive, cost-competitive, easily deployable method of upgrading soil-side foundation insulation in existing buildings.
Author(s)
Berman Mark,
Springer Jeremy,
Smith Pepper,
Porse Erik
Organization(s)
Alliance for Residential Building Innovation,
ARBI,
Davis Energy Group,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Expert meeting on the topic of performance guarantees and financing vehicles for energy efficiency upgrades.
Author(s)
Wiehagen Joseph,
Del Bianco Marie,
Wood Amber
Organization(s)
NAHB Research Center,
Home Innovation Research Labs,
HIRL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
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.
Author(s)
Shapiro Carl,
Magee A,
Zoeller William
Organization(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
CARB,
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Description
Report including an overview of the buried duct research and information the retrofit methodology used to install and test the three existing duct systems, including short- and long-term data collection.