Library

Webpage containing downloadable fact sheets covering carpet-related topics including Indoor Air Quality, Asthma and Allergy, Cleaning Products, and Environmental Sustainability.

Report providing information on mechanical air-cleaning devices for ventilation when conventional methods are not warranted.

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

Second part of an article series focusing on servicing high efficiency modcon boilers. This part focuses on paperwork and follow-up communication with the homeowner for scheduling annual maintenance.

Article describing the author's experiences in owning and servicing a modcon boiler.

Report describing a comparison of hydrothermal performances of DryRightTM fiberglass batts and kraft-faced fiberglass batts in a south facing wall assembly with a moisture storage cladding material.

Initiatives of smoke-free housing policies in New York State.

Report providing a synopsis of a project to evaluate the performance of a roof-integrated solar water heating system.

Guidelines to assist builders in designing and constructing homes equipped with a set of features that make the installation of solar energy systems after the completion of the home’s construction easier and less expensive.

Report identifying the important aspects of building design and construction to enable installation of solar photovoltaic and heating systems at some time after the building is constructed.

The RERH specifications and checklists take a builder and a project design team through the steps of assessing a home’s solar resource potential and defining the minimum structural and system components needed to support a solar energy system.

Specifications to assist builders in designing and constructing homes equipped with a set of features that make the installation of solar energy systems after the completion of the home’s construction easier and less expensive.

Literature review from NFPA on the use of insulation to protect the piping in home fire sprinkler systems from freezing conditions.

Standard that covers the minimum performance and acceptance criteria for an air barrier (AB) material or system for framed walls of low-rise buildings with the service life of the building wall in mind. This link directs to a preview of the version of the standard that was published in the year 2011...

Information sheet about buried ducts.

Article describing ways to protect roofs from water infiltration by using self-adhering underlayment in vulnerable locations such as roof valleys, eave edges (to help deal with ice dams), rake edges, roofs to vertical walls (such as dormers), sidewall protection, the bottom of dormer valleys, and...

Report about the impact on the loads when common safety factors are applied to the load calculation process using two houses that meet the 2009 IECC prescriptive path modeled as the accurate baseline.

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

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.

Document describing issues of wind pressure resistance in walls with exterior rigid foam sheathing installed directly over framing members.

Question and Answer article in Energy Design Update describing the cost and savings benefits of electronically commutated motors (ECMs) for HVAC equipment.

A book describing seismic retrofits to help contractors and engineers understand how to properly retrofit a home in a cost-effective manner.

Article describing the risks associated with vented and unvented crawlspaces in different climate zones.

Paper describing the effects of shade trees and their location on residential summertime electricity usage.

Guide describing details that serve as a visual reference for each of the line items in the Thermal Enclosure System Rater Checklist.

Research study investigating the thermal efficiency of fasteners, namely drywall screws and siding nails, in high-performance wood-framed walls.

Research study describing a detailed 3D computational fluid dynamics model that evaluates the thermal performance of uninsulated wall assemblies.

Report presenting information that aids qualified architects and engineers in the identification of the best available refuge areas in existing buildings for sheltering in place during a tornado.

Information sheet describing transfer ducts and grilles for HVAC.

Report covering wind uplift and roofing membrane failures.

Article describing how adhesives can be used to make homes in high-wind locations stronger and how adhesives could be too effective resulting in overloading foundation anchors under earthquake loads.

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

A review on the knowledge about ventilated wall claddings from field performance and hydrothermal modeling.

Information sheet about proper ventilation and air sealing.

Document describing wall bracing techniques and suggestions for the city of Verona, WI building department.

Guide describing details that serve as a visual reference for each of the line items in the Water Management System Builder Checklist.

A builder checklist guide for the water management of properties with appropriately-designed building technologies.

This text is one of series of supporting documents that provide guidance on implementing the World Health Organization (WHO) Guidelines for drinking-water quality; intended to support improvement of water safety within buildings.

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

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

Article discussing the risks that can occur from undercutting bedroom doors to provide return airflow from bedrooms, as well as corrective measures that can be taken to address these risks.

Document describing different spray foam materials including some pros and cons and technical specifications.

Report summarizing results from a case study about whole-house mechanical ventilation systems in Chicago.

Document about proper HVAC system sizing.

A list of exterior building products and materials approved for use in wildland urban interface zoned homes. These products are non-combustible or ignition-resistant.

Article describing sustainable community development of near zero energy homes in Greenfield, Massachusetts.

Presentation about the combustion properties of wood.