Library

Report providing builders in the hot-dry and mixed-dry climates with guidance for building homes that have whole-house energy savings of 40% over the Building America benchmark with no added overall costs for consumers.

Brochure about creating an air barrier by sealing drywall assemblies.

Brochure about creating an air barrier at tub, shower and fireplace walls.

Report describing two retrofit duct sealing techniques - manually-applied sealants and injecting a spray sealant, that were implemented in several low-rise multi-unit buildings in North Carolina.

This report describes research conducted to evaluate air transfer between the garage and living space in a single-family detached home constructed to the 2009 IECC by a production home builder in Maryland.

Case study examining the problem of unwanted air transfer from garage to living space and the effectiveness of garage exhaust ventilation or house supply ventilation to provide a solution to that.

Research report describing study of interior and exterior air sealing techniques to stop ice dams in five 1.5-story retrofit homes conducted by the NorthernSTAR Building America Partnership team run by University of Minnesota.

Report summarizing systems research activities for new housing in hot-humid climates, including NightCool, interior duct systems in manufactured housing, ventilation and dehumidification, plug load reduction and solar and conventional hot water.

Report outlining workflow and results of regression models on monthly and daily utility data (meter readings of electricity consumption), outlining a process for screening and gathering useful results from inverse models.

Report about a building project in the marine climate.

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.

Case study describing solar thermal and photovoltaic systems in new construction.

Brochure about air sealing windows.

Brochure explaining the essential basis for advanced framing and some of the more common advanced framing details.

Brochure providing information about flashing in all cimates.

Fact sheet describing air-sealing at rim joists.

Brochure with details on HVAC duct air sealing.

Brochure with information about ducts in conditioned space.

Brochure with information on maintaining drainage plane continuity at deck ledger locations.

Information sheet with details on pan flashing for exterior walls.

Information sheet about reservoir claddings.

Information sheet about sealing combustion appliances to ensure good indoor air quality.

Information sheet about insulating slabs.

Information sheet about soil gas control strategies for foundations.

Information sheet offering general recommendations on supplemental humidity control and outlines viable system configurations.

Information sheet providing recommendations on the installation of vapor control layers.

Information sheet providing information about vapor management in building assemblies.

Case study describing solar thermal and photovoltaic systems in new construction.

Document describing the Building America research benchmark for the residential building program.

Report considers a number of promising wall systems that can meet the requirement for better thermal control.

Web report explaining how correct filter sizing is an issue that applies to all new and existing homes that use ducted HVAC systems.

Report on the stability of furring strips as a means for cladding attachment over walls with thick exterior rigid insulation.

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.

Research report anayzing the results of a large retrofit project, turining an old school into near zero energy consumption apartments in Greenfield MA.

Report exploring alternative methods to find long-term solutions to energy loss in 1 ½-story homes to save energy, improve comfort, prevent frost buildup on the underside of the roof deck, and reduce the risk of ice dam formation/reformation.

Information sheet about crawlspace insulation, including installation details.

Research study evaluating energy savings and cost effectiveness of installing low-emissivity (low-e) storm windows over existing windows in residential homes in all climate zones.

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.

Report identifying two barriers that limit the ability of builders to explore opportunities for higher levels of energy efficiency in housing: the use of duct system materials that inherently achieve airtightness and are right-sized for low-load houses, and, the ability to air seal fire separation...

Document comparing simulation results from a modified version of the EnergyGauge program to include various HVAC runtime strategies.

Research study describing experiments run in an unoccupied 1600 square foot house to evaluate the delivered performance as well as the relative performance of a SEER 21 variable capacity heat pump versus a SEER 13 heat pump.

Report analyzing results in crawlspace retrofits in multifamily buildings.

Study investigating homeowner measure package choices in the Illinois Home Performance with ENERGY STAR program compared to cost-optimal choices determined through Building Energy Optimization (BEopt) modeling software.

Case study on exhaust ventilation and corresponding outdoor air intake strategies implemented in high-performance new-construction multifamily buildings.

In this report, BSC seeks to research and report on the field monitoring of the performance of in-situ supplemental dehumidification systems in low-energy, high performance, homes in a hot-humid climate.

Technical report describing the evaluation of four different ventilation strategies for providing make-up air in high-performance, new construction multifamily buildings in the Northeast, emphasizing the challenges posed by increasing airtightness standards and the variability of system performance...

Report describing research that helps inform best practices for air-sealing multifamily buildings in the Northeast.

Case study describing novel technique for installing exterior spray foam on foundation walls that uses high-pressure water sprayer and a “hydro vac” to remove dirt along the foundation wall.

Research report assessing the moisture and cooling load impacts of airtightness and mechanical ventilation in homes in hot-humid climates.

Brochure on specifications for PV systems.