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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 - 35 of 35

Housewrap, FEMA Technical Fact Sheet No. 5.1

Author(s)
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Organization(s)
FEMA
Publication Date
Fact sheet describing the function of housewrap, its attributes, and common problems associated with its use, including housewrap vs. building paper and housewrap installation; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Moisture Barrier Systems, FEMA Technical Fact Sheet No. 1.9

Author(s)
Federal Emergency Management Agency
Organization(s)
FEMA
Publication Date
Fact sheet describing how typical wall moisture barrier systems work, the moisture barrier system and common problems associated with them; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Retrofitting America: A 1970s Home Energy Efficiency Analysis

Author(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
Steven Winter Associates
Organization(s)
CARB,
SWA
Publication Date
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.

Builders Challenge Quality Criteria Support Document

Author(s)
Baechler Michael C,
Bartlett Rosemarie,
Gilbride Theresa L,
Love Pat M
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
ORNL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Document providing guidance to U.S. home builders who want to accept the challenge.

Mold: Ignorance Is Not Bliss

Author(s)
Puttagunta Srikanth
Organization(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
CARB,
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA
Publication Date
Information sheet about mold mitigation.

WPPI GreenMax-Scheller Residence: Near Zero Energy Monitoring Summary

Author(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
Steven Winter Associates
Organization(s)
CARB,
SWA
Publication Date
Research study describing demonstration homes that provided a wealth of information for the building community in terms of the science, effort, and cost of increasing the energy efficiency of our nation's housing stock.

Low Cost Interior Duct Systems for High Performance Homes in Hot Climates

Author(s)
Fonorow Ken,
Jenkins Dave,
Thomas-Rees Stephanie,
Chandra Subrato
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC,
Florida Home Energy and Resources Organization,
Florida HERO,
Energy Smart Home Plans,
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Publication Date
Document presenting a cost effective method that was used by four builders in the Gainesville, FL area to construct interior ducts in over a dozen site built homes.

Building America House Simulation Protocols - Revised October 2010

Author(s)
Hendron Robert,
Engebrecht Cheryn
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Report summarizing the guidelines for developing and reporting analytical results in a consistent and meaningful manner for all home energy uses.

40% Whole-House Energy Savings in the Marine Climate, Volume 11

Author(s)
Baechler Michael C,
Gilbride Theresa L,
Hefty Marye G,
Cole Pam C,
Williamson Jennifer,
Love Pat M
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
ORNL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Report providing builders in marine 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.

Pilot Evaluation of Energy Savings and Persistence from Residential Energy Demand Feedback Devices in a Hot Climate

Author(s)
Parker Danny S,
Hoak David,
Cummings Jamie E
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC
Publication Date
Report briefly reviewing past research on the effects of occupant behavior on residential energy use and then covering a two year pilot evaluation of a low cost residential energy feedback system installed in twenty case study homes in Florida.

Example Procedures for Developing Acceptance-Range Criteria for BESTEST-EX

Author(s)
Judkoff Ron,
Polly Benjamin,
Bianchi Marcus V A,
Neymark Joel
Organization(s)
National Renewable Energy Laboratory,
NREL,
J. Neymark & Associates
Publication Date
Document providing an example procedure for establishing acceptance-range criteria to assess results from software undergoing BESTEST-EX.

Exploring Cost-Effective High Performance Residential Retrofits for Affordable Housing in the Hot Humid Climate

Author(s)
McIlvaine Janet,
Sutherland Karen,
Schleith Kevin,
Chandra Subrato
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC,
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL
Publication Date
Report presenting the process of a residential retrofit project for houses in the states of Florida and Alabama, including findings at the time of reporting and highlights of the first home to meet the target HERS Index of 70.

ReVision Home: Weatherization Products

Author(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
Steven Winter Associates
Organization(s)
CARB,
SWA
Publication Date
Information sheet about envelope and roof moisture control retrofit for a home.

ReVision Home: Windows and Patio Doors

Author(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
Steven Winter Associates
Organization(s)
CARB,
SWA
Publication Date
Information sheet about window retrofit strategies for hot-dry climates.

Side-by-Side Testing of Water Heating Systems: Results from 2009 - 2010 Evaluation

Author(s)
Colon Carlos J,
Parker Danny S
Organization(s)
Florida Solar Energy Center,
FSEC,
Building America Partnership for Improved Residential Construction,
BA-PIRC,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Report comparing the performance of seven differing types of residential water heating systems in a side-by-side test configuration over a full year period.

Central Fan Integrated Ventilation Systems, Info-610

Author(s)
Building Science Corporation
Organization(s)
BSC
Publication Date
Report describing ventilation system design, including a central fan integrated supply (CFIS) system, made up of a 6-inch outdoor air intake duct connected to the return side of the air handler with a fan cycling control to make sure the fan runs a programmed minimum amount of time.

Retrofit Techniques and Technologies: Air Sealing, Volume 10

Author(s)
Baechler Michael C,
Gilbride Theresa L,
Hefty Marye G,
Cole Pam C,
Williamson Jennifer,
Love Pat M
Organization(s)
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory,
PNNL,
Oak Ridge National Laboratory,
ORNL,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Report identifying the steps to take, with the help of a qualified home performance contractor, to seal unwanted air leaks while ensuring healthy levels of ventilation and avoiding sources of indoor air pollution.

Moisture-Safe Unvented Wood Roof Systems, RR-1001

Author(s)
Smith John,
Smegal Jonathan,
Straube John
Organization(s)
University of Waterloo,
Building Science Corporation,
BSC
Publication Date
Document describing a hygrothermal modeling study, including all of the US climate zones, a range of interior humidity levels and numerous arrangements and types of insulation.

Practical Residential Wall Systems: R-30 and Beyond

Author(s)
Aldrich Robb,
Arena Lois,
Zoeller William
Organization(s)
Steven Winter Associates,
SWA,
U.S. Department of Energy,
DOE
Publication Date
Document with information about the most practical methods to achieve whole-wall performance of R-30 or above.

ReVision Home: Standing Seam Metal Cool Roofing

Author(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
Steven Winter Associates
Organization(s)
CARB,
SWA
Publication Date
Information about a roof retrofit using a metal, cool roof system.

ReVision Home: Plumbing Fixtures

Author(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
Steven Winter Associates
Organization(s)
CARB,
SWA
Publication Date
Information sheet describing tankless hot water heating systems in existing homes.

ReVision Home: Exterior Insulation Finish (EIFS)

Author(s)
Steven Winter Associates,
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings
Organization(s)
CARB,
SWA
Publication Date
Information sheet about exterior insulation in the hot-dry climate zones.

ReVision Home: Heating and Cooling Equipment

Author(s)
Steven Winter Associates,
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings
Organization(s)
CARB,
SWA
Publication Date
Information sheet about HVAC equipment design to maximize energy efficiency in the hot-dry climate zone.

ReVision Home: Tankless Water Heater

Author(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
Steven Winter Associates
Organization(s)
CARB,
SWA
Publication Date
Information sheet describing tankless hot water heating systems in existing homes.

ReVision Home: Solar Hot Water

Author(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
Steven Winter Associates
Organization(s)
CARB,
SWA
Publication Date
Information sheet describing solar hot water systems in existing homes.

ReVision Home: Building Insulation

Author(s)
Steven Winter Associates,
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings
Organization(s)
CARB,
SWA
Publication Date
Information sheet about insulation retrofits for the hot-dry climate zones.

ReVision Home: On-Site Renewable Energy

Author(s)
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings,
Steven Winter Associates
Organization(s)
CARB,
SWA
Publication Date
Information sheet describing solar PV upgrade for an existing homes.