Library

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.

Website discussing building foundation problems caused by settling soil in Colorado.

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.

Report documenting the results of an in-depth evaluation of thermal comfort for two potential net zero-energy homes (NZEHs) in Massachusetts.

Report about instrumentation and limited short-term testing completed on a retrofit unoccupied test house in Fresno, California.

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.

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.

Document containing a 3D drawing (CAD) of advanced framing details.

Report about a hybrid condensing water heater (thermal efficiency = 0.973, energy factor = 0.95) installed in an occupied home in Sacramento, California, and monitored for one year to determine the actual in situ efficiency.

A website explaining how to properly dispose of old refrigeration and air-conditioning equipment.

Document presenting step-by-step process for installing rigid insulating sheathing over wood studs or house wrap.

Article describing research encouraging use of exterior insulation to warm interior sheathing surfaces in walls and roof assemblies to reduce the likelihood of condensation during cold weather

Report focusing on building envelopes that have been enhanced with phase change materials (PCMs), which can simultaneously reduce total cooling loads and shift peak-hour loads.

Article describing strategies for reducing the risk of ice dam formation on roofs in winter.

Report describing the progress toward and issues related to developing a usable, standardized, empirical data-based software accuracy test suite.

Report presenting a parametric analysis using a numerical model of a new concept in desiccant and evaporative air conditioning.

Article from Green Building Advisor on strategies to take when building homes to reduce the need for air conditioning, including insulation, windows, site selection, and roofing.

Research report with results from field tests in two homes in Austin, Texas, from October 2011 to June 2012 to evaluate the comfort performance of ductless mini-split heat pumps

Report demonstrating how the initiative achieves Building America (BA) goals of 30%-50% energy savings in multifamily dwellings in the hot-humid climate zone.

Journal article presenting a discussion of the state-of-the- art in electricity management in smart homes, the various enabling technologies that will accelerate this concept, and topics around consumer behavior with respect to energy usage.

Report outlining the steps of translating a new home construction scope of work (SOW) to SOW for retrofit.

A FAQ explaining the purpose of the Energy Independence and Security Act, a law which sets energy efficiency standards for lightbulbs.

Document providing a resource to help contractors renovate historic houses, while addressing issues such as building durability, indoor air quality, and occupant health, safety, and comfort.

Research study examining efficiency retrofit opportunities, typical renovation practices, and pathways for achieving U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) goals for existing homes in Florida.

Report investigating performance and energy savings potential of heat pump water heaters.

Report using pre- and post-system upgrade data to analyze the energy savings associated with Iowa's HVAC SAVE program for space heating.

Report describing a comprehensive analysis on energy savings from multiple types of shading devices in multiple climate zones.

Document presenting a simple starting point to determine the most cost-effective Energy Savings Measure Packages (ESMP) for existing homes to achieve 15% and 30% savings in 37 locations across the United States.

A standard providing minimum energy efficiency requirements for buildings that are not low-rise residential buildings.

Factsheet describing the benefits of purchasing and installing ENERGY STAR rated fans and ventilation products.

ENERGY STAR factsheet describing the HVAC Quality Installation Program

EPA's market report about residential clothes dryers.

Report describing the evaluation and selection of ventilation systems for homes retrofitted for energy aesthetic and health/safety improvements in Las Vegas.

Research study evaluating operating conditions required to maintain uniform mixing, within high performance homes, under both heating and cooling conditions.

Research study simulation adapting and applies the general framework described in Building Energy Simulation Test for Existing Homes for self-testing residential building energy model calibration methods.

Report exploring feasibility of designing prescriptive retrofit measure packages for typical Chicago region multifamily buildings in order to achieve 25% source energy savings.

Report summarizing post-retrofit results for 13 existing homes in a deep energy retrofit pilot program.

Research study that utilizes EnergyPlus equipped with the moisture capacitance model to analyze the indoor relative humidity in three home types.

Report evaluating opportunities to improve and streamline delivery of residential retrofit measures.

Research study documenting market-ready energy solutions to improve the efficiency of new affordable housing in the marine climate of Washington State.

Research study examining the effective moisture penetration depth (EMPD) model and its suitability for building simulations.

Report describing research testing results on roof truss to wall connections in light frame wood systems.

Report examining implementation of an exterior insulation and over-clad strategy for brick masonry buildings in Chicago.

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.

Report about an expert meeting focused on issues surrounding cladding attachment and performance of walls with exterior insulating sheathing.

Expert meeting on the topic of performance guarantees and financing vehicles for energy efficiency upgrades.

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.

Expert meeting report describing the need for greater understanding of foundation systems including moisture and insulation issues.

Expert meeting held to discuss simplified space conditioning systems in low load homes, including the relationship between advanced thermal enclosures, space conditioning systems and comfort.

Expert meeting report aimed at a greater understanding of the windows research that Building America partners and national laboratories are engaged in to help professionals and consumers choose best practice strategies.