Library

Checklist highlighting the requirement for metal structural connections and materials fasteners used to retrofit or construct FORTIFIED buildings less than 3,000 ft from saltwater to be suitably protected from corrosion.

Checklist describing requirements for roof sheathing along the gable end truss or rafter to achive a FORTIFIED Roof, including New Roof designations and exceptions.

Handbook providing guidance on the design and construction of foundations for homes, including insulation, air sealing, and water management details for basements, crawlspaces, and slabs.

Web article discussing the primary approaches to waterproofing concrete foundations.

Report analyzing the effect of global climate change on national interests, and providing climate predictions.

Article describing the danger of furniture tip-overs

Guide describing how and where to install flashings in order to weatherproof a roof.

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.

Report presenting a cold climate project examining and alternative approach to ground source heat pump ground loop design.

Report explaining the issues and concerns with conventional ventilated crawlspaces and to outline prescriptive measures for improvements that will create healthier and more durable spaces.

Guide by the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships on how to size heat pumps in a cold climate.

Report describing the advantages and best practices for installing heat pump water heaters (HPWH), highlighting their improved energy efficiency, reliability, and critical considerations such as condensate management, proper sizing, and optimal installation location to enhance performance and...

Webpage describing federal regulation related to excess flow valves on residential natural gas lines.

Factsheet profiling a simple modification that can be made to window air-conditioners to improve their energy efficiency.

Report providing testing methodology to evaluate structural rim header designs over openings up to 6 ft. wide and applicable to one- and two-story homes.

Report with test results that serve as a baseline of data for further material tests of other high-R wall systems and for comparison to whole-house wind pressure testing.

Report assessing the costs of home fire sprinkler systems.

Report documenting short-term test results of the Shift House and compares the results of Passive House Planning Package and Building Energy Optimization modeling of the project.

Website with articles on home ventilation and indoor air quality.

Article from The Earthbound Report on passive cooling design strategies for homes located in hot climates.

A structural insulated panel (SIP) roof has no embedded lumber in the structure, and therefore nothing substantial for attaching PV array and solar hot water mounts. Single or double lumber splines could be put into the panels, or I-joists at 4-foot intervals could be added.

Report by the FEMA Mitigation Assessment Team on damages due to Hurricane Irma which struck Florida in September 2017, and recommendations for construction for future disaster resistance and preparedness.

Report detailing the design and construction of 10 new houses under the Wyandotte Neighborhood Stabilization Program 2.

Report exploring four questions to determine the level of risk associated with adding drained exterior insulation to the exterior of an existing home during an energy retrofit.

Journal article presenting modeling of residential gas water heaters via dynamic simulation models to determine the effect of the pilot light on their annual energy consumption.

Report presenting improved air conditioner (AC) and heat pump (HP) modeling methods in the context of whole-building simulation tools.

Website providing the technical specifications and related documents for home builders, subcontractors, architects, and other housing professionals interested in certifying a home to the EPA's Indoor airPLUS program requirements.

Article describing the correct installation of clothes dryer exhaust ducts.

Article describing the insurance savings of a home with a hip roof versus a gable roof from the perspective of an insurance advisor.

Article describing walls and moisture development on them.

Report summarizing results of testing emerging combo water heating technologies under controlled laboratory operations, that differentiate the performance of the various packaged equipment configurations being offered.

Report providing information about laboratory testing of four residential window air conditioners.

2017 version of a standard covering requirements for single- and dual-pane windows, glazed side-hinged door systems, sliding doors, tubular daylighting devices, and unit skylights developed jointly by the American Architectural Manufacturers Association (AAMA), the Canadian Standards Association...

Information about LED lighting technology.

Report presenting long-term evaluation results from a hot-dry climate project that examines thermal and HVAC performance in a highly efficient home.

Brochure describing use of low-e storm windows as effective ways weatherization programs can increase the efficiency of windows without significant costs.

Technical report assessing the market for Low-e storm windows based on market data, case studies, and recent experience with weatherization deployment programs.

Guidebook providing useful examples of high performance retrofit techniques for the building enclosure of wood frame residential construction in a cold and somewhat wet climate.

Document providing information on the impact of various defects and the potential energy savings that can result from proper maintenance, and describing a two-step process for diagnosing and correcting faults. This document is targeted towards home performance contractors who are relatively...

Project discussing buried or encapsulated ducts and their pros and cons.

Document intended for designers and installers of hydronic heating systems interested in maximizing the overall system efficiency of condensing boilers when coupled with baseboard convectors. It is applicable to new and retrofit projects.

Report providing guidance on how to implement a compact duct system inside a plenum truss bulkhead of a one-story, slab-on-grade home.

Document covering the technical aspects of buried and insulated ducts (BEDs), as well as the advantages, disadvantages, and risks of BEDs compared to alternative strategies.

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.

Research study analyzing measured energy savings from a moderate retrofit by comparing post-retrofit performance with measured pre-retrofit monitored data.

Research study outlining results of monitoring a low temperature heat pump.

A presentation describing the standards regarding who is responsible for what part of the design to ensure the roof truss is properly designed and braced.

Discussion of building sheathing.

Standard using performance-based principles to determine dead, live, soil, flood, snow, rain, atmospheric ice, earthquake, and wind loads, and their combinations for general structural design. This version of the standard was published in the year 2010 and is available in both digital and print...

Report providing a resource that communities can use to identify and evaluate a range of potential mitigation actions for reducing risk to natural hazards and disasters.