Library

Case study on the design and evaluation of extended plate and beam, located in Mount Joy Pennsylvania.

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 on adding insulation to load-bearing mass masonry buildings.

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 analyzing design heating load sizing methods for superinsulated homes in cold climates and comparing them to the actual energy usage to determine if the building load calculation methodology should be changed for calculating the design heating load of these homes.

Information sheet about reservoir claddings.

Report presenting the building america research to market plan.

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

Document presenting some of the key technical properties of many of the most common building materials.

Case study about the grid integration of electrical vehicle supply equipment.

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

Article describing correct ways to attach rigid insulation to the exterior of commercial and residential buildings.

Report on improving passive design adoption rates.

Report on a simplified test procedure for combustion safety that is easier to implement and should produce fewer false positives than the previous procedure.

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

Report on experiments comparing the cooling and heating seasonal and peak demand performance of different variable-capacity air conditioning and heat pump units.

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.

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.

Guidance document on deep energy retrofits.

Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Design and Construction Process chapter provides detailed guidance for each process phase: pre-planning, planning, construction, test-out and post-occupancy.

Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Lessons Learned chapter focuses on successful deep energy retrofit projects throughout the U.S.

Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Occupant Behavior chapter discusses how to assess homeowner behavior patterns and use these patterns to enhance overall energy savings.

Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Over Time, Phased Guidance chapter presents a phased approach to deep energy retrofits.

Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Reducing costs and Increasing Cost-Effectiveness chapter provides suggestions for controlling deep retrofit costs, including both 'do's' and 'don'ts'.

Part of a larger LBNL report (Deep Energy Retrofit Guidance for the Building America Solutions Center), the Source Energy and Carbon Decisions chapter helps users carefully assess the impacts of switching from gas to electricity for heating end-uses, using source energy and/or carbon emissions...

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...

Case study describing foundation wall moisture studies at a research facility in Minnesota run by Building America team NorthernSTAR.

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.

Report on high-R wall design called extended plate and beam that uses foam sheathing insulation with wall framing.

The New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) is interested in finding cost-effective solutions for deep energy retrofits (DERs) related to exterior wall insulation in a cold climate, with targets of 50% peak load reduction and 50% space conditioning energy savings.

Report of a field evaluation of four novel roof designs to see how each design would reduce space-conditioned energy use so that the knowledge gained could be applied to the design of new manufactured homes.

Report on field monitoring of inverter-driven ASHPs in cold-climate homes.

Report to understand the long-term moisture performance of unvented roof assemblies with fibrous insulation.

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

Research report presenting results of short term tests on measures used in an energy efficiency retrofit project in California.

Report describing the significant potential for energy use reductions through heat pump water heaters, which have been a crucial part of Northwest power plans for decades and have recently achieved substantial savings with new integrated models and climate specifications.

Article from NREL on wall construction guidelines for homes in hot climate zones.

Report assessing slab-on-grade foundation insulation energy savings.

Report summarizing the status of a central hydronic heating system project in multifamily housing at the conclusion of the 20112012 heating season.