Library

Article describing rammed earth construction

App developed by HUD to assist homeowners with lead paint and other hazards common to older homes.

Guide describing ways builders can block off entry points and otherwise make homes inhospitable to all manner of pests.

Website describing the U.S. Department of Energy's residential buildings program.

U.S. DOE report summarizing findings from literature and research relevant to HVAC installation practices.

Report providing guidance on indoor air quality in single-family and multifamily housing for designers, builders, property managers, homeowners, buyers, and renters.

Resource that differentiates products in the marketplace that meet WaterSense requirements.

Recovery advisory guide providing guidance on existing code requirements as well as recommend best practices for attachment design, installation, and maintenance of rooftop solar panels to increase panel wind resistance in the U.S. Virgin Islands after Hurricane Maria.

Web page providing an overview of room-level air conditioning systems such as window units and mini-splits.

Article describing San Francisco and how impending seismic activity may affect modern skyscrapers.

Reports describing a mathematical methodology for assessing the seismic performance of buildings.

Document serving as a resource to assist decision-makers in understanding how networked lighting control system attributes can satisfy project objectives at an appropriate cost and functionality

Website tool that can search for trees by name or characteristics and retrieve data describing tree attributes including site preferences and general characteristics and considerations.

Web page describing the basics of how to size and build a battery bank for electricity storage.

SEIA resources page.

Standard that describes the minimum requirements for residential buildings to achieve acceptable indoor air quality via dwelling-unit ventilation, local mechanical exhaust, and source control. This version of the standard was published in the year 2022, and is available for preview and purchase at...

Website providing a link for purchasing NFPA 703, Standard for Fire Retardant—Treated Wood and Fire–Retardant Coatings for Building Materials.

Website providing a link for purchasing NFPA 1144, Standard for Reducing Structure Ignition Hazards from Wildland Fire.

Standard describing methods for testing the airtightness of buildings and HVAC equipment.

Standard specification covering the properties of a cured single- or multicomponent cold-applied elastomeric joint sealant for sealing, caulking, or glazing operations on buildings, plazas, and decks for vehicular or pedestrian use, and types of construction other than highway and airfield pavements...

A specification covering the application of Insulating Concrete Forms (ICFs) that act as permanent formwork for cast-in-place reinforced concrete beams & walls which was published in the year 2022 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Test method that measures the capture efficiency of wall-mounted domestic range hoods under controlled conditions in a test chambers which available for preview and purchase at the link and was published in the year 2018.

Standard describing two techniques for measuring air leakage rates through a building envelope in buildings that may be configured to a single zone which was published in the year 2022 and is available for preview and purchase at the reference link.

Website providing information on all types of pest management for multi-family housing.

ENERGY STAR webpage describing the benefits of storm windows and a link to a product list.

Webpage providing an ENERGY STAR climate zone map and criteria for ENERGY STAR storm windows per climate zone.

Article describing suggested food supplies, sanitation, safety, and cooking for during and after an emergency.

Presentation on sustainable development including water conservation, passive solar, daylighting, natural ventilation, and land use.

A story about bees building a hive in the drainage plane behind the brick veneer siding. The bees entered the wall through unprotected drainage holes.

DOE-sponsored report describing the experimental design and results of testing the energy performance of Hunter Douglas double-cell cellular shades under various control schemes in the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Lab Homes.

Presentation describing how to make a Corsi-Rosenthal Box for air cleaning.

Article describing a DIY air cleaning system for filtering smoke and viruses.

Report describing use of the Energy in Modular (EMOD) method to design, produce, and deliver affordable, net-zero energy, low-carbon, and healthier buildings through industrialized (factory) construction of modular buildings; modeling of whole buildings and subassemblies of components, pods, panels...

Article from Texas A&M University and the University of Maryland analyzing why and how urban flooding happens and what can be done to mitigate damage.

Conference paper summarizing the relative performance of currently available Heat Pump Water Heaters (HPWH) models, the energy implications of different installation locations (garage, basement, or conditioned space) and ducting configurations (exhaust ducting, full ducting, or no ducting), as well...

Article describing a field study that test ventilation performance in nine homes and found current ventilation was inadequate to remove PM2.5 and CO2 levels; however, a directly exhausting range hood can reduce peak PM2.5 concentrations by 75% or more.

Technical report describing the impact of thermal bridging in balcony connections, presenting alternative design strategies, performance analyses, and case studies to enhance energy efficiency and reduce carbon emissions in building envelopes.

Blog article summarizing the effects of extreme heat on air quality and lung health.

Webpage with data on the 20 largest wildfires in California that occurred between the year 1932 and present day.

Website regarding the town of Marana's services and departments.

Guide addressing troubleshooting and frequently asked questions about water pressure.

Article describing water leak detection and modes of testing (video camera inspection, hydrostatic pressure, electronic listening, isolation, and digital testing).

Presentation report detailing Heat Pump Water Heater (HPWH) interaction with space conditioning systems in real-life test scenarios that explains some of the problems arising from these interaction and information that can be used to make the system more efficient.

NAFA’s user guide for understanding ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 52.2-2012.

Interactive map maintained by the USDA showing plant hardiness zones throughout the U.S.

Webpage describing the use of cool roofs to reduce heat islands and and benefits and costs.

Article describing a method for flashing roof vent boots, describing how to flash the pipe, how to flash over and under the pan, and finish by shaping the shingles, as well as addressing potential water leakage by adding an additional seal with EPDM flashing tape with a butyl adhesive backing to the...

Standard that provides procedures and methods for meeting minimum ventilation and indoor air quality requirements to engineers, design professionals, owners, and jurisdictional authorities where model codes have been adopted. This is the current version of the standard, which was published in the...

Website describing proper methods for installing vinyl siding on homes.