Library

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

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

Best Practices document providing an introduction to current photovoltaic and solar thermal building practices.

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

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.

Research study presenting results of an existing home monitoring project designed to measure wall cavity moisture characteristics.

Website providing information on low-energy and standard cooling systems, with a focus on saving energy.

Research study investigating the factors influencing consumer adoption of HEDs and evaluating the resulting electricity consumption.

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.

Report on a project that enhanced the HWSIM distribution system model to more accurately model pipe heat transfer.

Website for consumers describing heat pump water heater technology and linking to retailers and installers.

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.”

Report detailing an evaluation of Orlando Utilities Commission (OUC) residential energy efficiency demand side management (DSM) programs to assess their impacts and relative measures of energy and economic performance.

Report about measurements of three recent vintage dishwashers of very different efficiencies showing that while they are substantially more efficient than older dishwashers.

Report providing the results of an analysis of humidity control and variable refrigerant flow (VRF) system efficiency in three new multifamily buildings in New York, NY.

Report providing information about energy-efficient heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) equipment options to help homeowners cut their energy use, reduce their carbon footprint, and increase their homes comfort, health, and safety.

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

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

Report evaluating the relative effectiveness of various control and distribution strategies to improve hydronic space heating performance in existing low-rise multifamily buildings

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.

Report presenting system design packages for cold and mixed-humid climates.

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.

The study described in this white paper is based on building energy modeling with an important focus on the indoor humidity impacts of ventilation.

Research study describing the impact resistance performance of advanced framed wall systems with insulating sheathing as the primary sheathing from wind blown debris.

Report on on lessons learned from building one multifamily home to the Zero Energy Ready Home program requirements.

Report summarizing approaches to addressing duct leakage in hot humid climates.

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

Presentation on Improving Air-Conditioner and Heat Pump Modeling.

Report examining the impacts that common installation practices and age- induced equipment degradation may have on the installed performance of natural gas furnaces, as measured by steady-state efficiency and AFUE.

Report providing information about techniques and approaches to improve the efficiency of recessed lighting.

Article explaining installing cavity insulation.

Report with guidance for installing windows with foam sheathing on wood-frame walls.

Fact sheet describing the newly developed Ventilation-Integrated Comfort System (VICS) that reduces space requirements and eliminates costly ductwork for separate heating, cooling, and ventilation systems, all while enhancing performance, addressing the demand for energy-efficient homes, and...

Report describing the objective evaluation of space conditioning interactions between heat pump water heaters and home heating systems during winter 2016-2017, revealing a smaller than anticipated impact on space conditioning loads.

Article discussing indoor water management.

Report about promoting energy efficiency for Hilton Head Island.

Report that describes BSC's Houses That Work II (HTWII) climate-specific technical resource, beginning with an overall HTWII introduction and four sections explaining the four most important hygro-thermal climate regions: Hot-Humid, Mixed-Humid, Cold, and Hot-Dry/Mixed-Dry.

Research study describing field testing performed in 32 two-story Florida homes to characterize wind washing failures of the house air and thermal boundary.

Report targeting the growing number of homes utilizing deep retrofit measures and new construction practices to realize sufficiently lower infiltration levels that require mechanical ventilation as prescribed by ASHRAE Standard 62.2.

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 presenting lab evaluation of five heat pump water heaters available in the US market today.

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

Report proposing mini-split heat pumps as a new retrofit option to replace resistance heating in the Pacific Northwest.

Report documenting the measured performance of six residential ENERGY STAR vapor compression dehumidifiers.

Research study to help development of an application protocol for aerosol sealing of building shells that will eventually be demonstrated on buildings in retrofit and new construction.

Report examining performance measures in the context of a large-scale renovation project.

Guide describing sound mitigation measures to lower building natural disaster vulnerability to assist local officials and community decision makers in coastal areas.

Report on the long-term performance of mini-split heat pumps.