Library

Article outlining the key issues related to the protection of the building envelope against seismic forces.

Description of California Senate Bill SB 1898, which requires the sale of new seismic gas shutoff devices sold in California to be certified by the State Architect.

Fact sheet describing guidance concerning lot selection and building siting considerations for coastal residential buildings, including factors that constrain siting decisions, coastal setback lines, common siting problems, and suggestions for builders, designers, and owners; also published in FEMA...

Report from FEMA describing techniques for floodproofing structures.

Article describing various types of caulks and sealants, their formulas and best uses.

Step-by-step guide demonstrating replacement window selection process.

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.

Technical study exploring the impact of different installation faults on heat pump performance in a single-family house.

Second part of an article series focusing on servicing high efficiency modcon boilers. This part focuses on paperwork and follow-up communication with the homeowner for scheduling annual maintenance.

Article describing the author's experiences in owning and servicing a modcon boiler.

Description webpage providing information about home fire safety during sever weather for consumers.

Website with consumer information about duct cleaning.

High-density sidewall cavity insulation can be a major comfort and savings boost. It saves energy by slowing both conductive and convective losses, but only if the right things are done and done right. This always requires site-specific thinking.

Website providing the pros and cons of different siding materials for home building, including wood, vinyl, fiber cement, stucco, brick, metal, and stone.

Fact sheet describing basic design and installation tips for various types of siding for high-wind regions, including vinyl, wood, and fiber cement and discusses sustainable design issues; also published in FEMA P-499 “Home Builder’s Guide to Coastal Construction: Technical Fact Sheet Series.”

Study conducted to help determine cost-effective solutions for heating and cooling houses that are designed to be energy efficient.

Website providing information about INSULSPAN structurally insulated panels.

A website providing information on how to properly size a water heater based on tank size, volume, peak hour demand and other factors.

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

How hard can it be to insulate a flat sheet of concrete? I mean you only have three choices – on the top, on the bottom, or on the edge. OK, you might have some combination of the three as well.

Manual that identifies certain leakage limits for ducts and outlines procedures for testing ducts for conformity with air leakage limits that are set forth in a designer’s project specification.

Fact sheet describing building envelope performance measures applicable to residential and small commercial construction.

Paper describing the development and testing of an affordable net-zero energy house in Lenoir City, Tennessee.

A website discussing the use of consumer-grade small electric wind systems such as turbines to lower energy costs.

Technical report providing site selection guidance for installation of small wind turbines.

Website providing consumers with resources to find, select and install heat pump water heaters.

Article describing building smoke control systems.

Initiatives of smoke-free housing policies in New York State.

Toolkits for residents and owner/managers who live and work in federally assisted housing.

Report informing building stakeholders about the risks a snow event poses to their buildings, preventative measures to take before the snow season, and actions that should be taken before, during, and after a snow event.

Webpage providing information about design snow loads and a free interactive ground snow load mapping tool for the contiguous United States, as well as snow load calculation methods.

Guide providing detailed explanations of the snow load provisions contained in Standard ASCE/SEI 7-16: Minimum Design Loads and Associated Criteria for Buildings and Other Structures.

The website by U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) National Water and Climate Center tracks snowpack sensor stations at multiple sites across the country providing an interactive US map of snow loads.

Website article describing the way solar panels are coupled to AC and DC battery energy storage systems.

SEIA resources page.

Tool determining the most economical and efficient photovoltaic array location and position.

Guidelines to assist builders in designing and constructing homes equipped with a set of features that make the installation of solar energy systems after the completion of the home’s construction easier and less expensive.

Document providing incident solar radiation data and window overhang sizing guidance for multiple locations across the U.S.

The Solar Rating & Certification Corporation is the leading solar heating and cooling product certification program in North America, certifying to the requirements of International and Uniform Codes and Standards

Report identifying the important aspects of building design and construction to enable installation of solar photovoltaic and heating systems at some time after the building is constructed.

A research paper exploring the design, installation, repair and maintenance of solar water and pool heating technologies.

The RERH specifications and checklists take a builder and a project design team through the steps of assessing a home’s solar resource potential and defining the minimum structural and system components needed to support a solar energy system.

Specifications to assist builders in designing and constructing homes equipped with a set of features that make the installation of solar energy systems after the completion of the home’s construction easier and less expensive.

Outlines the minimum criteria for a solar water heating system installed by a Solar Water Heating Program trade ally under Energy Trust of Oregon’s Solar Water Heating Program.

California Energy Commission report presenting the concept of cool walls and providing guidelines for their building- and climate-appropriate use to conserve energy and reduce emissions.

Manual describing the installation process for Craneboard insulated vinyl siding; while installation is similar across insulated vinyl siding products, see manufacturers for specific guidance.

Handheld solar site analysis tool capturing whole-horizon images for a site and generating shading analysis reports.

Factsheet describing the use of rigid foam insulation to meet energy efficiency requirements and minimize fire risks.

Job Process sheet for the manufactured housing industry showing how to split and notch insulation batts to fit around electrical boxes and wiring in a factory production environment.

SPFA website homepage.