BASC Search | Building America Solution Center

Cool Roofs and Walls to Reduce Heat Gain

Guide

Guide providing information on how cool roofs and wall cladding surfaces work, which climates can most benefit from them, and how to find and select cool roofs and wall cladding products.

Pier foundations, hurricane strapping, borate- and pressure-treated lumber, and high-density spray foam insulation help protect this New Orleans home from costal flooding and storms (Source: Green Coast Enterprises).

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A dense concentration of buildings and pavement can create the Urban Heat Island Effect, where local temperatures can be several degrees higher than the surrounding areas

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Design Snow Loads Map for the United States, adapted from ASCE 7-10, Figure 7-1

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Construct Roofs and Attics for Ice Dam Prevention

Guide

Guide describing how ice dams form and how roofs can be constructed to prevent them.

U.S. Wind Regions

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All populated regions in the United States can experience an extreme heat event, whether northern or southern, humid or dry, or urban or rural

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Careful landscaping can preserve roof-top solar exposure and provide shading to help control solar gain through windows.

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Designing Houses That Keep Their Cool

Reference

Article from Green Building Advisor on strategies to take when building homes to reduce the need for air conditioning, including insulation, windows, site selection, and roofing.

Conway Street Apartments: A Multifamily Deep Energy Retrofit

Reference

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

Air-Impermeable Insulation for Condensation Control in Unvented Attics, per IRC Table 806.5.

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Field Evaluation of Advances in Energy-Efficiency Practices for Manufactured Homes

Reference

Report on the field evaluation of whole-building approaches and estimation of the relative contributions of select technologies toward reducing energy use related to space conditioning in new manufactured homes.

DOE ZERH HIA 2014 Case Study: One Sky Homes, Cottle Zero Net Energy Home, San Jose, CA

Case Study

Case study describing a DOE Zero Energy Ready Home 2014 Housing Innovation Award winner that scored HERS 69 without PV and -1 with PV.

Landscaping to Reduce Cooling Load

Guide

Guide describing ways to use landscaping to keep a home cooler.

Attic Radiant Barriers

Guide

Guide describing application of a radiant barrier layer in the attic to block radiant heat transfer between hot surfaces and heat-absorbing surfaces.