BASC Search | Building America Solution Center

Comfort in High-Performance Homes in a Hot-Humid Climate

Reference

Report describing how space-conditioning systems are operating in the field and if these systems are meeting required standards.

Approaches to 30% Energy Savings at the Community Scale in the Hot-Humid Climate

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Report describing partner approaches to achieving the Building America goal of 30% whole-house source energy savings using packages adopted at the community scale, using building projects in Florida as a reference.

Analysis of Pre-Retrofit Building and Utility Data

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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.

U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home Implementation

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Report documenting the process and outcomes involved in achieving the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program certification standards while helping homebuilders in Climate Zones 5 and 6 in the Upper Midwest achieve ZERH certification.

Deep Energy Retrofits - Over-Time, Phased Guidance

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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.

Deep Energy Retrofits - Occupant Behavior

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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.

Deep Energy Retrofits - Reducing Costs and Increasing Cost-Effectiveness

Reference

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'.

Types of Lighting

Reference

Website with consumer information about various types of lighting.

Building America Research-to-Market Plan

Reference

Report presenting the building america research to market plan.

What's Wrong with My Home? The Simple Answer May Be...You

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Information sheet discussing the differences between homeowner energy consumption trends in highly efficient homes.

Implementing a Zero Energy Ready Home Multifamily Project

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

Community-Wide Zero Energy Ready Home Standard

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Report outlining the steps developers can take to create high-performance standards on a community-wide scale.

The Home Improvement Expert

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Fact sheet poster describing a series of fact sheets and checklists for homeowners to share with contractors to help achieve cost-effective, energy-efficient retrofits for dozens of common home renovation projects.

A Business Case for Home Performance Contracting

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Report discussing opportunities and trends in the U.S. home performance contracting industry, along with market drivers such as consumer demand; federal, state, and local programs; and utility and non-governmental programs.

Home Energy Displays: Consumer Adoption and Response

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

The Role of Appraisals in Energy Efficiency Financing

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Research study identifying barriers, industry status, critical obstacles to documenting added value from energy efficiency improvements, current opportunities to support reporting about energy efficiency, and next steps toward enabling energy efficiency financing market transformation.

Using Show Homes (and Sponsorships) to Persuade Commissioning Relevancy and Factory Crafted High Performance Modular Homes

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Document providing a case study of commissioned performance measures that justify costs for these demonstration and "live" show homes.

Window Attachments Offer Added Savings

Reference

Fact sheet poster describing and comparing the energy-saving and comfort benefits of window attachment options such as low-emissivity storm windows, automated blinds, cellular shades, and solar screens, etc.

Deep Energy Retrofits - Lessons learned

Reference

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.

Evaluation of Missed Energy Saving Opportunity - Based on Illinois Home Performance Program Field Data: Homeowner Selected Upgrades Versus Cost-Optimized Solutions

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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.

Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy, ANSI/ASHRAE Standard 55-2020

Reference

Standard 55 specifies conditions for acceptable thermal environments and is intended for use in design, operation, and commissioning of buildings and other occupied spaces; is the current version of the standard, which was published in the year 2021, and is available for preview and purchase at the...

Energy Renovations Insulation - A Guide for Contractors to Share with Homeowners, Volume 17

Reference

Document providing descriptions of the many insulation options available to homeowners, along with guidance on where, when, and how to install insulation throughout your house.

Thin Triple-Pane Windows: Coming Soon to a Hardware Store Near You!

Reference

Fact sheet poster describing the energy efficiency and comfort benefits of thin triple-pane windows as compared to standard triple-pane and double-pane windows.

Geothermal (Ground-Source) Heat Pumps: Market Status, Barriers to Adoption, and Actions to Overcome Barriers

Reference

Report investigating the status of the geothermal heat pump (GHP) industry and technology in the United States, assembling GHP energy savings potential, identifying key barriers to application of GHPs, and identifying actions that could accelerate adoption of GHPs.

Building America Top Innovations 2014: Valuing Green in the Appraisal Process

Case Study

Case study describing a DOE 2014 Top Innovation on research leading to use of the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) software to auto-generate a fact-filled Green and Energy Efficiency Addendum intended for real estate appraisers.

Building America Top Innovations 2013: Building America Solution Center

Case Study

Case study describing a DOE Building America Top Innovation on the Building America Solution Center, a website developed by Pacific Northwest National Laboratory for the U.S. Department of Energy Building America program to provide quick access to information on how to build and renovate homes to be...

Technology Solutions Case Study: Combustion Safety for Appliances Using Indoor Air

Case Study

Case study describing a method for evaluating safe installation and operation of combustion appliances in homes undergoing energy efficiency upgrades where indoor air is used for combustion and venting.

Public Housing: A Tailored Approach to Energy Retrofits

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Report presenting ways public housing authorities (PHAs) can develop packages of energy efficiency retrofit measures the PHAs can cost-effectively implement with their own staff in the normal course of housing operations at the time when units are refurbished between occupancies.

Training

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What is a Contract?

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Webpage outlining the definition of contracts and how they function