Research Reports are technical reports written for researchers but accessible to design professionals and builders. These reports typically provide an in-depth study of a particular topic or describe the results of a research project. They are often peer reviewed and also provide support for advice given in our Building Science Digests. The most recent documents posted are at the top of the list below.
This article was written to tie together and summarize the various papers on unvented conditioned cathedralized attics found on our website.
An examination of five different systems that show how to cool and dehumidify inside air while maintaining sufficient introduction of outside air for ventilation efficiently and cost-effectively.
Heat loss from basements accounts for a significant portion of the energy loss from a home. In many jurisdictions, basement insulation is a building code requirement. Cost usually determines the type of insulation system used.
Twenty homes were tested and monitored in the hot-humid climate of Houston, Texas, U.S.A., to evaluate the humidity control performance and operating cost of six different integrated dehumidification and ventilation systems that could be applied by production homebuilders. Fourteen houses, that also met measured energy efficiency criteria, had one of the six directly- or indirectly-integrated dehumidification and ventilation systems. Three reference houses had the same energy efficiency measures and controlled mechanical ventilation, while three other reference houses met code minimums for energy efficiency and did not have mechanical ventilation. Temperature and relative humidity were monitored at four living-space locations and in the conditioned attic where the space-conditioning equipment and air-distribution ducts were located. Equipment operational time was monitored for heating, cooling, dehumidification, and ventilation. Results showed that energy efficiency measures, combined with controlled mechanical ventilation, change the sensible and latent cooling load fractions such that supplemental dehumidification, in addition to that provided by the central cooling system, is required to maintain indoor relative humidity below 60% throughout the year. The system providing the best overall value, including humidity control, first cost, and operating cost, involved a standard dehumidifier located in a hall closet with a louvered door and central-fan-integrated supply ventilation with fan cycling.
This is a report describing the test methodology and results for experiments run on two test houses at the Bonita Springs development in Fort Myers, FL. The goal was to determine the effect of attic ventilation in a hot-humid climate; previous work had shown that little to no benefit is derived from ventilation in terms of energy use, and that it is detrimental for moisture control. Two houses with identical orientations and plans were compared; one was ventilated at the typical 1:300 ratio, and the other had sealed vents. This work was conducted in order to move houses in hot-humid climates forward in technology in their building envelope and HVAC systems.
Building America is a program of the U.S. Department of Energy, in which teams of architects, engineers, builders, equipment manufacturers, and others collaborate in a systems engineering approach to produce homes that use up to 50 percent less energy to operate.
An hourly simulation study using DOE2.1E was conducted to determine the annual difference in energy consumption between various ventilation options in different climates.
Based on Building America experience, this report is about selecting furnaces, water heaters, both or sometimes just one to accomplish both space heating and domestic hot water.
The general principle of building durability has two components: buildings should be suited to their environment and the laws of physics must be followed. We tend to ignore the first and find the second inconvenient.
Every exterior cladding system needs an air space and drainage plane for performance and durability. This article presents the right materials and spaces for most exterior claddings—brick, stucco, and wood, metal and vinyl lap siding.
Residential ventilation systems can be categorized as supply, exhaust, or balanced systems. This effort focused on establishing a design methodology for central-fan-integrated supply ventilation systems.
Understanding the significance of the complex flow and pressure distribution problems created by the interaction of the building envelope with the mechanical system and climate can lead to changes in building design, commissioning, operations, maintenance, diagnostics and rehabilitation.
Current work is focusing on the performance and durability of unvented-cathedralized attics in hot-humid climates with both tile and asphalt shingle roofing.
A residential attic model, contained in the finite element computer program FSEC 3.0, was empirically aligned with measured attic data from three roof research facilities in Florida and Illinois.
Side-by-side energy testing and monitoring was conducted on two houses in Louisville, KY.
The effects of solar heating potential and nocturnal cooling potential are simulated in a controlled indoor environment and extensive measurements are made along and between the boundary surfaces. Air delivered to the test section is controlled to close tolerances in temperature, humidity and flow rate. Steady state conditions, step changes, functional changes or real weather conditions can be simulated. Accurate measurements are taken at the inlet and outlet of the test section to determine the amount of heat and mass transfer across the system. The facility is completely computer controlled. The control software, employing a self-tuning proportional integral control methodology, was developed in house. A description of both the DESRAD concept and the Diurnal Test Facility is presented here along with examples of the model verification data and a brief measurement uncertainty analysis.
