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.
A comprehensive literature review was made to investigate whole house ventilation system options, various simulation and engineering analysis tools and techniques, and baselines for comparing the current project results.
This paper discusses the differences between vented, unvented and conditioned crawlspaces. Best practice construction techniques and assemblies for conditioned crawlspaces are discussed, the results of a field monitoring program are presented, and the code language addressing crawlspaces is explained.
Americans have been building homes with wood—shaping logs, joining timbers, nailing studs—for almost 400 years. Our current approach, stick framing, grew poplular in the mid-1800's because it too less skill, required simpler tools, and took fewer people than timber framing. We apparently really like waste haulers, too.
With rising utility cost, concerns over availability of natural resources, and environmental impacts of our energy production and use, a push has been made to design buildings to minimize energy consumption in an attempt to work towards more sustainable communities. Creating more thermally efficient building enclosures is a necessary part of achieving this goal. The thermal resistance provided by insulating a stud cavity is limited by the standard framing sizes currently used in the United States and Canada. The options therefore are to either increase the depth of the studs used, add insulation to the interior of the wall assembly, or to add extra insulation to the exterior of the assembly. Providing rigid insulating sheathing to the exterior of a wall assembly is a technique that has been used in cold climates for more than 40 years. Recently it has begun to be integrated into enclosure designs in all climates. As with any newly adopted technology, there can be concerns for its proper application. This paper examines methods of incorporating insulating sheathing into the thermal and moisture management systems of the building enclosure in a variety of climate zones across North America. This is done through examining the material properties of the various products and how these properties can be used to achieve an energy efficient and durable building enclosure design, while avoiding problems relating moisture accumulation and degradation of materials.
This paper examines methods of using hygrothermal models, primarily WUFI, to assess the impact of energy efficient enclosure upgrades on the durability of historical buildings. Means of producing and choosing input data for the hygrothermal simulation are discussed. Methods for using the hourly results from the simulations to generate a corrosion index and a freeze-thaw count are developed. An example wall is used to demonstrate the type of output that can be expected and how this can be used in making retrofit design decisions.
The overall goal of the DOE residential research program is to reduce average whole house energy use in new residential buildings by 30-90 percent by 2020, including homes that achieve zero net energy use on an annual basis. High performance space conditioning and control systems that match the high performance of Building America enclosures are necessary to meet performance targets. Conditioning systems with integrated mechanical ventilation and year-around temperature and humidity control are necessary. The most significant climate-specific need is for system-integrated dehumidification for humidity control without overcooling the space. Cost-effective dehumidification without overcooling will enable continued and further reduction of sensible loads (including high-performance glazing) that would otherwise exacerbate humidity control problems in humid climates.
This is a test form used in the Building America program to ascertain house performance and specifications.
SNAPSHOT stands for Short, Non-destructive Approach to Provide Significant House Operation Thresholds.
Exposure to sunlight (ultraviolet radiation) and moisture are the major factors affecting the durability of paint coatings and the durability of the substrate.
Good design and practice involve controlling the wetting of building assemblies from both the exterior and interior and different climates require different approaches.
Construction practices have improved and the HVAC systems need to improve with them. The deKieffer Bypass relieves air pressure in rooms without compromising sound or light transmission.
This article was written to tie together and summarize the various papers on unvented conditioned cathedralized attics found on our website.
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.
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.
