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.
Transformations, Inc. is a residential development and building company that has partnered with Building Science Corporation to build new construction net-zero energy houses in Massachusetts under the Building America program. There are three communities that are being constructed through this partnership: Devens Sustainable Housing (“Devens”), The Homes at Easthampton Meadow (“Easthampton”) and Phase II of the Coppersmith Way Development (“Townsend”). This report covers all of the single-family new construction homes that have been completed to date. The houses built in these developments are net zero energy capable homes built in a cold climate. The set of measures offered by the developer exceeds the 30% energy saving goals set by the Building America program for New Homes in the cold climate for 2013. The houses will contribute to developing solutions and addressing gaps in enclosures and space conditioning research.
Project Home Again is a development in New Orleans, Louisiana, created to provide new homes to victims of Hurricane Katrina. Building Science Corporation (BSC) acted as a consultant for the project, advocating design strategies for durability, flood resistance, occupant comfort, and low energy use while maintaining cost effectiveness. These techniques include the use of high density spray foam insulation, LowE3 glazing, and supplemental dehumidification to maintain comfortable humidity levels without unnecessary cooling. Stringent airtightness goals were achieved by the project, helping to meet the Builder’s Challenge targets set by Project Home Again. Floor plans, enclosures, and heating, ventilation, and air conditioning attributes are quite similar among different homes in the project.
This project examines implementation of advanced retrofit measures in the context of a large-scale weatherization program and the archetypal Chicago, Illinois, brick bungalow. In response to the apparent weatherization program limitations with respect to homes with masonry bearing wall construction, this research project examines two distinct strategies for insulating and air sealing the top of houses. One strategy applies best practice air sealing methods and a standard insulation method to the attic floor. The other strategy creates an unvented roof assembly using materials and methods typically available to weatherization contractors.
Building Science Corporation seeks to further the energy efficiency market for cold climate, New England area retrofits by supporting projects based on solid building science fundamentals and verified implementation. The utility company National Grid engaged BSC as a partner to develop guidelines for its Deep Energy Retrofit Pilot Program. In addition to guideline development, BSC has acted as a consultant for these projects and others following similar retrofit strategies.
Through discussion of five case studies (test homes), this project evaluates strategies to elevate the performance of existing homes to a level commensurate with best-in-class implementation of high performance new construction homes. The test homes featured in this research activity participated in Deep Energy Retrofit (DER) Pilot Program sponsored by the electric and gas utility National Grid in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. Retrofit strategies are evaluated for impact on durability and indoor air quality in addition to energy performance.
This paper was first presented at the 2011 ASHRAE Annual Conference. A homebuilder in the New England area has been building net zero energy single family homes since 2008 and is continuing with multiple small-scale subdivisions of 20 or more homes. This builder specializes in net zero affordable homes and sustainable net zero communities, while retaining houses with a familiar local vernacular appearance.
This paper is from the proceedings of the Thermal Performance of the Exterior Envelopes of Whole Buildings XI International Conference, December 5-9, 2010 in Clearwater, Florida. The issues of climate change, energy security, and economics are all strong drivers for improving energy efficiency levels in a variety of sectors. In residential construction, although some inroads have been made in new houses, the stock of existing housing represents a huge opportunity for energy retrofits. The vanguard of these efforts has been pushing toward retrofitting very high insulation levels (i.e., “superinsulation,” or “deep energy retrofits”). Several cold-climate residential retrofit projects have been completed using an exterior insulation approach on light-frame above-grade walls. This type of retrofit is a reasonable step if a recladding of the building is already being done for aesthetic or ongoing maintenance reasons. The methods demonstrated here result in walls with insulation levels in the R-35 to R-40 range. This paper presents many of the lessons learned from these experiences, including overall enclosure strategies, such as air barriers, drainage planes, and moisture control. Several case-specific solutions to particular problems are described, including exterior air barrier approaches, wall sill replacement, and several approaches dealing with window penetrations. In addition, detailing recommendations and economic analysis of these measures are presented. Hygrothermal simulations were run to evaluate the changes in sensitivity to moisture intrusion due to these retrofit measures.
The following report is an excerpt from the 2010 Building Science Corporation Industry Team Building America Annual Report. The main focus for this research project is on the AAON heat pump system with digital scroll compressor and modulating hot-gas condenser reheat installed in the GreenCraft Builders prototype house in Lewisville, TX.
A calibrated ventilation model was exercised over a range of parameters seen in new and existing housing in the United States. This report was first published in ASHRAE Transactions (17, Louisville 2009). American Society of Heating Refrigeration and Air-Conditioning Engineers, Atlanta, GA. Reprinted with permission.
This paper describes a fully instrumented large-scale mock-up completed in a southern Ontario private school to allow direct comparisons between insulated and non-insulated walls with a focus on the evaluation of freeze-thaw and corrosion risks. Climate conditions and wall temperature, relative humidity and moisture content are compared and discussed. Climate conditions (wetting and temperature) over the monitoring period were less severe than average. As a result, measured values were used to refine computer models to simulate wall performance under more severe climate conditions.
The research reported in this paper is aimed at increasing the understanding of the hygrothermal performance of interior basement insulation systems by a combination of field monitoring of four assemblies and one-dimensional computer modeling.
A performance review of residential assemblies in the central Florida (Orlando) area during the three hurricanes in August and September 2004.
This paper reports on field measurements collected from over a year of monitoring two types of wood-framed walls: one with an air gap membrane and another installed following standard practice. Each type of wall was faced either north or south in a test hut located in southwestern Ontario.
The following report is an excerpt from the 2008 Building Science Corporation Industry Team Building America Annual Report. This summary includes whole-house performance and systems engineering, construction support, source energy savings and quality control requirements and integration.
Concentrations of 54 volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and ventilation rates were measured in four new manufactured houses over 2-to-9.5 months following installation and in seven new site-built houses 1-to-2 months after completion. The houses were in four projects located in hot-humid and mixed-humid climates. They were finished and operational, but unoccupied.
Given what happened in New Orleans during hurricane Katrina, changes in the way we build are needed. Looking to key sustainability concepts of durability and energy efficiency, new flood resistant design concepts were developed.
Primarily as a resort location, Hilton Head Island has a somewhat different residential housing market than other more traditional areas.
When constructing unvented roofs with asphalt shingles in hot-humid climates, a vapor barrier must be installed between the asphalt shingles and the roof deck.
Twenty homes were tested and monitored in the hot-humid climate of Houston, Texas, to evaluate the humidity control performance and operating cost of six different integrated dehumidification and ventilation systems that could be applied by production homebuilders.
