Technical Resources
Disclaimer
Energy Efficiency Associates does not guarantee or make any other representation concerning the performance of any of the products, services or information referenced below.
The newest addition to this resource list is an excellent paper by David Butler, which he presented at the RESNET National Conference in New Orleans in February 2009.
This paper discusses HVAC design and implementation for High Performance Homes, see "The Elephant In The Room - HVAC For High Performance Homes" below.
I'll post a index to this invaluable resource shortly.
American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy - ACEEE - A nonprofit, 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to advancing energy efficiency as a means of promoting both economic prosperity and environmental protection. Good website, references HERS Raters, energy audits with IR and blower door testing, etc.
ASHRAE 62.2-2004 Presentation – Minimum required ventilation presentation by Paul Raymer, voting member IAQ subcommittee. Nice vertical slice diagrams of neutral pressure plane. Vivid pictures and descriptions. Study on effects of depressurization (spillage, backdrafting, CO concentration increase, etc.).
pramer@tamtech.com ASHRAE 62.2-2004 Presentation – WSU, very good practical illustrations, many interesting options, a variety of ideas here, wood stove requirements, etc. good discussion of radon mitigation system integration
BCI Joists – Boise Cascade Engineered Trusses, Joists
Blower Door Diagnostics
Advanced Blower Door Diagnostics Slides Zonal Pressure Diagnostics - Karg
Free ZPD Windows SW
ZPD Diagnostic Slides Blower Door, Heat Loss, Weatherization, etc.- Presentations, white papers, etc.
Building America - The Building America program is aiming for a 20%–30%
reduction in energy use in existing homes.
Building Science Corporation - Objective, high quality information about buildings, combining building physics, systems design concepts, and an awareness of sustainability to promote durable healthy and economical buildings.
See end note 3, FHA fan in operation increase air infiltration from 1.2 to 6 times, effectively reducing heating system distribution efficiency to 50% during operation. “United needed a hydronic system because too much heat would be lost if only forced air was used to warm the large hangars.” Also see graph of floor covering insulation Rvalue vs radiant heat distribution efficiency.
Home Energy Audit - RESNET Draft Standard - A rigorous and detailed approach.
"The Elephant In The Room - HVAC For High Performance Homes" - This excellent presentation by David Butler on the 'rightsizing' of Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Systems was given at the New Orleans RESNET National Conference in February of 2009. David has graciously granted permission to link this presentation, as well as to his
website.
FLIR IR Cameras – Used in some of the IR examples in slides
FLIR offers an IR for Weatherization training, as well as an IR Building Science training.
ITC - Infrared Training Center - The captive training function of FLIR IR, especially to be recommended is the 3.5 day
Certification in Building Science IR Training. IBACOS (Integrated Building and Construction Solutions) - Researches the basic science of home performance and best construction practices and processes. See Publications> Best Practices for more. Very good illustrations and explanations, good detail.
See Roofs flashing and illustration of ‘kick out’ flashing, ‘step flashing’.
See Moisture Issues in Homes with Brick Veneers
LEED For Homes – USGBC – US Green Building CouncilSee project checklist immediately below
LEED for Homes Pilot Rating System Version 1.11a (PDF)
LBNL Lawrence Berkley National Labs - The
Indoor Environment Department conducts a broad program of research,
technology development and dissemination activities directed toward improving
the health, comfort and energy efficiency of the indoor environment.
Massachusetts State Energy CodeMass Energy Efficiency Section of the 7th Code
Seventh Edition Building Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings
and look for 780061 194k
National Renewable Energy Laboratory – NREL – The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is the nation's primary laboratory for renewable energy and energy efficiency research and development (R&D). Developed REMRate !!!
National Association of Home Builders Research Center – The NAHB Research Center is a full-service product commercialization company that strives to make housing more durable and affordable. Bottom line, we help push new building technologies into the residential market through our integrated consulting services. Building code development, consulting,
Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) - is the Northeast’s leading organization of professionals and concerned citizens working in sustainable energy and whole systems thinking. NESEA facilitates the widespread adoption and use of sustainable energy by providing support to industry professionals and by educating and motivating consumers to learn about, ask for, and adopt sustainable energy and green building practices. NESEA accomplishes this through its Building Energy conference and trade show, K-12 resources, an advocacy network, high profile public events such as the Tour de Sol and the Green Building Open House, its chapters and members, and its Sustainable Green Pages.
NFRC – National Fenestration Council – Window Performance Data, responsible for the lables on all residential building glazing.
NOAA National Climactic Data Center – Heating Degree Data – HDD
National OilHeat Research Alliance - NORA is a collaborative program established by the oilheating industry to strengthen the industry by improving education and training for employees in the industry, providing customers more information, and developing new products for customers.
Oil Heat Associates - Does Free, expert consulting on oil heating systems.
Ozone "Non-Attainment" US EPA - Does your state comply with air quality standards ?
Oak Ridge National Laboratory - ORNL - A compendium of reasearch on buildings, including Retrofit Best Practices Guide, Insulation Fact Sheet, and the Moisture Control Handbook, some of which bears a striking resemblance to some of the material in Builders Guide to Cold Climates.
From here, also see the following buttons:
Interactive Calculators
Modified Zone Method – Calc R Values for walls with metal studs and cavity insulation
Moisture Control in Low Slope Roofing – vapor retarder or modification ?
Whole Wall R Value Calculator – From component parts
Thermal Mass Calculator –
Solar Reflective Index Calculator –
ZIP Code R Value Calculator – Recommended new/existing home insulation by ZIP
Panasonic WhisperGreen Continuous/Intermittent Ventilation Fans – Sizing Passive House Institute - US -
PHIUS is the organization which undertakes the rigorous training and certification for Passive House consultants, and which certifies homes to the Passive House standard. Mike Duclos is a Certified Passive House Consultant.
Proctor Engineering Group – Consultants to Utility Companies and Research Institutes
Company which Michael Blasnik joined in Boston. Energy efficiency program design, AC efficiency measurement,
PEG designs and implements cost-effective energy efficiency programs that maximize energy savings and reduce peak demand. We specialize in Program Design, Pilot Programs, Program Evaluation, Energy Efficiency Research and Expert Project Manager TM
CheckMe!TM, a software program developed by Proctor Engineering Group in San Rafael, CA., allows home owners and technicians to access expert engineering analysis on their home's central air-conditioning system. See Amount of Refrigerant Charge vs Efficiency graph: http://www.proctoreng.com/checkme/technical.html Also at that link: “Twelve different energy studies have been conducted on air flow in the past several years. Each study found that on average seventy percent (70%) of all home air conditioners have inadequate air flow. The average home air conditioner's air flow is twenty percent (20%) below the manufacturer's recommendation.” A/C, Air Conditioning
REMRate Verification - A presentation from the 2005 RESNET National Conference.
RESNET Software Verification Standard
Residential Pilot to Test “Smart Metering” for Pepco’s DC Customers
Rosenbaum, Marc - BuildinGreen.com article on the fameous Hanover House
RValue Calculator – ORNL Technical Resouce
SEER And EER as Effective Predictors of Seasonal Cooling Performance – Not Very !
Solar Overhang Passive Solar Roof Overhangs – Solar Shading - Excellent discussion and illustrations
Designing with the Pilkington Sun Angle Calculator - For solar shading, $25 each.
Solar Electric – PV Watts – Grid tied Photovoltaic PV Calculator PVWATTS calculates electrical energy produced by a grid-connected photovoltaic (PV) system. Researchers at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory developed PVWATTS to permit non-experts to quickly obtain performance estimates for grid-connected PV systems within the United States and its territories.
Also, lots of links to PV related reading.
NYSERDA's Clean Power Estimator for Solar-Electric or Photovoltaic (PV) Systems
Stairs – All About Stairs, links at end of article Among American architects, an old rule-of-thumb is that the sum of the unit rise and the unit run should be about 17½″. Common practice has been to make the unit rise about 7½ inches, the unit run 9″ for interiors and 11″ for exteriors.
Thermal Ground Temperature Profile Search at Buildingscience.com for: Temperature profile through the ground
ToolBase Services is the housing industry's resource for technical information on building products, materials, new technologies, business management, and housing systems. The NAHB Research Center provides the services, with funding from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) through The Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH) program, and other industry sponsors.
OVE Framing Techniques, Attic Access Hatch Analysis,
Major topics include:
Innovative Technologies – Structured descriptions of numerous building technologies
Field Results – Field testing reports organized by geographical area
Technology Tips – Plumbing, Green Kitchen Remodel, Lighting, IAQ, Excellent B. Shell
Hot Topics – Studies, Q&A, excellent link section
Best Practices – Bus. Mgmt, Building Codes, Waste Mgmt, Failure, safety, TQM Q&A
Design and Construction Guidelines -
Trigonometric Function Reference – Sine, Cosine, Tangent – NASA, with tables
UMass Building Materials and Wood Technology – Department of Natural Resources Conservation. UMass Amherst.
US Climate Action Partnership – United States Climate Action Partnership (USCAP) is a group of businesses and leading environmental organizations that have come together to call on the federal government to quickly enact strong national legislation to require significant reductions of greenhouse gas emissions. USCAP has issued a landmark set of principles and recommendations to underscore the urgent need for a policy framework on climate change.
Weatherization Techniques – Slides describing commonly used tools, good overview.
Energy Center of Wisconsin - Weatherization Resources, back of the envelope commercial building as a system energy calculator (31 MB!), frequent webinars and conference calls.
Air Sealing in Low Rise Buildings – Home Energy 1995 -
ZPD Calculations - Free Calculation Utility from The Energy Conservancy, includes a software guide.
An Investigation Into Zone Pressure Diagnostic Protocols for Low Income Housing Weatherization Crews A 92 page report from the Energy Center of Wisconsin, the results are particularly interesting (see page 33
of 92) , e.g., some states like MN
require ZPD as part of both 'test in' and
'test out'