Reports

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TechNote - Whole-House Mechanical Ventilation Code: Safety and Performance Considerations For Low-Rise Residential Buildings

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Whole-house mechanical ventilation is the intentional exchange of indoor air with fresh outdoor air at a controlled rate using fans. The purpose of whole-house mechanical ventilation is to improve indoor air quality.

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Hotspot Implementation Guide & Tools

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The intent of the Hotspot Implementation Guide and Tools is to provide a resource for builders and their trade contractors to allow them to take on a self-contained quality management process that is not dependent on having a formal quality management system in place.

Economics of Quality

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To ensure that the homes are built as designed to achieve optimal energy savings, a builder's quality control and assurance processes are necessary. There are economic costs to a builder for quality management including the costs for prevention, appraisal, and the cost of failure that can directly affect the economics of energy efficiency upgrades in a high performance home. An effective quality management system should create efficiencies and related savings that are greater than the investments in the quality activities required to achieve the savings. However, the costs of quality are difficult to measure due to the fact that the performance metrics have not been fully defined and are often not effectively utilized by builders.

Cost Optimized 50% IECC Prescriptive Analysis

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The objective of this analysis is to quantify the incremental construction cost and energy cost savings associated with constructing a house 50% more energy efficient than a 2006 IECC baseline (50% Savings). A methodology established by Home Innovation Research Labs, formerly the NAHB Research Center, was used to determine the incremental energy cost savings. Two 50% Savings cost optimization analyses were performed; the first used current Federal minimum equipment efficiencies and the second included efficiency optimization of the space heating, space cooling and water heating equipment.

TechSpec: The Closed Crawlspace - Making the Transition

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The modern closed crawlspace is dry, energy efficient, functional, and practical to build. This TechSpec presents an overview of benefits, code considerations, best practices, and solutions for closed crawlspaces. This information is intended to help home builders transition from a slab-on-grade or conventional vented crawlspace, or to improve existing design and construction practices. This TechSpec is consistent with the provisions of the 2012 International Residential Code (IRC), and is focused on warm and mixed-humid climate regions in the southeast (Climate Zones 3A and 4A). Some common local construction practices are also addressed.

Comparison of Subflooring Installations Using the DAP Urethane Adhesive and Cartridge Adhesive

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DAP Products, Inc. (DAP) developed a new urethane adhesive for subflooring (OSB, plywood) installation on wood floor joists. The adhesive is delivered by a reusable dispensing gun loaded with a pressurized canister of expanding urethane that fills gaps as it bonds. Preliminary evaluations by DAP indicate their adhesive has a much higher coverage rate and takes less time to install than cartridge subfloor adhesive and DAP engaged the NAHB Research Center to validate their findings.

Quality Management System Primer

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Building high performing homes (HPH) that are energy efficient, durable, comfortable, and safe to live in does not simply require knowledge of building science principles. It also requires the ability to properly design, specify, and install new technologies and systems. Quality management systems (QMS) provide the infrastructure necessary to ensure repeatability as well as manage continual improvement to increase first time quality, reduce warranty, and increase customer satisfaction. As a result, QMS is needed as the industry shifts from building conventional to HPH and ultimately state-of-the-art homes such those meeting the DOE’s Challenge Home.

High Heel Roof-to-Wall Connection Testing

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This study is Phase III of a test program that responds to the new requirements for roof-to-wall connections in 2012 International Residential Code (IRC) and expands upon the previous phases that evaluated innovative roof-to-wall connection systems.

National Green Building Standard Analysis

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This report details the proposed point structure for the prescriptive approach of the energy efficiency chapter of the 2012 NGBS. This proposed point structure was developed with support from the BA house design and simulation protocols. The source energy was calculated for both the reference home and the proposed house in each specific climate. This analysis also compared the simulated energy performance of a home designed to meet the revised NGBS Chapter 7 at the Gold level with reference to the 2010 BA Benchmark using the BA House Simulation Protocols. The results of modeling various houses in multiple climate zones indicate that the range of energy savings for the designs is 40%–50% for the Gold level. This range aligns well with BA program energy savings goals of 30%–50% whole-house energy savings.