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Draft Technical Report: Winchester/Camberley Homes NCTH Short Term Testing (Mixed Humid Climate)

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The Home Innovation Research Labs partnered with Winchester/Camberley Homes on a new construction test house in Silver Spring, MD in the mixed humid climate. The goals for this house were to improve energy efficiency by 30% over the Building America B10 benchmark by developing and implementing an optimized framing, air sealing, insulation, and space conditioning system designs that could be cost effectively and reliably constructed on a production basis using quality management practices. The test house was completed in June 2011. The intent of this report is to outline the features of this house, discuss the implementation of the energy efficient design, and report on short-term testing results.

Developing Energy Performance Remodeling “Start-up” Kit – Draft

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The Department of Energy’s Building America (BA) Program is a research and development program to improve the energy performance of new and existing homes. The ultimate goal of the Building America Program is to achieve examples of cost-effective, energy efficient solutions for all U.S. climate zones. This goal will be met using a whole-house system engineering approach and by uniting segments of the industry that traditionally work independently of one another, including architects, engineers, builders, remodelers, trade contractors, manufacturers, material suppliers, community planners, and mortgage lenders.

“Best in Class” Report: Energy Efficient Exterior Wall Design (Mixed Humid Climate)

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The design and implementation of a highly energy efficient exterior wall that is durable and cost effective is a critical component of a high performing home and can pose a challenge to production builders. As energy efficiency requirements increase for building codes and voluntary programs such as Energy Star and green building programs, the production builder must evaluate numerous designs and products in order to optimize framing, insulation, fenestration, and air sealing. An example of a successful energy efficient wall design is the implementation feature of this report.

30% Energy Efficiency Solution Package Presentation

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Evaluation of the Lateral Performance of Roof Truss-to-Wall Connections in Light Light-Frame Wood Systems

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The 2009 International Residential Code (IRC) includes new requirements for roof-to-wall connections (Section R602.10.6) at braced wall panels. These new requirements were introduced in a related effort to the work of the ICC Ad Hoc Committee on Wall Bracing with the intent to clarify or, where appropriate, reinforce the lateral load path between the roof and the braced wall panels of the supporting walls below. Particularly, significant changes were introduced for homes with high-heel trusses or deep rafters and for homes located in high hazard areas (wind speeds of 100 mph or higher or Seismic Design Category D0, D1, or D2). The requirements include provisions for additional fastening, blocking, knee walls, sheathing, or a combination of those elements. These requirements were further clarified and refined for the 2012 IRC.

Test Plan: Environmental, Energy and Moisture Monitoring for Winchester/Camberley Homes’ NCTH (Mixed Humid Climate)

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Winchester/Camberley Homes is partnering with Home Innovation Research Labs on a new construction test home (NCTH) in Silver Spring, MD in the mixed humid climate. The Building America goals for this test home are twofold: 1) to develop and implement optimized framing air sealing, and insulation systems that increase the wall insulation level by 30% and improve air sealing effectiveness with minimized cost increases, and 2) integrate the envelope and space conditioning systems into a high performing home design that can be constructed on a production basis using quality management practices. As a BA test home, this home will be evaluated to detail energy use as well as wall moisture performance.

Analysis to Light-Frame Wood Residential Buildings

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Seismic design of buildings has its basis in a combination of (1) empirical knowledge (observational and measured data) and (2) engineering analysis. The experience accumulated from seismic events and large-scale tests provides confidence in engineering models and serves to establish acceptable levels of risk for code compliance.

Imported Problematic Drywall: Identification Strategies and Remediation Guidelines

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On March 4, 2011, NAHB’s Chinese Drywall Task Force unveiled the testing and remediation guidelines in this guidance document for association members who have questions about how to detect and remediate problematic drywall. At the time of publication some of the information contained in this document was based on interim guidance from the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC) and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) pending the completion of the CPSC’s scientific studies and readers were advised to pay close attention to the results of those studies when they were made available to the public.