Building Science

Efficiency & Environmental Impacts

Improving energy performance in homes and commercial buildings

Home Innovation is committed to advancing research on deep energy retrofits and improving energy performance in residential and commercial buildings. Our team explores cutting-edge strategies for reducing energy consumption, improving insulation, and integrating energy-efficient technologies into existing structures. By focusing on comprehensive retrofits, we provide builders, remodelers, and property owners with actionable insights that can significantly reduce utility costs, enhance indoor comfort, and minimize environmental impact. Our research not only supports efforts toward greater energy efficiency but also contributes to a more sustainable built environment.

Energy Efficiency Research

Construction Guide to Next Generation High Performance Walls in Climate Zones 3-5

These Construction Guides to High-Performance Walls in Climate Zones 3-5 provides time-proven, practical, and cost-effective strategies for constructing durable, energy-efficient walls. Part 1 addresses walls constructed with 2x6 wood frame studs, wood structural panel (WSP) exterior sheathing, and a cladding system installed over WSP sheathing in low-rise residential buildings up to three stories high. Part 2 addresses walls constructed with 2x4 wood frame studs, wood structural panel (WSP) sheathing as wall bracing and added backing for foam sheathing, a layer of rigid foam sheathing insulation up to 1.5 inches thick over the WSP, and a cladding system installed over the foam sheathing in low-rise residential buildings up to three stories high.

Greenbelt Homes Energy Retrofit Pilot Project: Final Technical Report

This completely cooperative-funded project presents a unique opportunity to evaluate and prioritize the wide range of benefits of high-performance retrofits based on the consumer’s experience with, and acceptance of, the retrofit measures implemented during the pilot project. Addressing the complex interactions between benefits, trade-offs, construction methods, project management implications, realistic upfront costs, financing, and other considerations, serves as a case study for energy retrofit projects to include high-performance technologies based on the long-term value to the homeowner.

Percent Energy Savings: 2009 IECC Analysis

A strong push was made by many advocacy groups, including the U. S. Department of Energy (DOE), to increase the stringency of the 2009 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). This effort resulted in a number of major changes which impact both energy savings and construction costs for residential construction. As part of the federal effort to encourage state and local adoption of the more stringent code, provisions were also included in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) to persuade states to adopt the 2009 IECC.

Prototype House Evaluations: ZEH2 (JWM Companies)

Armory Park del Sol is an urban infill project in an historic district in downtown Tucson, Arizona. When completed, the inner city subdivision will include over 92 homes that blend with the historic neighborhood yet include high performance features to dramatically reduce their energy footprint. All of the homes are designed to meet the voluntary Tucson Sustainable Energy Standard by performing 50% better than the Model Energy Code in addition to meeting the 2003 IECC.

Armory Park del Sol Community Report

Armory Park del Sol (APdS) is a development of new homes in downtown Tucson’s historic neighborhood of Armory Park. The 14-acre redevelopment project fulfills the vision of developer John Wesley Miller to create a sustainable and livable urban in-fill community. The Home Innovation Research Labs worked with John Wesley Miller Companies through the Building America Program on prototype net-zero energy homes as well as on the community as a whole. Presented here is the analysis of this community of high performance homes built in the hot/mixed dry climate.

TechSpec: Energy Efficient Lighting

Lighting technology has advanced tremendously over the last decade, and numerous options are available for providing aesthetically-pleasing ambient light at a fraction of the energy usage of traditional incandescent lamps. Two types of lamps provide energy-efficient residential lighting—LED and fluorescent lamps.

Economic Database in Support of ASHRAE 90.2 (Energy-Efficient Design of Low-Rise Residential Buildings) 1481-RP

The objective of ASHRAE 1481-RP was to obtain an economic database in support of Standing Standards Project Committee 90.2 (SSPC 90.2) because a collection of reliable construction cost data is requisite, yet periphery to, the principal goals of the committee. Cost data has been difficult to obtain in the past. In order for the committee to provide timely technical review of standard updates and meet future ASHRAE goals of increasing building energy efficiency, a library of costs to calculate the economic impact of proposed amendments is required.

Consumer Practices Report Sample - 2008 Solar Technology Data

Home Innovation Research Labs Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Reports provide market demand data for building product and material usage in the United States and Canada. Market demand data on home improvement, maintenance, and repair purchases is obtained through the Consumer Practices Survey (CPS), an annual online survey of U.S. and Canadian households. The survey results are tabulated to show demand for building products and materials purchased for the repair and remodeling industry. These reports also provide key information on purchasing and installation practices, as well as demographic information of the respondents. For many years, the CPS was fielded as a mail-based survey that received about 8,000 responses from owner-occupied households. In 2003, Home Innovation Research Labs expanded the CPS to capture data on remodeling projects in renter-occupied houses and implemented online fielding of the survey, yielding more than 46,000 usable responses.

Revisions to Quality Management Products: Four Scopes of Work for High Performance Homes

A Scope of Work is a description of the work that a trade contractor will perform for a builder. Every contract, including those executed with only a handshake, incorporates a Scope of Work, even if only implied. After all, if a builder did not need a task accomplished and did not describe that task to the trade contractor; there would be no basis for initiating an agreement. However, without a clear, detailed, written agreement between the builder and trade contractor, both parties can have significantly different expectations of the work.

Quality Assurance Roadmap for High Performance Residential Buildings

BSC’s Quality Assurance Roadmap outlines the approach to quality assurance in the construction process as recommended by Building Science Corporation for new residential construction. Seven process steps are described from the assessment of current construction practice, through design and documentation changes, to training and quality control for on-site personnel. This document is intended to be used in lieu of a formal QA process to support high performance construction in Building America Research Prototype houses.

2005 Builder Practices Report - Structured Wiring

The Home Innovation Research Labs’s Annual Builder and Consumer Practices Reports provide market demand data for building product and material usage in the United States and Canada. For the past 15 years, the Annual Builder Practices Survey has been tracking building products and materials used in new home construction, documenting the rise and decline of various products’ and materials’ popularity. Our Annual Builder Practices Survey is the most comprehensive source for market demand data on building material purchases available.

ZEH Impact Study

Once just a concept, truly Zero Energy Homes (ZEH) are now a reality in a handful of locales throughout the United States. And the opportunities to construct ZEH are growing as solar and other energy-efficient technologies become more affordable. To demonstrate the significant long-term energy and environmental benefits of ZEH and encourage more builders to investigate the idea for their customers, a new publication has been released – The Potential Impact of Zero Energy Homes.

Energy Retrofitting Advanced Technologies in a Hot Climate: Henderson, Nevada

Energy retrofitting of existing homes has received much attention since the energy crisis of the mid-1970’s. Traditional energy saving upgrades have consisted of such measures as caulking, adding insulation and installing double pane replacement windows. In addition, there have been a number of technologies developed that are not yet widely accepted or understood. Many of these technologies have been identified by the PATH program and were considered for the energy retrofit as appropriate with respect to climate and site. Establishing a methodology and understanding technologies used in field evaluation is an important step in accomplishing one of the primary PATH visions to reduce energy use by 30% or more in existing homes.

Water Heating: Energy-efficient Strategies for Supplying Hot Water in the Home

Water Heating - Energy-Efficient Strategies for Supplying Hot Water in the Home fact sheet describes energy-efficient strategies for supplying hot water in homes. It includes methods for reducing water heating energy costs, including selecting the appropriate fuel and water heater type, using efficient system design and reducing hot water consumption. The fact sheet provides a description of types of water heaters, including storage water heaters, combination space and water heating systems, demand water heaters (also known as instantaneous or tankless water heaters) and tankless coil water heaters. It also features a comparison of storage water heater types and tips for improving safety and installing and maintaining water heating systems.

Deep Energy Retrofits