Technical Resources
Disclaimer
DEAP Energy Group does not guarantee or make any other representation concerning the performance of any of the products, services or information referenced below.
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Affordable Comfort Inc. - Just what the name implies. Below are a remarkable collection of presentations from the national and local conferences are available, here are some of the most recent:
Affordable Comfort Inc, Saratoga Springs, NY, Solutions for Success, Feb. 2008 - More on-line presentations by regional and national leaders in their respective areas of expertise. Over 20 workshops, presentations and field trips have posted materials from this two day conference targeted at the Northeast.
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
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BCI Joists – Boise Cascade Engineered Trusses, Joists
Blower Door Diagnostics
Benchmarking and Monitoring Residential Building Performance - Video - 10/26/2011 - Paul Eldrenkamp of the DEAP Energy Group presents this free webinar hosted by Onset Computer. Paul introduces strategies and methods for establishing benchmarks against which to measure residential building performance. Paul demonstrates tools and techniques for measuring and monitoring, including data loggers, flow meters, CO2 monitors, and others. View this video here.
For more on Zonal Pressure Diagnostics (ZPD) see "Z" below
The Energy Conservancy - Minneapolis Blower Door - An excellent source of blower doors, duct blasters, and other related test equipment as well as knowledgeable source of testing procedures, etc.
Build Boston '11 - Primarially oriented toward architects, this year's Build Boston also contains a full track of NESEA speakers.
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.
Heat Loss Mechanisms – BuildingScience.com– A dissertation on insulation and building materials, Thermal Control in Buildings, Heat Transfer, etc.
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Carbon - We often speak about carbon, but what is it really, Get the down and dirty details here.
Click the arrow in the upper right corner for full screen mode.
Combustion Appliance Zone - CAZ - Related Links
Minneapolis Study of CAZ issues CO increases with back drafting, use of APT procedure for consistent test methodology
Moving Existing Homes toward Carbon Neutrality – Affordable Comfort Inc,- ACI 2007 Conference - Deep energy reductions (70–90%) are achievable now, but full scale implementation will benefit from technical innovations and institutional partnerships.
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Data Logging
October 26, 2011, Webinar - Onset Computer, Bourne, MA - 2 PM - The Paul Eldrenkamp presented a webinar on the use of various data loggers in high performance homes, real data, true stories.
The 55 minute recorded webinar is available here.
DISRE – Database of Federal and State Incentives for Renewables & Efficiency
US central clearing house for searching for each of these.
DOW TUFFR – Polyisocyanurate rigid foam board insulation
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Energy Federation Inc - EFI - Local supplier of energy efficiency products from lighting to air sealing materials, provides extensive technical product support.
EnergyStar Building Upgrade Manual – See Risk/Reward chart page 3
EnergyStar Indoor Air Plus - Indoor air quality by design.
EnergyStar Thermal Bypass Checklist - TBC - Common building design and construction flaw checklist, passing this checklist is a requirement for EnergyStar Homes
EnergyStar Thermal Bypass Checklist Guide - TBC checklist items and discussion heavily illustrated with photographs.
Thermal Bypass Checklist Challenges – by Ann Marie Apgar of EAM Associates
Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy - Sub-department of US DOE, see the Buildings tab on the left.
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Financing - New instruments for financing Deep Energy Retrofits are on the way !
Learn more about the FHA PowerSaver Loan (up to $25,000) here.
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Hanover House – Marc Rosenbaum – Slides of one of Marc's more famous very low energy homes.
Heating Distribution Efficiency – Home Energy Article
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 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.
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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
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LEED For Homes – USGBC – US Green Building Council
See 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.
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Mass Energy Efficiency Section of the 7th Code
Seventh Edition Building Code for One- and Two-Family Dwellings
and look for 780061 194k
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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 labels 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.
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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 research 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
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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.
The first video includes Dr. Feist's description of his motivation for creating the PassivHaus standard
The rest of the videos relate, how it is done, some interesting perspectives, and some the details that have
been considered. Includes the rational for excluding PV from the PHPP energy use calculation.
PassivHaus Videos - A variety of vidoes, most from Europe.
Passive House Pet Door ? - Yes, it is possible to do this in an PassivHaus, a video shows how it works.
Passive House: The Future of Building in the US ? - An on-line course produced as the result of a collaboration between the DEAP Group and Heatspring Learning Institute. Expected Availability is April, 2012. For more details.
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.
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REMRate Verification - A presentation from the 2005 RESNET National Conference.
Rosenbaum, Marc - BuildingGreen.com article on the famous Hanover House
RValue Calculator – ORNL Technical Resource
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– Not Very !
Roof Overhangs – Solar Shading - Excellent discussion and illustrations
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, developed by National Renewable Energy Laboratory NREL. Also, 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.
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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.
Trigonometric Function Reference – Sine, Cosine, Tangent – NASA, with tables
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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.
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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 -
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ZPD Calculations - Free Calculation Utility from The Energy Conservancy, includes a software guide.
Zonal Pressure Diagnostics - Karg
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'
