Home performance, at its core, has always been about optimizing residential spaces for utmost comfort, safety, and energy efficiency. Unfortunately, high barriers of entry (tool investment, training, time on site) has restricted the adoption of home performance projects to only a small group of homeowners and professionals, and the labor shortage in the residential buildings […]
Let's meet the author and discuss what is new Residential Energy. The 7th edition is one of the most comprehensive guidebooks available about energy efficiency, comfort, health, safety, and durability for homes, apartments, and multifamily buildings. We will go over what is new at high level including low-cost cooling, advanced factors affecting insulation, masonry-building insulation […]
Imagine combining building permit data with building inspections, census, topography, weather, and real estate transactions to form the most comprehensive understanding of the building contractor market. Can we take a new approach to determine who is best at delivering electrification project work to make the best choice for contractor selections and help move the marketing […]
While offsite construction holds much promise, the reality of factory-built housing over the past few decades has seen a focus on least cost, not best performance. How does modular construction deliver like everything-factory-installed market-rate and affordable homes to urban infill and suburban locations. Is modular bucking the trend of using off-site construction to create building […]
The Building Science Advisor (BSA) is a rule-based expert system webtool that was originally developed to assist building professionals to design energy efficient and durable wall systems for new construction. With the present focus being placed on upgrading the existing building stock, a retrofit module has been developed that, based on the location, existing construction, […]
Investigating the ability of 12 building standards to deliver resilient, healthy, and efficient buildings. This research project evaluated the impact of different building standards over 50 single-family projects in different US regions, from hot and humid Texas to the cold and dry Rocky Mountains. The intent is to allow building owners, project teams, and policymakers […]
As we get better at tackling operational carbon (think energy bills), we are shifting our attention toward embodied carbon. Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) are a vital tool for architects and developers to reduce carbon embodied emissions in their projects. An EPD is a comprehensive report that provides transparent and verified information on the environmental impact […]
With over 2 million LEED® for Homes™ registered spaces worldwide, LEED is the international rating system to ensure better residential buildings. LEED requires third-party on-site verification and performance testing by a LEED Green Rater, and demand is growing. You need at least 2 weeks of on-demand training prior to attending the live March 1st course […]
Dive into moisture management for buildings with our hands-on app session. Learn how to tackle and predict moisture issues using an easy-to-use app built from a Google spreadsheet. Explore charts that make understanding moisture movement simple. Access a handy reference tab for more resources. Join us for a practical, fun session on solving building moisture […]
Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) Programs help ensure affordable and healthy housing for occupants while reducing carbon emissions compared to conventional codes; required green building certifications ensure more favorable outcomes. How do you know which green program to choose for your LIHTC project? We will review the main programs available in most states, LEED […]
