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As materials and equipment have improved, energy reduction as a goal has increasingly been replaced with the goal of net-zero energy use. But the general approach to building energy efficient homes… Read More

This report is an extension of a previous analysis study titled “RR-1014: High R Walls for the Pacific Northwest – A Hygrothermal Analysis of Various Exterior Wall Systems”, conducted by BSC for… Read More

This report considers a number of promising wall systems that can meet the requirement for better thermal control. Unlike previous studies, this one considers performance in a more realistic matter,… Read More

This document summarizes the theory behind thermal insulation and building system heat flow control metrics and presents a literature review of selected research into this area. As the building… Read More

Can a 150-year-old house approach zero energy use? Three case studies point the was from the 19th to the 21st century. Reprinted with permission from Fine Homebuilding, April/May 2008, pages 51-57.

OVERVIEWSpray foam insulation has significant advantages over other insulation systems due to the spray foam ability to provide continuity of the water control, air control, vapor control and thermal… Read More

Houses are environmental separators – they keep the outside out and the inside in.   Houses have walls, roofs and foundations that each have to be connected to each other (Figure 1).  To… Read More

The purpose of this guide is to provide useful examples of high performance retrofit techniques for the building enclosure of wood frame residential construction in a cold and somewhat wet… Read More

Exterior insulation retrofit is a reasonable step if a recladding of the building is already being done for aesthetic or ongoing maintenance reasons. This paper presents many of the lessons… Read More

Structural Insulated Panel Systems (SIPS) are prefabricated building panels consisting of plastic foam cores sandwiched between two skins, typically oriented strand board (OSB) or plywood (Figure 1… Read More