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Search indexed NASA NTRS and DOE OSTI research on propulsion, heat transfer, battery materials and energy systems. Follow report and document links to the original sources.
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This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America research which influenced code requirements by demonstrating that unvented, conditioned crawlspaces use 15% to 18% less energy for heating and cooling while reducing humidity over 20% in humid climates.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America research on high-R-value walls showing the difference between rated and whole wall R values and the need for vented cladding to reduce condensation potential with some insulation types.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes work by Building America research teams who field tested simplified duct designs in hundreds of homes, confirming the performance of short compact duct runs, with supply registers near interior walls.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America field testing that found moving ductwork into the home’s conditioned space can save 8%-15% on energy costs, improve comfort, reduce moisture problems, and even reduce installation costs.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America field testing that shed light on how real-world water usage affects energy saving estimates of high-efficiency water heating systems.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America research on simple whole-house ventilation systems that cost less than $350 to install and meet code requirements.
venThis Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America research showing how automated night ventilation can reduce cooling energy costs up to 40% and peak demand up to 50% in California’s hot-dry central valley climates and can eliminate the need for air conditioning altogether in the coastal marine climate.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America research showing how some energy-efficiency measure cost increases can balance against measures that reduce up-front costs: Advanced framing cuts lumber costs, right sizing can mean downsizing the HVAC, moving HVAC into conditioned space cuts installation costs, designing on a 2-foot grid reduces materials waste, etc.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America support of Habitat for Humanity including researchers who wrote Habitat construction guides and teams that have worked with affiliates on numerous field projects.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America solar home research that has demonstrated the ability to reduce peak demand by 75%. Numerous field studies have monitored power production and system effectiveness.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes ways Building America teams have helped builders cut call-backs. Harvard University study found builders who worked with Building America had a 50% drop in call-backs. One builder reported a 50-fold reduction in the incidence of pipe freezing, a 50% reduction in drywall cracking, and a 60% decline in call-backs.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Artistic Homes, a successful New Mexico production builder, who went from code-minimum to under HERS 50 standard on every home, with optional PV upgrades to HERS 35 or true net zero on every home plan offered.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes work by Building America researchers who visited 24 manufactured home factories between 1996 and 2003 to investigate moisture problems while improving energy efficiency and identified insufficient air sealing and poor HVAC installation as the biggest culprits. One manufacturer reported zero moisture-related issues in 35,000 homes built after implementing Building America recommendations.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Pulte Homes of Tucson’s work with Building America to apply a suite of energy-efficiency measures integrated with passive solar design and solar water heating that reduced energy use more than 50% for a community of more than 1,000 homes.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Grupe Homes of Sacramento’s work with Building America to design California’s first production-scale community of solar homes. The homes outsold neighboring developments two to one.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes Building America’s technical support to ENERGY STAR for Homes, which has labeled more than 1.3 million ENERGY STAR homes that have delivered $23 billion in energy cost savings and avoided 210 million tons of green-house emissions.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes DOE’s Builders Challenge. Hundreds of leading-edge builders across the country signed on to the Challenge and more than 14,000 homes earned the label, saving homeowners over $10 million a year in utility bills. DOE’s new program, the DOE Challenge Home, increases the rigor of the guidelines including requiring homes to be Zero Net-Energy Ready.
This Building America Top Innovations profile describes the DOE-sponsored Builder’s Guides, which met a great need for clear guidance on the latest technologies and best practices for high-performance homes. Over 12,000 copies have been sold, including second and third editions for many of the guides.