Enclosures That Work are Building Profiles and High R-Value Assemblies developed by BSC to be appropriate for residential construction in specific climate zones. Case Studies provide a summary of results for homes built in partnership with BSC’s Building America team. Phase III focusses on the performance of various sheathings and claddings in a high stress moisture environment that is typical of the Pacific Northwest climate. Therefore, certain energy efficiency programs set duct leakage performance requirements that must be met to enter the program. This section also contains two quick, easy-to-read series. An hourly simulation study using DOE2.1E was conducted to determine the annual difference in energy consumption between various ventilation options in different climates. Most profiles also include field expertise notes, material compatibility analysis, and climate challenges. BSI-089: WUFI*—Barking Up the Wrong Tree? For example, our work has appeared in Fine Homebuilding, Home Energy, ASHRAE's High Performance Buildings, The Journal of Building Enclosure Design and The Journal of Building Physics. Extra Window Framing, Info-801: What's Wrong With This Practice? This report describes the construction and instrumentation of Phase III of a multi-phase, multi-year research project at the Vancouver Field Exposure Test Facility in Coquitlam, British Columbia. CP-1010: Innovative Passive Ventilation Water-Resistive Barriers—How Do They Work? BSI-014: Going to Town - Air Sealing and Compartmentalizing Townhouses and Row Houses…. The analysis includes results from normal operating conditions in a high stress exterior moisture environment (typical of the Pacific Northwest climate) and under intentional controlled wettings to the interior and exterior of the sheathing. They are intended to highlight one or more building science principles. Sealed attic construction, by excluding vents to the exterior, can be a good way to exclude moisture-laden outside air from attic and may offer a more easily constructed alternative for air leakage control at the top of residential buildings. The IRC FAQ series answers common questions about the building science approach to specific building tasks (for example, insulating a basement). Using Unsealed Wall Cavities or Panned Floor Joists as Return Plenum, Info-802: What's Wrong With This Practice? Site-Made Beam, Info-705: What's Wrong With This Project? Theory indicates that closed cell foam is sufficiently vapor impermeable to control diffusion condensation and that low-density open-cell foam applications may require additional vapor diffusion control in some extreme environments. BSI-108: Are We Sealing The Right Walls In Buildings*? PA-1102: Throw-away buildings: The slow-motion failure of Toronto's glass condos, PA-1202: Foam Shrinks, and Other Lessons: Correction, PA-1203: Air Leaks—How They Waste Energy and Rot Houses, PA-1501: Moisture in Fat Walls—A Closer Look, PA-1901: How to Look at a House like a Building Scientist (Part 1: Air), PA-1902: How to Look at a House like a Building Scientist (Part 2: Heat), PA-1903: How to Look at a House like a Building Scientist (Part 3: Temperature, Humidity, and HVAC Systems), Recommended Freeze-Thaw Risk Assessment Steps, RR-0001: The Vancouver Test Hut Project - Facility, RR-0001: The Vancouver Test Hut Project - Phase IV Wall Assemblies, RR-0001: The Vancouver Test Hut Project - Phases I-III Wall Assemblies, RR-0002: The Thermal Metric Project - Hot Box Apparatus, RR-0002: The Thermal Metric Project - Summary Report, RR-0002: The Thermal Metric Project - Test Wall Construction and Installation, RR-0104: Solar Driven Moisture in Brick Veneer, RR-0105: Brick, Stucco, Housewrap and Building Paper, RR-0206: Foundations—Moisture Resistant Construction, RR-0208: What You Need to Know About Mold, RR-0210: Mold Remediation in Occupied Homes, RR-0211: Mold—Causes, Health Effects and Clean-up, RR-0304: Central Fan Integrated Supply Ventilation—The Basics, RR-0306: Unvented Roofs, Hot-Humid Climates and Asphalt Roofing Shingles, RR-0308: The How and Why of Your High Performance HVAC System, RR-0407: Installing a Window with Building Paper on OSB over Wood Frame Wall, RR-0412: Insulations, Sheathings and Vapor Retarders, RR-0503: Rainwater Management Performance of Newly Constructed Residential Building Enclosures, RR-0603: Impact Resistance of Advanced Framed Wall Systems with Insulating Sheathing as the Primary Sheathing, RR-0701: Whole House Ventilation Systems Options—Phase 1 Simulation Study, RR-0803: Volatile Organic Compound Concentrations and Emission Rates in New Manufactured and Site-Built Houses, RR-0901: Thermal Metrics for High Performance Walls—The Limitations of R-Value, RR-0905: Modeled and Measured Drainage, Storage and Drying Behind Cladding Systems, RR-0906: Field Monitoring and Hygrothermal Modeling of Interior Basement Insulation Systems, RR-0907: Ventilated Wall Claddings: Review, Field Performance, and Hygrothermal Modeling, RR-0912: Discussion of Ventilation System Energy Performance and Cost, RR-0912: Spray Polyurethane Foam: The Need for Vapor Retarders in Above-Grade Residential Walls, RR-0917: Measurement of Attic Temperatures and Cooling Energy Use in Vented and Sealed Attics in Las Vegas, Nevada, RR-0981: Vented and Sealed Attics in Hot Climates, RR-0991: Air Distribution Fan and Outside Air Damper Recycling Control, RR-0994: Unvented-cathedralized attics: Where we've been and where we're going, RR-0995: Air Pressure and Building Envelopes, RR-0996: Air Handler Leakage Testing: Sierra Air Conditioning, La Vegas, Nevada, RR-1014: High-R Walls for the Pacific Northwest–A Hygrothermal Analysis of Various Exterior Wall Systems, RR-1104: Hygrothermal Analysis of Exterior Rockwool Insulation, RR-1110: Hygrothermal Analysis of California Attics, RR-1207: Vancouver Field Exposure Facility: Phase III Exterior Insulation Analysis, RR-1304: Vancouver Field Exposure Facility—Phase III Construction and Instrumentation, RR-1305: Vancouver Field Exposure Facility—Phase IV Construction and Instrumentation, RR-1306: Vancouver Field Exposure Facility—Analysis and Comparison of HardiePlank Walls, RR-1401: Design Challenges of the NIST Net Zero Energy Residential Test Facility, RR-1014: High R Walls for the Pacific Northwest – A Hygrothermal Analysis of Various Exterior Wall Systems, Canadian Urethane Foam Contractors Association, a 67°F r higher wet bulb temperature for 3,000 or more hours during the warmest six consecutive months of the year; or. BSI-092: Doubling Down—How Come Double Vapor Barriers Work? The main objective of Phase IV is to determine how various configurations of exterior low vapor permeance insulation affect the moisture durability risk of structural wood-based sheathing. Supporting Framing Around Windows, Info-707: What's Wrong With This Project? Published Articles aare a selected set of articles written by BSC personnel and published in professional and trade magazines that address building science topics. The analysis was done using historical experience, published work in journals and trade publications, current building code requirements and WUFI hygrothermal simulations to assess benefits and risks associated with insulating the roof decks in both vented and unvented configurations. Building America Reports are technical reports funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Building America research program. Associated Schools of Construction – Publications Page, Abstracts & Papers — other publications – including abstracts and links to outstanding papers of members published in other peer reviewed journals and conference proceedings, Housing and Residential Building Construction, Display your support for Excellence in Building Science Education, Criteria for Excellence in Building Science Curricula. In the second part of the paper, specific strategies and details are described that were used for the design of the Net Zero Energy Residential Test Facility (NZERTF), a NIST laboratory in the form of a typical residence for a family of four that has been constructed on the NIST campus in Gaithersburg, MD. on the slope) while leaving the attic air space ventilated to outdoors. and What's Wrong with this Practice? Interior Framed Beam, Info-706: What's Wrong With This Project? The data presented is a subset of experimental data from a multi-phase, multi-year research project at the Vancouver Field Exposure Test Facility led by Building Science Corporation (BSC) and Gauvin 2000 Construction Limited. a dry season in the summer, the month with the heaviest precipitation in the cold season has at least three times as much precipitation as the month with the least precipitation.