The latest construction details, papers, reports, and other publications by IBACOS.
Advanced Strategy Guideline: Air Distribution Basics and Duct Design
This set of guidelines covers the final step in rightsizing HVAC systems, air distribution and duct design, and focuses on how the lower heating and cooling loads in higher performing homes impact the sizing process.
Download File [3,432 kb]
Advanced Strategy Guideline: Equipment Selection and Sizing
This publication takes on the second step of iterative HVAC design: equipment selection and sizing. The Guideline includes how to perform selection and sizing calculations, rules for different types of equipment and right-sizing tips for both cooling and heating equipment.
Download File [1,285 kb]
Implementing Quality Management at Wathen-Castanos Hybrid Homes
This case study covers the implementation of an extensive program of quality management at Wathen-Castanos, including benchmarking, training, formation of Work Improvement Groups, and results.
Download File [278 kb]
Guide to Heating and Cooling Load Calculations
This guide can be used as a point of entry for collaborative discussions between a builder, HVAC contractor, and
other trade partners to understand the importance of appropriately calculate peak heating and cooling loads, as
the first step of HVAC system design.
Download File [1,995 kb]
Final Expert Meeting Report: Simplified Space Conditioning Strategies for Energy Efficient Houses
On March 11, 2011, IBACOS and other Building America partners came together to discuss the relationship among advanced thermal enclosures, space conditioning systems and comfort, determining that further research in this area was needed.
Download File [341 kb]
Final Expert Meeting Report: Transitioning Traditional HVAC Contractors to Whole House Performance Contractors
IBACOS has embarked upon a research effort under the Building America Program to understand business impacts and change management strategies for HVAC companies. HVAC companies can implement these strategies in order to quickly transition from a “traditional” heating and cooling contractor to a service provider for whole house energy upgrade contracting.
Download File [624 kb]
National Housing Quality Award Winner Best Practices
Through the Department of Energy’s Building America program, IBACOS studied 13 years of past National Housing Quality Award winners to determine what made them so successful. Their Best Practices have been captured in this publication and aligned against the following key processes: Planning, Design, Marketing, Construction, Customers and Metrics.
Download File [138 kb]
Quality Management Tools for Each Step in Six Sigma's DMAIC
A proven approach to managing a quality improvement team or project is the Six Sigma DMAIC cycle -- Define, Measure, Analyze, Improve and Control. This publication lists specific quality management tools that can be used by a builder at each step in that process and provides web links for further information.
Download File [123 kb]
Window Installation Step-by-Step
This documentation of a window installation for the Energy Efficiency Lab Home provided trades and purchasing agents with the detail necessary to properly construct the assembly. As you move toward high performance homes, the more it's necessary to provide high-quality, in-depth documentation to successfully communicate how an assembly should be built.
Download File [2,492 kb]
Foundation Wall Mock-Up Poster
This poster is an overview of the foundation wall mock-up built well before construction of the Energy Efficiency Lab Home began in Pittsburgh. The mock-up examines the transition between the poured concrete basement and the high-R, above-grade wall that were selected for the lab home. This type of research helps to reveal and resolve any constructability issues long before the construction phase.
Download File [1,058 kb]
Paper on Best Practices® and Quality Issues in Residential Stucco Application
In the Western U.S., three-coat and one-coat stucco are the dominant exterior finishes for residential construction. Still, stucco is present in almost every market. While the use of stucco is widespread, it has performed poorly in recent years due to the improper execution of key details. This paper closely examines what has been learned from extensive on-site inspections and lab tests of both durable and failed stucco systems.
Download File [1,857 kb]
High Performance Scopes of Work
Integrating higher performance into builders' operations is a multi-faceted process. One aspect includes integrating higher performance requirements and activities into builders' scopes of work to enable them to communicate what the trades need to do to achieve the builders' overall goal of a high performance home. This report represents a first step in documenting the trade activities needed to achieve the high performance aspects of Building America homes into a scope of work program for builders.
Download File [914 kb]
Integrated Design Process Flow Chart
This generic integrated design flow chart shows the various parties and their interactions during the design of a new home, from the time a builder recognizes the need for a new home design to completion of the construction documents.
Download File [25 kb]
Final Status Report on Energy Monitoring, New Residential Green Building Code, and Technical Support for Energy-Efficient Rebuilding of Greensburg, Kansas
In July 2007, IBACOS began to assist the community of Greensburg and Kiowa County, Kansas by providing technical support to residents and builders on cost-effective, affordable, high performance, energy-efficient building strategies that have been proven through research conducted under the Building America program. This status report discusses IBACOS’ work activities in Greensburg, including the work completed on the recommended code package to the City, the contributions to the Greensburg Green Building Database, and the monitoring of two energy-efficient homes constructed by the Mennonite Housing Group.
Download File [1,459 kb]
Advanced Systems Research 2009 Annual Report
This 2009 annual report summarizes IBACOS' ongoing evaluation of advanced system opportunities related to four main areas of focus: thermal enclosures; HVAC; domestic hot water (DHW); and lighting, appliances, and miscellaneous electric loads (LAMEL).
Download File [1,155 kb]
The finish coat is the final coat of stucco applied to the wall. Out of all the coats, it is the thinnest and is meant to provide a decorative finish. The finish coat should be applied to the wall at a thickness of 1/16" to 1/8". To learn more, download "Best Practices® and Quality Issues in Residential Stucco Application," a paper that closely examines what IBACOS has learned from extensive on-site inspections and lab tests of both durable and failed stucco systems.
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