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This library of educational resources has been developed specifically for residential contractors participating in New Jersey Clean Energy Programs for residential construction.

  • ASHRAE – ASHRAE, founded in 1894, is a global society advancing human well-being through sustainable technology for the built environment. The Society and its members focus on building systems, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, refrigeration and sustainability within the industry. Through research, standards writing, publishing and continuing education, ASHRAE shapes tomorrow’s built environment today.
  • Building America Solution Center – Developed and supported by the US Department of Energy, the Building America Solution Center provides access to expert information on hundreds of high-performance construction topics, including air sealing and insulation, HVAC components, windows, indoor air quality, and much more.
  • BuildingGreen – BuildingGreen, Inc. is an independent, mission-based consultancy and publisher based in Brattleboro, Vermont. For over 20 years, BuildingGreen has been the trusted source on healthy and sustainable design and construction strategies available online and in-person through consulting and training services.
  • Cool Roofs Fact Sheet – U.S. Department of Energy brochure on cool roofs; describing the science behind cool roofs, how to purchase cool roof materials, and the benefits of cool roofs.
  • Foundation Design Handbook – This handbook provides information that enables designers, builders, and homeowners to understand foundation design problems and solutions.
  • High Performing Buildings – Published in conjunction with ASHRAE, High Performing Buildings magazine describes measured performance of practices and technologies to promote better buildings, presenting case studies that feature integrated building design practices and improved operations and maintenance techniques. Practical solutions are presented through case studies that include measured performance data and lessons learned through the design, construction and operation of today’s best-performing buildings measured through sustainability, efficiency and whole-building performance.
  • Home Energy Pros Forum – The Home Energy Pros Forum is a social network and community dedicated to Home Energy professionals. Its purpose is to amplify the collective knowledge base of the Home Energy professional network by offering a space for sharing resources, education, and knowledge.  The Forum offers blogs from industry leaders and peers, an interactive discussion forum, a calendar of upcoming industry events, and a library of resources about home energy efficiency.
  • Home Innovation Research Labs – Home Innovation Research Labs (formerly the NAHB Research Center) was founded in 1964 as a wholly-owned, independent subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). Originating as a small product testing laboratory, it has grown to become a full-service market research, consulting, product testing, and accredited third-party certification agency dedicated solely to issues related to the home building industry.
  • National Institute of Building Sciences (NIBS) – Established by Congress, NIBS is non-profit, non-governmental organization bringing together representatives of government, the professions, industry, labor, and consumer interests to focus on the identification and resolution of problems that hamper the construction of safe, affordable structures for housing, commerce and industry throughout the United States. The Institute provides an authoritative source of advice for both the private and public sector of the economy with respect to the use of building science and technology.
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory: BEopt – The Building Energy Optimization (BEopt™) tool evaluates single-family detached and multifamily building designs and identifies the most cost-effective whole-house efficiency packages to achieve zero energy. The tool analyzes new construction and existing home retrofits, evaluating single building designs, parametric sweeps, and cost-based optimizations.
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory: EnergyPlus – EnergyPlus® is the Building Technology Office’s state-of-the-art open-source building energy modeling (BEM) simulation engine. It provides the detailed and validated physics-based algorithms needed by building designers and researchers to accurately model whole-building system energy performance to inform integrated design, early-stage and advanced R&D, standards, policy, and investment decision-making.
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory: foresee – foresee™ uses machine-learning algorithms, advanced data analytics, and physics-based modeling and simulation to derive data-driven appliance models and energy use patterns within a home and predict future energy consumption while coordinating the operation of connected appliances. This secure home automation system takes occupants’ personal habits and priorities into account and automatically creates energy-saving scenarios homeowners can comfortably implement.
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory: ResStock Analysis Tool – The ResStock™ Analysis Tool identifies which home improvements save the most energy and money for cities, states, municipalities, utilities, and manufacturers. This tool processes data from supercomputer simulations with a statistical model of housing stock characteristics as well as large public and private data sources.
  • National Renewable Energy Laboratory: Technology Performance Exchange – The Technology Performance Exchange™ provides consumers, manufacturers, vendors, modelers, researchers, and utilities standardized product data to facilitate and improve assessments and comparisons of building-related products. This is a centralized, web-based portal for finding and sharing information on cost-effective, energy-efficient technologies.
  • NEEA Emerging Technology Reports – The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) publishes quarterly reports on emerging technologies that can reduce energy consumption in homes and business across the Northwest.
  • Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance – The Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) is an alliance of more than 140 Northwest utilities and energy efficiency organizations working to advance energy efficiency on behalf of more than 13 million energy consumers.
  • RESFEN – A tool to help consumers and builders pick the most energy-efficient and cost-effective window for a given application, for new homes, additions, or as window replacements. It calculates heating and cooling energy use and associated costs as well as peak heating and cooling demand for specific window products.
  • US DOE Better Buildings Residential Network – Better Buildings Residential Network members come from all sectors of the energy efficiency industry to leverage one another’s experiences and expertise in an effort to accelerate the pace of energy upgrades in existing homes. Members include state and local governments, nonprofit organizations, utilities, financial institutions, and private-sector companies involved in energy efficiency programs in their locality.
  • US DOE Better Building Residential Program Solution Center – The Better Buildings Residential Program Solution Center is a repository for lessons learned, resources, and knowledge from program administrators and industry experts across the country. Information is provided to help stakeholders plan, operate, and evaluate residential energy efficiency programs.
  • US DOE Building America Program – Building America has been a source of innovations in residential building energy performance, quality, affordability, and comfort for over 20 years. The research program partners with industry (including many of the top U.S. home builders) to bring cutting-edge innovations and resources to market.
  • US DOE Building Technologies Office – The US Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office leads a vast network of research and industry partners to continually develop innovative, cost-effective energy-saving solutions—better products, better new homes, better ways to improve older homes, and better buildings in which we work, shop, and lead our everyday lives.
  • US DOE Building Technologies Office: BTO Digest – The Building Technologies Office Digest provides a roundup of the latest news, funding opportunities, reports, events, and webinars from the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE’s) Building Technologies Office.  Subscribe here: https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/bto-digest-office-newsletter
  • US DOE Building Technologies Office: Emerging Technologies Program – BTO’s Emerging Technologies (ET) Program enables cost-effective, energy-efficient technologies to be developed and introduced into the marketplace. ET funds and directs applied research and development (R&D) for technologies and tools that support building energy efficiency.  Specific areas of focus include: HVAC, Water Heating, and Appliances; Windows and Building Envelope; Solid-State Lighting; Whole-Building Energy Modeling (BEM); Sensors and Controls; Buildings-to-Grid Integration
  • US DOE Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals – Based on decades of experience from the weatherization program the Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals include Standard Work Specifications for Home Energy Upgrades (SWS) and Home Energy Professional certifications, along with accreditation of energy-efficiency training programs.
  • US DOE Home Performance with ENERGY STAR® – Home Performance with ENERGY STAR (HPwES) program connects homeowners with experienced and trusted contractors that can help them understand their home’s energy use and identify home improvements that increase energy performance, improve comfort and health, and lower utility bills.
  • US DOE Solar Decathlon -Established in 2002, the Solar Decathlon® is an annual collegiate competition, comprising 10 contests, that challenges student teams to design and build highly efficient and innovative buildings powered by renewable energy. The winners are will be those teams that best blend architectural and engineering excellence with innovation, market potential, building efficiency, and smart energy production.
  • US DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes Program – Zero Energy Ready Homes represent a whole new level of home performance, with rigorous requirements that ensure outstanding levels of energy savings, comfort, health, and durability.  DOE’s Zero Energy Ready Homes program provides information on achieving these performance levels, together with recognition to buildings and builders who achieve them.
  • Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) – Maintained by the National Institute of Building Sciences, the WBDG is the only web-based portal providing government and industry practitioners with one-stop access to up-to-date information on a wide range of building-related guidance, criteria, and technology from a ‘whole buildings’ perspective. Currently organized into three major categories—Design Guidance, Project Management, and Operations & Maintenance—at the heart of the WBDG are Resource Pages, reductive summaries on particular topics.
  • WUFI -WUFI is a menu-driven PC program which allows realistic calculation of the transient coupled one-dimensional heat and moisture transport in multi-layer building components exposed to natural weather. It is based on the newest findings regarding vapor diffusion and liquid transport in building materials and has been validated by detailed comparison with measurements obtained in the laboratory and on outdoor testing fields.