Resources & Tools

We offer the most updated news about essential tools for building science residential home builders:

Discover the essential tools shaping modern residential construction. From advanced software to innovative hardware, explore how these tools are revolutionizing efficiency, accuracy, and sustainability in building science.

We find news about essential tools for building science residential home builders:

  1. Energy Modeling Software
  2. Building Information Modeling (BIM) Software
  3. Building Controls Virtual Test Bed (BCVTB)
  4. Building Energy Data Exchange Specification (BEDES)
  5. Building Performance Database (BPD)
  6. Occupancy Simulator
  7. International Energy Analysis – Berkeley Lab Tools
  8. Home Save Energy
  9. High-Performance Windows and Doors
  10. Smart Home Technologies
  11. Renewable Energy Systems
  12. Air Quality Monitoring Devices
  13. and more

By leveraging these essential tools and technologies, building science residential home builders can unlock new opportunities for innovation, efficiency, and sustainability in their projects. Embracing the transformative potential of these tools empowers builders to elevate their craft, deliver superior outcomes, and shape the future of residential construction.

RESFEN

Resources & Tools /

RESFEN can help consumers and builders pick the most energy-efficient and cost-effective window for a given application, whether it is a new home, an addition, or a window replacement. It calculates heating and cooling energy use and associated costs as well as peak heating and cooling demand for specific window products. Users define a specific “scenario” by specifying house type (single-story or two-story), geographic location, orientation, electricity and gas cost, and building configuration details (such as wall, floor, and HVAC system type). Users also specify size, shading, and thermal properties of the window they wish to investigate. The thermal properties that RESFEN requires are: U-factor, Solar Heat Gain Coefficient, and air leakage rate. RESFEN calculates the energy and cost implications of the window compared to an insulated wall. The relative energy and cost impacts of two different windows can be compared.

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THERM

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THERM is a state-of-the-art computer program developed at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) for use by building component manufacturers, engineers, educators, students, architects, and others interested in heat transfer. Using THERM, you can model two-dimensional heat-transfer effects in building components such as windows, walls, foundations, roofs, and doors; appliances; and other products where thermal bridges are of concern. THERM’s heat-transfer analysis allows you to evaluate a product’s energy efficiency and local temperature patterns, which may relate directly to problems with condensation, moisture damage, and structural integrity.

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Optics

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The Optics computer program is designed for work with optical data for glass and glazing layers. Integration with the International Glazing Database (IGDB) makes it easy to build stacks of multiple glass layers and calculate the resulting optical properties. The program works transmittance and reflectance as a function of wavelength. This allows for calculation of integrated values, such as visible transmittance, according to a range of standards.

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BETTER

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BETTER is software toolkit that enables building operators to quickly, easily identify the most cost-saving energy efficiency measures in buildings and portfolios using readily available building and energy data. With minimal data entry, BETTER benchmarks a building’s or portfolio’s energy use against peers; quantifies energy, cost, and greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction potential; and recommends energy efficiency measures (technological and operational) for individual buildings or portfolios, targeting specific energy savings levels. The toolkit consists of a web application, application programming interface (API), and analytical engine source code.

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Berkeley Lab WINDOW

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Calculates performance of window and shading systems. It can be used to design and develop new products, teach about heat transfer through windows, and help develop building energy codes. It calculates total window thermal performance indices (i.e. U-values, solar heat gain coefficients, shading coefficients, and visible transmittances) for glazing and framing, as well as thermal and solar optical effects of a wide range of interior, between glass, and exterior shading systems.

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Occupancy Simulator

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COMFEN is a tool designed to support the systematic evaluation of alternative fenestration systems for project-specific commercial building applications. COMFEN provides a simplified user interface that focuses attention on key variables in fenestration design. Under the hood is Energy Plus, a sophisticated analysis engine that dynamically simulates the effects of these key fenestration variables on energy consumption, peak energy demand, and thermal and visual comfort.COMFEN is a tool designed to support the systematic evaluation of alternative fenestration systems for project-specific commercial building applications. COMFEN provides a simplified user interface that focuses attention on key variables in fenestration design. Under the hood is Energy Plus, a sophisticated analysis engine that dynamically simulates the effects of these key fenestration variables on energy consumption, peak energy demand, and thermal and visual comfort.

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Building Performance Database (BPD)

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The Building Performance Database (BPD) is the largest publicly-available source of measured energy performance data for buildings in the United States. It contains information about the building’s energy use, location, and physical and operational characteristics. The BPD can be used by building owners, operators, architects and engineers to compare a building’s energy efficiency against customized peer groups, identify energy efficiency opportunities, and set energy efficiency targets. It can also be used by

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