Zonda - Resource Library

From optimizing the sun through solar tempering to making the right heating and cooling system decisions, this paper details the energy efficiency solutions homeowners are looking for.

When planning and designing homes, architects should know that more than 12.6 million U.S. households rely on propane for their primary energy needs. Propane has many advantages such as offering heat for water, outdoor spaces, and inside the home. In addition, propane provides clean fuel for comforting fireplaces, cooking food, and drying clothing.

Propane can be stored above ground or in underground propane tanks, an option many builders are choosing in order to fuel homes off the natural gas mains. This course will cover important considerations when planning for propane use in residential construction.

Zero net energy (ZNE) construction represents a vast opportunity for builders and contractors. So what is a zero net energy home? In the simplest terms, a ZNE home produces as much energy as it uses, most commonly using efficient construction methods. Achieving ZNE performance involves a whole-building design approach to consider all of a home's systems — the building envelope, mechanical systems, and lighting and appliances — in an integrated way.

This e-book collects our most valuable resources on ZNE projects to help you define what ZNE means for you and examine factors such as energy prices, net metering policies, solar resources, incentives, and budget. You’ll see that getting to zero doesn’t mean giving up desirable and high-performance gas systems.

This On Demand CEU is a recorded presentation from a previously live webinar event. Thermal bridging has been recognized as a significant factor in building envelope heat loss and yet traditional construction practices have not effectively addressed many of the causes. Building Better with Thermal Breaks will identify areas most susceptible to thermal bridging and offer solutions that will minimize those heat loss conditions. Designing structural thermal breaks into buildings will improve the comfort, safety, durability, and reduce the environmental impact.

Home tech is a wild card. Countless gadgets hit the market every year but don't last. Beyond the basics, the best technologies are those that solve real problems. Two of today’s big challenges are how to accommodate home-based work and how to keep the home's occupants healthy.

Since arriving in our homes, smart technology has put welcome conveniences at our fingertips. With a growing demand for energy in homes, it is increasingly clear that living spaces need to be not only smart but also sustainable.

Sustainability is a growing concern for home buyers - and builders can take advantage of this by designing new homes that make sustainable living accessible for their customers.

It makes sense that sealing your windows and doors saves energy, but have you ever wondered by how much? A life cycle assessment was conducted for a polyurethane sealant on a residential structure in Pittsburgh, PA. This course will explain types of sealants and how they are used on a residential structure, how life cycles are assessed, the methodology of this study, as well as results and conclusions.

Hear Sekisui House, Ltd., Marketing General Manager Norio Adachi on what bringing Chōwa to the United States market means to Sekisui House, its leaders, its partners, and its worldwide team of associates.

Select and install high-performance windows, preferably windows that are ENERGY STAR rated or that meet or exceed the ENERGY STAR program requirements for windows, doors, and skylights. If you are seeking certification under the ENERGY STAR Certified Homes program or the U.S. Department of Energy's Zero Energy Ready Home program, read this for more specific guidance.

This report records the results of a field study conducted in a historic home in Seattle, Washington, to document the performance of interior storm window inserts. The energy use and thermal performance of the house were monitored before and after the installation of the inserts. Using the defined analysis approach, it was determined that the interior storm windows produced a 22% reduction in heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning energy use and reduced building envelope leakage by 8.6%. Learn more.