U.S. Department of Energy - Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy

Building Technologies Program – Building America

Mixed-Humid Climate Publications

Map of the Mixed-Humid Climate which reaches from the coast of Maryland through North Carolina and sprawls to cover most of Kansas and Oklahoma.

Best Practices Series

Mixed-Humid Climate Best Practices Handbook - Volume 4

Mixed-Humid Climate Best Practices Handbook - Volume 4
A guide to achieving 15% whole-house energy savings (30% savings in space conditioning and hot water heating).

On this page, you will find case studies and the Best Practices handbook from the Mixed-Humid climate zone. The case studies feature residential building projects for both new and existing homes in this region. See Publications for other U.S. climate zones. These publications are available as Adobe Acrobat PDFs.

Best Practices Series Handbook

This guide is a resource to help builders construct high quality, energy-efficient homes in the Mixed-Humid climate zone in the United States.

New Construction Case Studies

Maryland

Project: Eco-Model Home - Arnold
Builder: Baldwin Homes
Profile: Eco-Model Home showcases 69 green features and five green certifications including DOE Builders Challenge.

New Jersey

Project: Legends at Mansfield – Columbus
Builder: Tindall Homes
Profile: Builders Challenge spotlight on community of energy-efficient homes with excellent insulation, high efficiency HVAC, tankless water heaters, and photovoltaics (PV) that achieve energy savings of 46% over the Building America benchmark.

Oklahoma

Project: Multiple Projects – Throughout Oklahoma
Builder: Ideal Homes
Profile: Builders Challenge spotlight on high efficiency homes featuring superior insulation, low-e windows, and high performance HVAC systems to achieve 50% energy savings over comparable homes.

District of Columbia

Project: Capitol Hill Row House Retrofit – Washington
Builder: Steven Winter Associates
Profile: The retrofit of this 145-year-old row house resulted in potential total energy savings of 43% while creating more useable space and meeting the neighborhood's historic requirements.

Maryland

Project: Baltimore Row House Retrofit – Baltimore
Builder: Chesapeake Habitat for Humanity
Profile: Using Building America best practices, this project renovated four historic row houses, resulting in energy savings of 32%.

The Building America publications listed below offer energy-saving guidelines applicable to every climate zone in the United States.

Energy Performance Techniques and Technologies: Preserving Historic Homes – Volume 13

Following Building America-sponsored research, this guide focuses on planning energy-efficient improvements for historic houses while preserving the home's historic features, being aware of and adhering to regulations related to historic designations, and addressing health and safety issues.

Air Sealing: A Guide for Contractors to Share with Homeowners – Volume 10

This guide provides information for contractors and homeowners to identify ways to seal unwanted air leaks in homes, while ensuring healthy levels of ventilation and avoiding indoor air pollution.

Solar Thermal & Photovoltaic Systems – Volume 6

This publication provides an introduction to current photo­voltaic and solar thermal building practices, and features more than a dozen builder case studies

Builders Challenge Quality Criteria Support Document – Volume 8, Version 1.2

This guide outlines 29 requirements and recommendation criteria that builders must meet to qualify for the Builders Challenge, and provides guidance for meeting the criteria.