Building Commissioning
Commissioning is a quality assurance process to ensure that new as well as existing buildings are designed, constructed, and operated in line with energy-related design intent. The practice is most typically applied to commercial and institutional buildings, although many of the principles and practices are applied to homes using different terminology (e.g., "Whole-home Performance". The Lawrence Berkeley National has established the largest database of commissioning experience, and found that whole-building energy use is reduced by over 15% on average when energy-related defects are corrected. Moreover, commissioning often also achieves ancillary benefits such as improvement of indoor environmental quality and equipment longevity. The state of the art is presented annual at a national conference.
U.S. Department of Energy - Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals
The Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals project (overview | full website) provides a comprehensive frame of reference for ensuring that energy-saving features in buildings achieve their intended performance. By having workers complete accredited energy efficiency training, earning Home Energy Professional Certifications, and installing work against a national benchmark for quality - the associated Standard Work Specifications provide the financial sector with a metric benchmark for quality assurance. The program covers single- as well as multi-family buildings.
No-Regrets Remodeling
This resource, developed by the non-profit Home Energy Magazine, assembles best practices in renovating existing homes with consideration to energy efficiency, indoor environmental quality, health, and safety. It is written in plain language and thus accessible to non-specialist audiences such as homeowners and appraisers.
Further reading