Retrofit Guide

The Building Design and Performance Program prepared three technical guidebooks for the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army to improve the efficiency of energy use in military family housing. Although the guides were developed for military family housing, they can also benefit non-military housing, especially public housing.

A Retrofit Guide provides a workable framework within which to structure the various parts of a comprehensive retrofit program, as well as helpful suggestions and sample contract language to develop and carry out the program. The guide addresses how to hire building energy consultants to perform audits and select measures and installers to perform the recommended energy conservation opportunities. To see this guide in Adobe Acrobat format, click here.

Two companion guides were also written. The Design Guide for Military Family Housing: Energy-Efficient Revitalization and New Construction was written for the architectural and engineering firms developing detailed revitalization and new construction designs and specifications. It provides necessary information and analytical tools to enable the designer to make prudent and cost-effective decisions regarding the type and extent of energy efficiency measures to be implemented as part of the new construction or revitalization process. An Inspection Field Manual was written to identify the important energy-efficiency features that an inspector should examine during field inspection of military family housing and to define a correct or "standard-of-practice" installation for the inspector. The manual was designed specifically for use on construction projects that followed the guidance provided in the Design Guide,
although the manual is a useful reference in conducting energy inspections for projects developed following the Retrofit Guide or for any other housing construction project.