EEBA's High Performance Home Blog

On this Earth Day, it is important to focus on ways we can make our homes more energy-efficient, healthy, and sustainable. We will provide you with an overview of the top 10 things you need to know to achieve these high-performance goals. From working with a HERS/ERI rater to incorporating a net-zero electrification strategy, we will cover topics such as energy efficiency, air quality, ventilation, heat pumps, resiliency, and more. By understanding these key concepts, you can take the necessary steps to reduce your carbon footprint and make a positive impact on the environment. The environment is subject to numerous human influences and impacts, including pollution, burning fossil fuels, and deforestation. However, nearly 40% of global carbon dioxide emissions come from the real estate sector. Of these emissions, 27% are produced by building operations and 13% are produced by embodied carbon such as infrastructure materials and construction. 1. Connect with Home Energy Rating... read more

For this year’s Women’s History Month, EEBA invited three knowledgeable women: founder of Younger Homes Danielle Younger, co-owner and Marketing Director of Lifestyle Homes, Karen Kicinski, and co-founder of Charis Homes, Glenna Wilson, to share with us how they entered the sustainable building industry. Following a discussion about how the industry has impacted them and how they’ve impacted the industry in return, they also discussed the sustainable technologies and innovations they have implemented and provide advice for women looking to enter the residential construction industry. In this month's feature, we chose to highlight these three women to recognize the countless women that work courageously to advance equality and opportunities for women in the United States. Aaron Smith: Tell us about the most challenging and rewarding aspects of day-to-day operations in this industry. In what ways do you feel you uniquely meet those challenges? Karen Kicinski: The... read more

One of the most mentioned items in the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is heat pumps. The IRA provides significant rebates and/or tax credits for the installation of heat pumps. These rebates and tax credits make this technology worth considering for all builders and homeowners installing new equipment or upgrading old systems. Let’s cover what types of heat pumps are available and why you will want to consider them. Heat pumps are up to five times more efficient than standard systems and have the ability to use air or water to heat and cool systems within a home. Heat pumps use electricity to transfer thermal energy from one place to another instead of producing heat through combustion. Heat pumps can be classified into two types: ground-source and air-source. Both can provide efficient heating and cooling solutions with minimal electricity consumption and no combustion. How Different Types of Heat Pumps Function: Ground Source Heat Pumps: Geothermal heat... read more

The United States continues to deal with water scarcity and shortages across the country, affecting homeowners and builders. Sustainable building practices have predominantly been focused on energy efficiency to reduce household carbon footprints and financial burdens, however, with the ongoing drought in the US and the increased demand for housing, the need for water-efficient homes is necessary for the future of the industry. As city populations increase, builders, developers, and politicians are faced with the significant challenge of supplying millions of people with potable water. Dry regions such as the West and Southwest parts of the US are struggling as more people migrate to already overpopulated cities with further depleting water sources. Builders are having trouble finding water reliable areas to build which in turn adds to the increased housing demand. State and federal governments in these areas are strategizing how to distribute and protect major water... read more

Clare Homes is a semi-custom single family home builder located in Lafayette, Louisiana, established by Isaac Scott and Kendall Gilmore. Their mission is to build more resilient, healthy, and energy-efficient homes for their customers and community. EEBA is excited to announce Clare Homes as the Builder of the Month. In this month's feature, we asked Clare Homes co-founder Isaac Scott to share some insight on their growing company. Aaron Smith: Tell us a little bit about Clare Homes. How did you get started and what are some of your goals? Isaac Scott: Clare homes, was founded in 2021, by myself and my business partner, and one of my best friends, Kendall Gilmore. Clare is an acronym for clean air, resilient, efficient homes. It’s been my personal and professional goal to build sustainable homes and communities since I was 18 and my mom first said to me, why don't you build sustainable communities? AS: Tell us what you're doing around clean air in homes. IS:... read more

Concert venues, shopping plazas and sporting arenas are continuously constructing accessibility improvements to make public spaces more comfortable for people with disabilities. But unfortunately, there’s one place that continues to be a challenge for people with disabilities to navigate — their own homes.

... read more

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) is a key piece of legislation that is helping to transform the way we think about sustainable housing. By providing incentives to encourage the electrification of buildings and infrastructure, the IRA is helping to reduce energy costs, promote energy efficiency, and create a more sustainable housing landscape. In this blog post, we'll discuss the effects of the IRA on sustainable housing and the benefits it has for homeowners and society. What is the Inflation Reduction Act? The Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 is an ambitious climate initiative that provides $369 billion in funding to achieve a net zero carbon economy and transition the US to clean energy technologies by 2050. The Act seeks to reduce global emissions and create economic opportunities for all Americans by investing in EV charging infrastructure, renewable energy, smart grids, and tax incentives for energy freedom and independence. The Act also works to reduce the cost of... read more

For decades, the perfect storm of challenges has been brewing throughout the construction industry, and this storm is now forcing all of us to consider how we design and build to best address today’s challenges. The storm includes a combination of construction material quality, cost instability, skilled labor shortages, increasing energy and building code requirements, the need for more resilient structures, rising utility costs, and a demand for healthy environments all combining at once in a market full of uncertainty. Builders, architects, engineers, and building owners must address these challenges – all while working to balance construction schedules, budgets, design flexibility, and occupant comfort. The good news is there is a solution that tackles each of these challenges – and also helps you create stronger and more energy efficient buildings. Register to join a complimentary live webinar on December 8th (10:30a PST/11:30a MT) to... read more

In this webinar, David Bernadino goes over the role of competitive differentiation and why it is critical to any marketing strategy. Bernadino gives an overview of some of the tools and techniques to assess your brand versus your competitors and how to apply this to any marketing strategy.

... read more

Know what business you're in and capitalize for it. Are you a developer? Are you a builder? Are you in and titeler? And those of you who do multiple things, each one of them requires a different capital structure. If you're doing the land business, you better have a lot of equity but, if you are a builder, you can have a reasonable amount of debt because you're spinning your inventory relatively fast. You should ask yourself, are we capitalized correctly? 

... read more