EEBA's High Performance Home Blog

When you finally arrive at the EEBA High Performance Home Summit in just less than a week, keep a lookout for attendees who have a golden ribbon attached to their badge. These distinct ribbons will either say “NEXTGEN SCHOLAR” or “NEXTGEN SPONSOR” and represent students and sponsors who are part of EEBA’s NextGen Scholarship Initiative. The goal of the NextGen Initiative is to bring students, recent graduates, and young professionals from around the U.S. to the High Performance Home Summit, as well as other regional trainings, where they can connect with potential mentors and employers. The goal of the NextGen Initiative is to bring students, recent graduates, and young professionals from around the U.S. to the High Performance Home Summit, as well as other regional trainings, where they can connect with potential mentors and employers. Last year, prior to the official launch of the Initiative, EEBA brought 16 participants of the Department of... read more

The Soleil Lofts will demonstrate a virtual solar power plant with all 600 homes in the Herriman, Utah community generating and storing energy. The project will utilize Sonnen EcoLinx batteries and local utility company Rocky Mountain Power will use the batteries to provide emergency power and manage peak energy use. Read more about Soleil Lofts. Whether it’s the DOE’s Housing Innovation Awards or the EPA’s Indoor airPLUS Leader Awards, it’s likely you’ll find yourself sitting next to a winner at some point during the Summit. C&B Custom Homes, Charis Homes, Fulton Homes, Mandalay Homes, Maracay Homes, Thrive Home Builders, E3 Energy, Energy Inspectors, JKP Energy Inspections, Steven Winter Associates all received recognition for Indoor airPLUS awards. Companies receiving awards for the Housing Innovation Awards can be found here. Don’t miss the awards ceremonies on Days 1 and 2 during lunch. The NextGen Scholarship Initiative will give... read more

I’ve recently had dealings with the building department in a local jurisdiction. I’ve met with some of the officials. I like the people who work in the departments, but the antiquated processes holding up approvals is cringeworthy. I think it’s pretty rare to find a truly progressive building department anywhere in America (but please share if you know one and feel free to brag on them), and if nothing in the world ever changed, maybe that would be fine. We all understand the challenges. They’re diverse and complex. Entrenched deep into our systems. The politics can be exhausting. Many areas around the country are struggling with affordability issues - whether it’s the cost of land and building permits, the rising price of materials, the lack of labor, or all of the above. At the same time, cities and states are moving towards higher energy efficiency standards - many times creating higher building costs. California has obviously led the way with their own energy goals, with... read more

It seems as though we were just in San Diego, sitting on a beach, listening to some fellow industry friends during a jam session. And now, in just one month, we’ll be in the mile high city taking in all that Denver has to offer. If you’re attending the High Performance Home Summit, you’ve been preparing for the Trek In by committing to defining and building high performance homes. You’ve surpassed Base Camp and know exactly where you stand and what your goals are. And in the following weeks as you continue to Acclimatize and understand the methodologies, materials and strategies to achieve success, The Summit will be awaiting you - the place where you’ll find verifiable performance and measured success. The 37th High Performance Home Summit will feature sessions on the latest and greatest in building science, combined with real-world application and problem solving. Network with others who have experienced success and learn more on these topics: Healthy homes How to build... read more

EEBA’s High Performance Home Summit is a little over a month away. The Grand Winners of The Department of Energy’s Housing Innovation Awards will be announced the first day of the conference on Tuesday, October 1. Many of the entrants are winners from previous years, but this year’s group of entries also features a handful of new participants. The winners in each of the following categories represents outstanding innovation around the country: Innovation in Affordable Homes Habitat for Humanity of Catawba Valley: Hickory, NC United Way of Long Island: East Patchogue, NY Innovation in Custom Homes (for buyer) Amaris Homes: Eden Prairie, MN Bellingham Bay Builders: Seattle, WA Clifton View Homes: Anacortes, WA Deltec Homes: Mills River, NC Ferrier Custom Homes: Mineral Wells, TX Greenhill Contracting: Newburgh, NY Health E Community Enterprises of Virginia: Hampton, VA High Performance Homes: Easton, MD Imery Group:... read more

For over 35 years EEBA has been a trusted resource for building science information and education in the construction industry. As a board-led organization, we rely on the expertise and commitment of these highly knowledgeable individuals. We are proud to introduce our newest board members - Tim O'Brien, Dennis Webb, and Adam Weinstein. Tim O’Brien, Tim O’Brien Homes Prior to joining the EEBA Board, the lead building science team member at Tim O’Brien Homes had been asked to get more involved in their mission to learn, share, and contribute to the best practices in building a high-performance, value-based, home. When that person advanced to another position within the company, it made sense for Tim to continue along that path. When he’s not helping to improve homes he is spending time on the lake with his family. Get to know Tim: If you were banned from the construction industry, what industry would you work in and why? “I would join an... read more

Acclimatization: to adapt to a new temperature, altitude, climate, environment, or situation, allowing one to maintain performance across a range of environmental conditions. We are just two months away from the High Performance Home Summit so it’s time to begin acclimating and preparing for everything the conference has to offer. Professional athletes often arrive days or weeks early to an event to adapt to a new temperature, altitude, climate or situation. It allows them to perform at their highest level and give everything they have when they compete. Most climbers who summit Everest spend 60 to 70 days doing so, in order to acclimatize themselves to the atmosphere at high altitudes. As industry professionals, we can do the same kind of preparation. Whether you’re a seasoned high performance builder or you’re still deciding if it’s your thing, it’s time to begin thinking about what you want to get out of the conference. Take a look at the Summit session descriptions and... read more

Next summer, the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Decathlon Build Challenge will take place in Washington, D.C. as part of the 2020 Smithsonian Folklife Festival. Participants in the Challenge will demonstrate various solutions for a number of building types, focusing on efficient and innovative buildings powered by renewable energy. The teams will compete and exhibit their solutions before a panel of industry expert jurors and will be working on their designs and build outs for two years - culminating in Washington, D.C. June 25 - July 5, 2020. 5 countries will be represented from around the world including the U.S., Netherlands, Chile, South Africa, and Canada. The teams who will be participating are: Hogeschool Utrecht University of Applied Sciences Utrecht, Utrecht, Netherlands Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas Missouri University of Science and Technology, Rolla, Missouri Universidad Técnica Federico Santa María, Valparaíso, Chile University of... read more

Base Camp: “a main encampment providing supplies, shelter, and communications for persons engaged in wide-ranging activities: as exploring, reconnaissance, hunting, or mountain climbing.” When trekking into high altitudes, climbers sometimes spend weeks at base camp while acclimating their bodies. It’s a great place to identify upcoming goals and re-evaluate where you are, and where you’re headed. In just a few months the EEBA High Performance Home Summit will be taking place in the mile high city of Denver, Colorado. The theme of the conference is “Reach for the Summit: A Future Where Every Home is High Performing, Healthy and Resilient” and will be a great place to prepare for the next step of your journey towards high performing homes. The Summit is focused on providing the tools and networking that builders, raters, analysts, and architects need to take high performance, healthy, resilient homes to new heights. Whether you’re just beginning or have “ascended” multiple... read more

Builder/Developer, Jay Epstein, owner of Health E Community Enterprises first began creating efficient homes in the 70’s. He won the very first Energy Value Housing Award for affordable homes in 1997 - the first year the program was offered. And after hearing about the U.S. Department of Energy Zero Energy Ready Home program in 2015, he built a home that eventually received a 2016 Housing Innovation Award. Epstein’s first Zero Energy Ready Home community, Rocketts Landing, in Richmond, VA, consisted of 28 homes that all had solar panels installed. He was so convinced his customers would see energy savings that his company guaranteed to pay buyers’ energy bills if they exceeded $1.50/day averaged over the course of a year. To achieve the Zero Energy Ready Home label, homes are required to have the following (as of May 1, 2019): ENERGY STAR for Homes Baseline Envelope - Fenestration shall meet or exceed ENERGY STAR requirements Duct System - Duct distribution systems... read more