EEBA's High Performance Home Blog

The EEBA High Performance Home Summit is now a full week behind us, but there were many highlights from the conference we’ll recap in this blog to get you excited for 2019! The conference opened up with an ode to the past as Harold Orr spoke at the Breakfast Plenary giving us a nostalgic look at the history of what we now call “Building Science” and showing us just how far things have come. It’s easy to become frustrated with slow-moving change in the industry, but his presentation really nailed down the importance of celebrating the wins we’ve had. Day 2 began with a lively conversation led by an expert panel on California’s Title 24 Standard. Ron Jones of Green Builder Media led the discussion on Day 3 and challenged everyone to stay optimistic about the future of the building industry. And we can’t forget to mention there were a ton of great sessions during all three days. We’d love to hear from you as to which were your favorites (maybe through that survey we emailed you ... read more

Tomorrow marks the start of the High Performance Home Summit in San Diego. We are extremely pleased with the lineup of speakers, courses, and events that will be offered. Make sure you download the Summit app to create your schedule and connect with other attendees. Two designation courses will be available this year at the Summit. The EEBA Site Supervisor Designation and the EEBA High Performance Builder Designation. Both will begin on Tuesday morning with the Builder Designation ending at the conclusion of the program on Thursday. The Site Supervisor Designation is a one-day only course. You’ll also find multiple tracks that aim to enhance your knowledge and improve your business strategy. On Tuesday morning we’ll be offering Energy Codes and Policy, Sales and Marketing, and Building Science tracks. Wednesday will cover Healthy Homes/IAQ/Ventilation, Water Efficiency & Conservation, Resiliency, Durability & Quality, and Innovation & The Future. Thursday will... read more

High performance home builders face several Indoor Air Quality challenges in the building process before, during, and after a home is constructed. Choosing a reliable ventilation solution is key for maximum efficiency. Panorama Homes, a custom green home builder in Albuquerque, New Mexico, wanted to install an effective system in several newly constructed single family homes. They felt it was crucial to select a competitive, high performing ventilation system and fan that could bring in enough fresh air to dilute harmful indoor pollutants and create an easier breathing environment for the families that were about to grow up and make memories in these new homes. Panasonic Eco Solutions’ Intelli-Balance 100 ERV was chosen to be the primary ventilation system in all new single-family homes. Carol Orona of Panorama Homes selected the system because of its overall efficiency and cost effectiveness, and technical features that provide builders with much needed flexibility,... read more

You may have seen the recent announcement regarding hotel overflow. While the venue hotel is sold out, there are a few rooms still available at the Bahia’s sister property, The Catamaran Resort Hotel & Spa (call their direct Reservation line at 800-422-8386 to receive the $189 “EEBA Summit” rate). Additionally, we have listed 4 additional nearby hotels on our website that should have space available. If you’ve procrastinated until now but want to attend or sponsor the Summit, it’s not too late! There are still some incredible events available to sponsor - like the two-hour Evening Social Event Dinner Cruise aboard the Bahia Resort’s William D. Evans Victorian-styled sternwheeler. Guests will be treated to an open bar, three international food stations, and some fabulous views of Mission Bay. Sponsors of this dinner cruise will receive 10 complimentary event tickets, recognition on all marketing and promotional materials (in Summit app, as well as on-site signage), a... read more

The EEBA Designation for Building Professionals will debut at this year’s High Performance Home Summit. The 3-day/3-course program is created for builders, construction managers, sales professionals, and designers seeking a broad understanding of building science and the latest applications in high-performance homes, compliance and strategic innovations. The designation should help demonstrate to employers, supervisors, clients, and consumers an understanding of the most dynamic and important trends in constructing houses. On day one, Gord Cooke will be taking participants through EEBA’s climate-specific Houses That Work™ course, aimed toward educating building professionals on the house-as-a-system approach to home performance. Andy Oding will join Gord Cooke on day two to lead participants through High Performance Mechanicals for Houses That Work™ - a course focused on understanding the growing complexity and scope of residential mechanical systems to comply with energy codes. ... read more

High-performance homes require better HVAC design strategies than code-built homes. Builders can more easily understand high-performance needs by familiarizing themselves with basic HVAC design concepts and strategies. The first step is conducting a room-by-room load calculation. Local climates determine whether a building’s HVAC system is designed to first meet cooling or heating needs. Heating-dominant climates require heating needs to be addressed before cooling, and vice versa. Load calculations are based on the coldest and hottest days of the year to ensure systems provide comfort at both extremes. In any climate, high-performance homes have significantly lower cooling and heating requirements than code-built homes, so the best options for them might be very different than a code-built home. Split-ductless systems, for example, provide both cooling and heating in one highly efficient system, and are a great solution for high-performance homes. The systems are... read more

For the last five years, the Department of Energy at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) has organized the “Race to Zero” Student Design Competition in Golden, Colorado. The event challenges college students and faculty from around the world through a design competition for zero energy-ready structures - both single-family and multifamily homes, as well as school buildings. This year’s event brought together 84 student teams from 68 collegiate institutions from nine different countries. EEBA has officially kicked off their student scholarship fundraising efforts by offering free attendance for two students per team to the 2018 High Performance Home Summit in San Diego. Each scholarship of $1,500 provides one student with full Summit registration and meals, double-occupancy for three hotel nights, tickets for a networking event and a dinner cruise, and $500 for transportation. The scholarship fund is the first initiative enabling interested students to attend and... read more

And as you know, education is important to us and with the High Performance Home Summit right around the corner, we thought we’d provide you with a preview of additional upcoming classes being offered around the country. Mike Barcik will be back at it again, leading The HERS Associate & Taking the Performance Path. This class, an introduction to the HERS Index and IECC Compliance, will allow attendees to obtain CEU’s for AIA/CES (HSW), BPI, ICC, NARI, NAHB, and NATE, as well as earn the HERS Associate designation. The session will be offered at the following locations, on the following dates: Boston, MA - September 25, 2018 Baltimore, MD - September 26, 2018 Charleston, SC - November 15, 2018 Nashville, TN - December 5, 2018 Andy Oding will be leading the High Performance Mechanicals for Houses That Work session in Boise, ID on October 10, as well as in Portland, OR on November 8. Andy has over 23 years of experience in the residential construction industry and... read more

The Department of Energy recently released their 2018 Housing Innovation Award winners. The program recognizes the best in innovation on the path to zero energy ready homes. Winners are selected for each of five categories and one Grand Winner will be announced from each category during the EEBA High Performance Home Summit in San Diego, October 16-18. You won’t want to miss the Luncheon on Day 1 of the Summit as Sam Rashkin announces the Grand Winners and the Housing Innovation Winners take part in PechaKucha with Alex Glenn. These companies and organizations have designed homes that are independently certified to meet the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home guidelines and hail from all over the U.S. “Every year we see the caliber of winning homes rise. Thrive is honored to be in the company of such great HIA winners,” says Gene Myers, EEBA Board President and CEO of Thrive Home Builders in Denver. Innovation in Affordable Homes winners received recognition for building homes at an... read more

On May 9, the California Energy Commission voted to mandate advanced efficiency measures and rooftop solar for all new houses, condos and apartment buildings (up to three stories tall), obtaining building permits after January 1, 2020. If a building isn’t suitable for a rooftop array, it will be required to have access to community solar or offset energy usage through alternative efficiency gains. Builders can also take advantage of “compliance credits” by installing batteries like the Tesla Powerwall or sonnenBatterie - and further reduce the size of the solar array. As California builders, raters, analysts, and architects seek methods and solutions to meet this aggressive state policy, part of this year’s High Performance Home Summit will be aimed at putting all the information California builders need in one place, to help you reach the goal of compliance in time. Various classes will be offered revolving around the impact of policy, code, and Title 24 on design and... read more