The 2024 Building Excellence Awards were presented at the High Performance Home Builder Summit in Salt Lake City, an awards banquet that truly showcased the unwavering dedication, innovation, and sheer talent driving the construction industry forward. This awards banquet is a testament to the remarkable projects, brilliant minds, and tireless efforts that have shaped our built environment over the past year.
We are thrilled to congratulate this year's winners, whose work not only sets new standards in building science, sustainability, and energy efficiency but also exemplifies excellence in high-performance home construction. Their achievements are helping to shape a more sustainable and resilient future for all of us.
Volunteer Award: Theresa Gilbride
Congratulations to Theresa Gilbride, a building energy efficiency researcher at Pacific Northwest National Laboratory. The EEBA Volunteer Award recognizes Theresa who selflessly gave her time, energy, and skills to make a positive impact on the building communities. This award is a heartfelt tribute to Theresa's valuable contributions and serves as a reminder of the power of community involvement and their work for the EEBA community.
Top Supplier Award: Daikin Comfort Technologies
Congratulations to Daikin for their exceptional contributions to the home building industry and for your dedicated support in our community. Daikin's commitment to innovation, sustainability, and customer satisfaction sets them apart as a trusted leader in HVAC solutions.
Learn more about Daikin
Top Supplier Award: GAF Energy
Congratulations to GAF Energy for their innovative and leading product, the Timberline Solar™ roof system, incorporates the world’s first nail-able solar shingle to create an attractive, durable, and reliable solar roof.
Learn more about GAF Energy
Building Excellence Awards
The Building Excellence Awards are a celebration of innovation and achievement in the fields of construction and architecture. These awards honor outstanding projects, visionary leaders, and revolutionary teams that have made exceptional contributions to the industry in Healthier Homes, Electrification, Resiliency, and Decarbonization.
Excellence in Healthier Homes: Empire Communities
Congratulations to Empire Communities for their Excellence in Healthier Homes for their Empire x ERTH360 Discovery Home.
Empire Communities x ERTH 360's holistic solution is based on the science of building biology, the first known green movement to advocate for improvements to living and work spaces to promote the health of the people that occupy them. ERTH360’s solutions make use of natural building materials, abundant ventilation, natural light, humidity control, and a multitude of other features.
Learn more about Empire Communities
Excellence in Electrification: Thrive Home Builders
Congratulations to Thrive for their Excellence in Electrification for their Loretto Heights E-PWR 3-Story Townhomes.
Thrive’s E-PWR Townhomes in Loretto Heights, the area’s only new neighborhood without gas lines, is an all-electric, energy-efficient home designed using common materials to rethink Thrive’s “house as a system” approach. It features Carrier air source heat pumps with electric resistance backup to ensure comfort during cold weather, and a separate heat source for the lower level based on an NREL study. The home also includes a Rheem Heat Pump Hot Water Heater in a compact space, Aerobarrier air sealing, a 5.2 kW Sunnova solar array for a HERS -1 rating, and a Schneider Electric Wiser Home Power Monitor with EV charging. Additional features like radon mitigation, smart switches, and temperature monitors enhance performance, while all elements combine to create a seamless system for managing energy use and home comfort.
Learn more about Thrive Home Builders
Excellence in Resiliency: RIoT Technology
Congratulations to RIoT Technology for their Excellence in Resiliency for their Home Performance Management Systems.
RIoT Technologies' Home Performance Management System offers proactive solutions to protect homes from severe weather-related damage. Its Water Management & Leak Detection system prevents costly water damage by monitoring for leaks and extreme temperatures in real time, safeguarding pipes and promoting water stewardship. The Intelligent HVAC Monitoring system enhances heat resilience by tracking AC performance, optimizing efficiency, and preventing grid stress during heat waves. Additionally, RIoT’s battery backup protects critical systems during power outages, automatically shutting off water to prevent burst pipes upon restoration, as seen during events like the Great Texas Freeze of 2021.
Learn more about RIoT Technology
Excellence in Decarbonization: KB Home
Congratulations to KB Home for their Excellence in Decarbonization for their Tucson Decarbonization Pilot.
KB Home’s Tucson Decarbonization Pilot highlights its commitment to reducing both operational and embodied carbon in the homes it builds. With over two decades of energy-efficient design, KB Home’s Tucson properties boast an average HERS score of 50, translating to lower greenhouse gas emissions than the national average. The pilot introduces lower-carbon products like Vertua® concrete by Cemex, which reduces carbon emissions by over 30%, and Greenfiber® SANCTUARY® cellulose insulation, made from 85% recycled paper. These efforts are expected to reduce over 3,000 metric tons of CO2e, with plans to scale these innovations across other KB communities.
Learn more about KB Home
Thank you to Chris Magwood with RMI and HomebuildersCAN for Sponsoring the Excellence in Decarbonization Award.
Learn more about RMI and HomebuildersCAN