EEBA's High Performance Home Blog

Solar PV Installations Habitat for Humanity of Macon was recently awarded a $60,000 grant to install solar panels on 5 homes. In collaboration with Mercer University, funds were awarded by the All Points North Foundation to install low-cost grid-tied rooftop solar PV systems at no cost to homeowners. The PV systems should “offset 80-100 percent of each home’s annual energy needs, saving an estimated 6,400-kilowatt-hours of fossil fuel-sourced electricity, resulting in nearly $1,000 in savings per year for each homeowner.” The partnership with Mercer University’s Engineering for Development Program will allow students to have exposure to both Habitat for Humanity construction projects as well as the design and installation of solar PV systems. Improving Energy Security As part of the U.S. Department of Energy State Energy Program (SEP) grants, Habitat for Humanity in Kentucky recently received $67,000 to improve energy security and “support low-income families through... read more

Last month, students from 45 teams, representing 31 collegiate institutions, competed for bragging rights during the U.S. Department of Energy’s Solar Decathlon Design Challenge. And they did all digitally. Teams work with various departments in their respective universities (sometimes partnering with other schools), faculty, industry partners, to create a design for a net-zero energy project in one of the following categories:

• Suburban Single-Family
• Urban Single-Family
• Mixed-Use Multifamily
• Attached Housing
• Office Building
• Elementary School

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We’ve all been spending a lot of time in our homes. A lot more than usual. And since our indoor air is five times more polluted than outdoor air, any technology that can help confirm we’re breathing in good air, is a good thing. Molekule, a “science company” headquartered in San Francisco, has created an air purifier that uses nanotechnology and a dual-filtration system to destroy pollutants such as allergens, VOCs, viruses and bacteria. Studies show the air purifier can actually “capture, oxidize and destroy black mold.” The company’s proprietary technology is called PECO, or Photo Electrochemical Oxidation. It works at a molecular level to destroy pollutants and utilizes the same free radicals used to kill cancer cells. Their flagship residential product, Molekule Air, can be used in rooms up to 600 sq. ft. while the Molekule Air Mini+ is best for rooms up to 250 sq. ft. Molekule offers a quiet, energy-efficient option to conventional air purifiers. Research completed by... read more

If you’re looking for ways to connect professionally with others during the remainder of the quarantine, take a gander at some of these upcoming online events. Whether it’s a conference, webinar, or pre-recorded resource, we can help you find something that allows you to stay informed, continue to learn, and network with others in your industry. Yesterday, Suzanne Shelton presented on “Marketing to a Changed Market” where she shared some brand new insights on what Americans are seeing as needs and wants in a home. She also laid out a framework for how you can position your company to align with and be successful in the post-Covid-19 market. If you missed this one, you can watch it here. And stay tuned as EEBA will continue offering informative webinars in their Covid-19 Strategy Series (see below for an upcoming webinar on April 21). Connect with them on LinkedIn and Facebook to stay up-to-date. Today, Wednesday April 15 at 11 am PT / 2pm ET, Sam Rashkin, Chief Architect at the... read more

As we wrote about in a previous blog post, EEBA has partnered with Professional Builder Magazine and Thrive Home Builders on the Ultimate Z.E.N. Home. This cutting-edge model home will be open for tours during the EEBA summit in Denver in late September. As a preview, the magazine will be publishing four one-page articles about the systems used in the home. The first article is posted below and can also be found at the magazine's website.

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"Altus at The Quarter," a townhome community consisting of 46 units, recently opened in Atlanta, Georgia and will serve as real-world research for understanding "how emerging smart technologies and distributed energy resources can impact energy efficiency, energy management and resiliency." The townhomes include PV panels, battery storage, heat pump water heaters, and other energy efficient building elements - all managed by a "grid-interactive control system" developed by Oak Ridge National Laboratory ("ORNL") and the Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office ("BTO"). Oak Ridge National Laboratory was originally established in 1943 as part of the Manhattan Project. They are currently managed and operated by UT-Battelle as a federally funded research and development center sponsored by the DOE. ORNL supports DOE's national missions of scientific discovery, clean energy, and security. The DOE's Building Technologies Office leads a vast network of research and... read more

In many areas in the country, home prices are growing faster than incomes are increasing. Making sure homes stay affordable once they are occupied is essential in keeping costs down once they’re occupied. Collaborating on projects is becoming more and more popular when attainability is of utmost importance. In Hillsborough County in the Tampa Bay, Florida area, Commissioners are working with the Florida Home Partnership, a 501(c)3 nonprofit community home builder to build seven zero energy homes. The houses will utilize solar panels and aim for monthly electric bills of $20 or less. Other features will include metal roofing and concrete walls for hurricane resistance and lower insurance premiums. Along with their collaboration with Florida Home Partnership, Hillsborough County has also secured a $150,000 grant from Wells Fargo. Wells Fargo has a history in housing philanthropy and recently announced a partnership with Enterprise Community Partners to create the Housing... read more

If you're looking for EEBA's new CEO, Aaron Smith, you'll likely find him in Minneapolis working on a remodeling project or playing outdoors with his family. Whether he's gardening, hiking, nordic skiing, downhill skiing, or playing hockey, his love of being outside is evident through the activities he and his wife, Jennifer, engage in with their three boys. Aaron's extensive resume includes over 20 years in construction, building products, sustainability and non-profit board leadership. He also has considerable experience in sales and business development and believes his current position with EEBA is a culmination of all of the subject matter he's been passionate about during his life. His grandfather was a builder in Minneapolis and played a pivotal role in his love for the building industry. “There's such a pride in building something,” says Smith. “My grandfather taught me early on that when you build something, it could be there forever. That stuck with me. There's... read more

EEBA is proud to announce a partnership with Pro Builder and Thrive Home Builders to bring The Ultimate Z.E.N. (Zero Energy Now) Home to this year’s High Performance Home Summit. The 2400-2600 sq ft “eco-luxury” model will be built on a 53’x80’ lot and will aim for LEED Gold certification, EPA ENERGY STAR and Indoor airPLUS and healthy home standards. The project will be completely electrified and decarbonized. This model will be used for an additional 33 homes in the development. “We hope that this home, being a model for a community with the same base specifications, shows that homes like these do not need to be one-off demonstration homes but that they can be a successful home series delivered in a competitive marketplace,” says Bill Rectanus, VP of Homebuilding Operations at Thrive Home Builders. As a leader in the home building industry, Thrive Home Builders has been providing the Colorado single family home market with energy efficient homes for over 25 years. Year after... read more

The Insurance Information Institute reports that between 2017 and 2019 there were over 176,000 wildfires across the U.S. - mostly in California. In the 2017 Tubbs Fire in Napa and Sonoma counties over 5,800 structures were destroyed. In 2018 almost 19,000 structures were consumed in a 4 hour period in Paradise, California. And just last year, the Kincade Fire in Northern California destroyed 374 buildings - 174 of those were residential structures. According to Forest Service data, wildfires in the U.S. are now lasting 78 days longer than they did in the 70’s and are also burning twice as much area. Currently, 42 U.S. states, Guam, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Island, and the District of Columbia, use or have adopted the International Fire Code (or an edition of the specific code), although almost a dozen of these do not use the particular code as a standard for all buildings. Many who lost their homes in these wildfires are finding it difficult to rebuild. While some homeowners ... read more