EEBA's High Performance Home Blog

Industry events can, at times, be predictable. Same speakers, same topics, same format. And while presenters are grasping for an opportunity to create an atmosphere of authenticity in their presentation, there’s rarely enough time left for a good discussion afterwards. Last year’s conference in Atlanta not only offered PechaKucha, but also the first EEBA Innovation Summit. Assembling a panel packed with diverse backgrounds and expertise, Colby Swanson and Calvin Trumbo of Momentum Innovation Group, joined forces with Mike Hess of Panasonic CityNow, and Aaron Holm of Blokable to give attendees a taste of project and product innovation happening within the industry. Hess explained how Panasonic is utilizing technology to build the smart city of tomorrow. Holm, an ex-Amazon exec, described the housing issues they are trying to help solve at Blokable, and Swanson and Trumbo went into detail about areas inside and outside the industry that are pushing the boundaries of... read more

EEBA will be offering the new HERS Associate course ("An Introduction to the HERS Index & IECC Compliance") in Atlanta and Raleigh during the month of May, and in June in Denver. The class is geared towards (but not limited to) builders, realtors, designers, architects, new home salespeople, manufacturing representatives, and sustainability students who are not certified HERS Raters. Mike Barcik, Technical Principal at Southface Institute, will lead the day-long, 3-part course introducing attendees to the HERS Index and exploring how it’s used to comply with the building code. "I really enjoy teaching this class. It covers the basic content of the energy code and demonstrates methods of compliance," says Barcik. "It also demonstrates how the HERS index is determined and how the Rating industry can help builders achieve code compliance and receive credit for beyond-code measures." Each class will begin with basic Building Science principles and how they relate to the... read more

At this year’s High Performance Home Summit in San Diego, we'll be bringing back the highly rated PechaKucha. Last year's standing room only session gave attendees a chance to get a quick glimpse of multiple presentations. PechaKucha is a style of presenting aimed at quickly and creatively conveying a message. Presenters have under seven minutes to keep the audience engaged through 20 slides while being as concise and informative as possible, and ending with a short Q&A. Luis Imery presents during PechaKucha at the 2017 High Performance Home Summit in Atlanta (Click to View Video) Winners from the Department of Energy's Housing Innovation Awards have participated in the last two PechaKucha events at EEBA's High Performance Home Summit. Facilitator and EEBA Board Member, Alex Glenn, hopes to see more industry leaders and innovative thinkers get involved this year. "I like PechaKucha for many reasons, including how many ideas can be presented in such a short amount of... read more

Our technology-driven world comes with great advancements and achievements, but also many challenges. Autonomous vehicles are a good example. The success and progression of this technology will require federal, state and local government input, as well as material manufacturers and automakers - all working together to help create and improve future infrastructure. And how about solar? While California, Florida, and Arizona understand the benefits of utilizing solar panels, utilities are still figuring out some of the details. This is resulting in rate changes, or laws being put in place, to prohibit or reduce the amount of solar that can be installed. And that’s not progress. So how do we adopt technologies in a way in which they actually benefit our infrastructure? This was just one of the questions Dan Wildenhaus and Shaun Hassel posed to attendees at the 2017 EEBA Summit in their lively, 90-minute session, "What the Duck". "We're always looking early in the year to get the ... read more