EEBA's High Performance Home Blog

With businesses opening and life becoming more normal after COVID-19, you may want to start fresh, too. The best place to begin is with your home. Rearranging, remodeling, and refreshing your home sustainably can make it feel like a real new start. Begin by asking yourself the following questions to figure out how to revive your home post-pandemic.

A green future depends on sustainable cities. It might sound contradictory, but it’s actually greener for people to reside in urban environments. In order to preserve what’s left of the natural environment, human settlements must not encroach on these areas. As the global population continues to grow at an exponential rate, cities and urban planners face the challenge of sustainability. Fortunately, many cities are succeeding. Here are the ten characteristics of a sustainable city as a result of environmentally-conscious urban planning.

Global carbon emissions dropped with the onset of Covid-19; however, with the increase in human activity in recent months, emissions are on the rise again. Additionally, the annual increase in carbon pollution over the past 60 years is about 100 times faster than previous natural increases. With the acceleration of this growth, the possibility of a 1.5* C warming peak may have passed. 

Nearly two centuries ago, American author and environmentalist, Henry David Thoreau, borrowed a friend’s axe, high-tailed it out to the banks of Walden Pond, Massachusetts, and built himself a one-room log cabin by the water. But building the homes of the future has gotten quite a bit more complicated in the last 200 years. Yet, with today’s technology, the homes of tomorrow promise to be every bit as environmentally friendly as Thoreau’s modest little homestead in the woods.  

As the effects of climate change have become more apparent around the world, sustainability is a major talking point in every industry. In the realm of architecture and construction, the materials we use matter to the natural environment, as well as our own health.

Here’s what you need to know about green building, as well as the environmental and economic benefits of choosing eco-friendly materials, whether you’re building or planning a sustainable single-family home, commercial building, or another type of structure.

DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy has announced the winners of its 2021 Housing Innovation Awards. This recognition distinguishes the leading home builders across the country constructing Zero Energy Ready Homes, the federal government’s most rigorous guidelines for new residential construction. Grand winners in each of the award categories listed below will be announced during the Housing Innovation Awards ceremony on September 14^th, at the Energy & Environmental Building Alliance High Performance Home Summit.

As more alarming studies surrounding climate change come out, scientists are recommending that people take real action to prevent the disasters of global warming. A great way for individuals to start is by rethinking eco-friendly housing practices. First-time homeowners should take this into consideration when making their move. There are a variety of ways first-time homeowners can create a more sustainable home for the future and by using these tips, you can prepare your home with environmental sustainability in mind. 

Even as sustainability sits at the forefront of modern architectural trends, developing alternative energy solutions isn’t without its challenges. For example, not every city is ideally situated for harnessing solar power due to atmospheric conditions that limit annual sunshine. The good news is that solar energy is just one of the various forms of alternative energy that can be utilized by urban planners in sustainable building designs.  

With so many energy efficient innovations underway in the field of construction, it’s now easier than ever for builders to contribute to zero-energy efforts. In fact, they must recognize the significance of sustainability and how it impacts the future of their business. Follow along to learn more about how builders can contribute to a zero-energy lifestyle while reaping the benefits. 

Smart homes are no longer used for just convenience and security. Today, smart homes have become sophisticated home operating systems, with advanced sensing, control, automation, integration, and analytics tools. Samsung SmartThings, a leader in IoT and smart home automation, is a comprehensive smart home ecosystem that now has over 70 million active users.