EEBA's High Performance Home Blog

Achievement highlights significant advancement in residential construction, ensuring cleaner, healthier living for homeowners Empire Communities, an award-winning residential homebuilder in Canada and the United States is proud to announce that its standard home model featuring ERTH360 Air enhancements has achieved the rigorous clean airflow requirements of ASHRAE Standard 241 — the new high bar for infection resiliency. This first-of-its-kind achievement is a testament to Empire’s commitment to providing homes with the highest standards of indoor health and sustainability. ASHRAE Standard 241, Control of Infectious Aerosols, is a landmark standard published in July 2023 and applies to all building types, commercial and residential. The clean air performance of Empire’s standard home with ERTH360 Air was evaluated and verified to meet the standard’s targets using a new test method that ASHRAE Standard 241 introduced to the industry, known as ‘air tracing’. Poppy, a... read more

Balanced ventilation is a critical concept in modern building design, referring to ensuring equal amounts of incoming and outgoing air in a home. Balanced ventilation systems mitigate the common issues associated with exhaust-only or supply-only systems, such as pressure imbalances and uneven temperature distribution. By ensuring a balanced approach, these systems help maintain a healthier and more comfortable indoor environment. Fresh Air Appliances with heat (HRV) or energy recovery (ERV) are types of balanced ventilation systems that provide controlled and equal airflow, enhancing indoor air quality and energy efficiency. A Technical Examination into Humidity, Location, and Optimal Choices When building new or renovating existing homes, selecting between a Fresh Air Appliance with heat recovery and one with energy recovery is a critical decision that impacts indoor air quality and energy efficiency. This article gets into the Fresh Air Appliance with heat recovery... read more

Noyes Development, based in Oregon, is a high-performance home builder and EEBA Member Builder who is empowering their staff to learn about building science and advances in sustainably constructing better homes through the EEBA Academy. Founded in 1993 by Peter Noyes, they have secured a solid reputation over the past 30 years by building high-quality, classy, and innovative homes while setting the leading standard in home building. Alex Vidal, their Marketing Coordinator, is one of their staff dedicated to deepening his knowledge and has completed over 10 EEBA courses and designations - which he displays in his office. Tell us about your display! I initially had a blank wall in my office, but after hanging up my first certificate, followed by the second, and then the third, I felt compelled to continue. Not only does it serve as a personal achievement, but it also showcases the expertise of our team when visitors, whether current homeowners or prospective ones, stop by our... read more

Florida Builders, General Contractors, Architects, and Plumbers – we have big news for you! Water conservation will continue to be a topic in 2024 with Florida water shortages. We at Hydraloop, arereaching out with a unique opportunity that promises to elevate your developments while at the same time doing your part in securing water sustainability. The state is now offering a tax rebate of up to $4200 USD and a 25-35% density bonus for properties implementing graywater recycling. Homes certified under the Florida Water Star Program that are built with graywater recycling can receive an additional cash rebate, depending on the county. Hydraloop devices are at the forefront of this initiative, providing a cutting-edge solution to water conservation challenges. By recycling shower, bath, and laundry graywater, each home can save over 10,000 gallons of potable water usage annually, with minimal maintenance and no consumables. Discover how integrating Hydraloop technology... read more

"From Bleeding Edge to Leading Edge: A Builders Guide to Net Zero Homes” is a ground-breaking new book by Doug Tarry, whose company has certified more Net Zero / Net Zero Ready homes (500 and counting) than any other builder in Canada. Written in plain language and infused with humor and storytelling, this book is a must-read for builders, renovators, architects, municipal officials, industry stakeholders and home buyers - anyone interested in the future of home building. It will help builders and their teams get to Net Zero in less time, with far less cost and pain. Grab the Book! About Doug Tarry Doug Tarry is the President of Doug Tarry Homes (DTH), a multi-award-winning home building company established in 1954 and located in St. Thomas, Ontario, Canada. Recently DTH celebrated being the first builder to build and label 500 Net Zero Ready homes in Canada under the Canadian Home Builders’ Association (CHBA) Net Zero Program. Since 2019, all new homes constructed... read more

With the building sector contributing 20-40% of global emissions, homebuilders have an opportunity to reduce their impact. Award-winning Thrive Home Builders proves carbon neutral building is possible today. This compelling case study chronicles Thrive Home Builders’ journey towards carbon neutrality and reveals their step-by-step process for calculating, reducing and offsetting emissions to achieve certified carbon neutral homes. Real-world solutions like solar and battery storage installation, home performance upgrades, offset purchases and more enabled Thrive Home Builders to create an actionable net-zero framework. The case study details practical steps any production builder can take right now to start decreasing their carbon footprint and building healthier and higher performing homes. Key Takeaways Building more energy efficient is the logical first step to reducing your carbon footprint. Carbon-neutral building practices appear to give Thrive an... read more

As a member of the EEBA community, you play a crucial role in leading the way towards constructing homes that are high-performing, healthy, and resilient. Now aligned with this objective are the self-educated homeowners and prospective buyers who are demanding high-performance homes. Because of this, builders (as well as the raters and architects who support them) are looking for product solutions that: Add value to their customers’ investments Demonstrate a core commitment to being a “responsible” builder Differentiate themselves in a competitive marketplace Our hope at Stego (and the purpose of this article) is to help provide useful support and education so that EEBA builders can better understand vapor transmission at the first side of the home - the foundation - and the role below-slab vapor barriers play in achieving high-performance goals in new homes. No, we are not talking about commodity 6 or 10-mil poly sheeting. Minimum residential code (2021 IRC... read more

The challenges homebuilders face seem to grow every year. In addition to the business of designing, constructing and selling homes, there is a constant need to keep up with code changes, new regulations and consumer demands. Climate change is bringing additional pressures to build for efficiency and electrification and now, embodied carbon is yet another aspect homebuilders must factor into their business model. Change is necessary and there are a multitude of economic, performance, and emissions-reducing benefits builders stand to gain by tackling embodied carbon. And help is on the horizon. This April, RMI (founded as Rocky Mountain Institute) is launching the Homebuilders Carbon Action Network (HomebuildersCAN), with the primary purpose of helping homebuilders understand embodied carbon and learn how to measure and reduce it in a productive and profitable way. HomebuildersCAN was conceived as a “community of practice” where homebuilders and energy raters can engage with... read more

In an era where water scarcity is becoming an increasingly critical issue, Hydraloop presents a ground-breaking solution with its graywater recycling devices, designed to significantly reduce potable water usage in homes. Leveraging advanced technology, the Hydraloop calculator assesses potential water savings by analyzing daily household activities, such as shower lengths, frequency, and water volume, as well as the number toilet flushes, and laundry loads. The more individuals living in the home, the more graywater produced. This innovative approach not only optimizes water reuse for gardening, laundry, and toilet flushing, but also showcases substantial annual water savings, making it a compelling choice for environmentally conscious builders. By integrating a graywater recycling device, households can play a pivotal role in sustainable water management, ensuring a greener future with each drop of water saved. In this scenario piece, we are diving into the potential water savings... read more