EEBA's High Performance Home Blog

When you finally arrive at the EEBA High Performance Home Summit in just less than a week, keep a lookout for attendees who have a golden ribbon attached to their badge. These distinct ribbons will either say “NEXTGEN SCHOLAR” or “NEXTGEN SPONSOR” and represent students and sponsors who are part of EEBA’s NextGen Scholarship Initiative. The goal of the NextGen Initiative is to bring students, recent graduates, and young professionals from around the U.S. to the High Performance Home Summit, as well as other regional trainings, where they can connect with potential mentors and employers. The goal of the NextGen Initiative is to bring students, recent graduates, and young professionals from around the U.S. to the High Performance Home Summit, as well as other regional trainings, where they can connect with potential mentors and employers. Last year, prior to the official launch of the Initiative, EEBA brought 16 participants of the Department of... read more

The Soleil Lofts will demonstrate a virtual solar power plant with all 600 homes in the Herriman, Utah community generating and storing energy. The project will utilize Sonnen EcoLinx batteries and local utility company Rocky Mountain Power will use the batteries to provide emergency power and manage peak energy use. Read more about Soleil Lofts. Whether it’s the DOE’s Housing Innovation Awards or the EPA’s Indoor airPLUS Leader Awards, it’s likely you’ll find yourself sitting next to a winner at some point during the Summit. C&B Custom Homes, Charis Homes, Fulton Homes, Mandalay Homes, Maracay Homes, Thrive Home Builders, E3 Energy, Energy Inspectors, JKP Energy Inspections, Steven Winter Associates all received recognition for Indoor airPLUS awards. Companies receiving awards for the Housing Innovation Awards can be found here. Don’t miss the awards ceremonies on Days 1 and 2 during lunch. The NextGen Scholarship Initiative will give... read more

I’ve recently had dealings with the building department in a local jurisdiction. I’ve met with some of the officials. I like the people who work in the departments, but the antiquated processes holding up approvals is cringeworthy. I think it’s pretty rare to find a truly progressive building department anywhere in America (but please share if you know one and feel free to brag on them), and if nothing in the world ever changed, maybe that would be fine. We all understand the challenges. They’re diverse and complex. Entrenched deep into our systems. The politics can be exhausting. Many areas around the country are struggling with affordability issues - whether it’s the cost of land and building permits, the rising price of materials, the lack of labor, or all of the above. At the same time, cities and states are moving towards higher energy efficiency standards - many times creating higher building costs. California has obviously led the way with their own energy goals, with... read more

It seems as though we were just in San Diego, sitting on a beach, listening to some fellow industry friends during a jam session. And now, in just one month, we’ll be in the mile high city taking in all that Denver has to offer. If you’re attending the High Performance Home Summit, you’ve been preparing for the Trek In by committing to defining and building high performance homes. You’ve surpassed Base Camp and know exactly where you stand and what your goals are. And in the following weeks as you continue to Acclimatize and understand the methodologies, materials and strategies to achieve success, The Summit will be awaiting you - the place where you’ll find verifiable performance and measured success. The 37th High Performance Home Summit will feature sessions on the latest and greatest in building science, combined with real-world application and problem solving. Network with others who have experienced success and learn more on these topics: Healthy homes How to build... read more