EEBA's High Performance Home Blog

Back in the early 2000’s I was working as a Limited Practice Officer in Washington State. The real estate market was on fire and we couldn’t close deals fast enough. Realtors were pulling in huge commissions and lenders were having a hay-day. As we crept closer to 2008, home and land prices were becoming ridiculously high and I remember wondering why, and how, people were obtaining so many 2nd and 3rd mortgages. I recall a few instances when buyers were signing documents and would say something like, “Well, I sure hope I can afford my utility bill after this.” They were joking at the time, but upon receipt of that first bill, many may have quickly realized they actually couldn’t afford the house they had just purchased, in addition to the utility bill that went along with it. By law, as a neutral third-party we were not allowed to advise buyers and sellers on anything except to tell them if they had concerns they should talk to their realtor or lender. After leaving that side of ... read more

A 10-time winner of the DOE’s award for innovation, and an ENERGY STAR® Partner of the Year for two years in a row, Mandalay Homes has proven their passion for building homes that promote safety, health, comfort, style, reduced energy costs, and less environmental impact. “We always strive to build homes that create a healthier environment for our homeowners while saving them money and contributing to the bigger picture, which is sustainable building practices and a reduced carbon footprint,” says Dave Everson, Founder and CEO of Mandalay Homes. Available in the Prescott, Clarkdale, and Wickenburg, Arizona areas, the iON Series has a carbon footprint nearly 65% lower than a code-built competitor home and utilizes intelligent technology to increase water conservation efforts and reduce the amount of building materials used during the construction process. Built to the EPA’s Indoor airPLUS certification, the iON boasts high standards for indoor air quality. Carefully selected... read more

As we head into 2019, we reflect on the privilege of being a part of educating a diverse, talented group of high-performance building decision-makers who populate the EEBA community. It’s the analysts, architects, engineers, energy raters, and building trade professionals whose combined knowledge and hunger to collaborate and learn that help to shape legislation, codes, and energy efficiency standards. “EEBA has introduced new, innovative solutions to keep our homes on the cutting edge of energy efficiency, sustainability and technology in an intimate and informative setting that far surpasses that of other builder events,” says Craig North of Tim O’Brien Homes. A recent survey showed that 98% of professionals who attended an EEBA educational event, planned to implement lessons learned from a particular session. EEBA is proud to promote the advanced education of individuals in the following fields and is offering a few different sponsorship categories for 2019. ... read more

What a year it has been! I think most of us can agree that 2018 has had its share of industry ups and downs, but there are many things for which to be grateful. In this week of Thanksgiving, the EEBA staff takes a moment to convey what they are most thankful for. “Reflecting back on this year, I am truly thankful for the inspiring leadership of our President Gene Myers, whose time and dedication to EEBA have been invaluable, and for our incoming President, Geoff Ferrell, for stepping up and taking on this important role. I'm grateful for a very good year for EEBA, including a highly successful Summit, the many training events we've held across the country, and the partners, presenters, sponsors and board members who make it all possible,” says EEBA Executive Director, Nancy Bakeman, who has both professional and personal topics for which to be thankful. “I am also grateful for my small but mighty team, as well as all the new people we've worked with this year, whose... read more

When Emmanuel Cosgrove and Mike Reynolds, co-founders of Ecohome, designed and built The Edelweiss House, they were simply trying to exhibit that affordable, energy efficient homes are achievable. “We undertook this project to show builders and homeowners that it isn’t that hard or expensive to build better-performing homes and that your true monthly overhead can actually be lower, right from the moment you move in.” Building a hyper-efficient cold-climate house 40 minutes outside of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, in Gatineau Hills, had its own challenges because of the climate and the nature of the location. Add in the standards required for Canada Green Building Council’s LEED v4 certification, and the challenge is amplified. The resulting 1,552 sq. ft. passive solar home, where a visitor to Gatineau can rent a room and stay in, costs less than $250,000 to build, and energy bills were estimated to be less than $1.40/day, compared to a new home of comparable size that uses around 10... read more

In addition to some great sessions at this year’s High Performance Home Summit, we also offered the opportunity for attendees to earn the High Performance Builder and Site Supervisor Designations. 6 individuals joined Gord Cooke, Andy Oding and Mike Barcik to earn their EEBA High Performance Builder Designation after successfully completing Houses That Work, High Performance Mechanicals, and the HERS Associate. Each attendee took and passed the required test for each of the three courses. Congratulations to the following people who earned their High Performance Builder Designation: Roy Birney - Thrive Home Builders Matt Bohannon – R.E.S. Contracting Richard Fayad – QC Manufacturing Jason Hoyle - Thrive Home Builders Jacie Jeffrey - Thrive Home Builders Andy Llora – QC Manufacturing Adrion Marti - Thrive Home Builders Ricardo Schobert – QC Manufacturing Dane Stevenson – QC Manufacturing Greg Van Dam – Dwell Well “Thrive Home Builders is excited about ... read more

“So I decided to wing it. Ron's [Jones] talk to me was very provocative. We have to meet challenges. You want to know who is going to solve them? — the people in this room. Our big builders don’t do anything. Our big builders don’t take risks. Our big builders have no fire in the belly. They are harvesting the market. They harvest it when times are good and pull back when times are bad. And they have resiliency, because they have deep pockets and big capital. But we have creativity. We have drive. We have a saying at Thrive: When we see intractable problems, we need to deploy our secret weapon. And that is us. We live in a world where the worldwide engagement in our jobs is 16%. The United States and Canada lead the world with 29% of people fully engaged in their jobs. You want to know Thrive’s secret weapon? — 100% engagement. For every two hands we hire, we get a free brain. That is our secret weapon. We are a small fish in a very big pond. I have often thought that it’s a... read more

The EEBA High Performance Home Summit is now a full week behind us, but there were many highlights from the conference we’ll recap in this blog to get you excited for 2019! The conference opened up with an ode to the past as Harold Orr spoke at the Breakfast Plenary giving us a nostalgic look at the history of what we now call “Building Science” and showing us just how far things have come. It’s easy to become frustrated with slow-moving change in the industry, but his presentation really nailed down the importance of celebrating the wins we’ve had. Day 2 began with a lively conversation led by an expert panel on California’s Title 24 Standard. Ron Jones of Green Builder Media led the discussion on Day 3 and challenged everyone to stay optimistic about the future of the building industry. And we can’t forget to mention there were a ton of great sessions during all three days. We’d love to hear from you as to which were your favorites (maybe through that survey we emailed you ... read more

Tomorrow marks the start of the High Performance Home Summit in San Diego. We are extremely pleased with the lineup of speakers, courses, and events that will be offered. Make sure you download the Summit app to create your schedule and connect with other attendees. Two designation courses will be available this year at the Summit. The EEBA Site Supervisor Designation and the EEBA High Performance Builder Designation. Both will begin on Tuesday morning with the Builder Designation ending at the conclusion of the program on Thursday. The Site Supervisor Designation is a one-day only course. You’ll also find multiple tracks that aim to enhance your knowledge and improve your business strategy. On Tuesday morning we’ll be offering Energy Codes and Policy, Sales and Marketing, and Building Science tracks. Wednesday will cover Healthy Homes/IAQ/Ventilation, Water Efficiency & Conservation, Resiliency, Durability & Quality, and Innovation & The Future. Thursday will... read more

High performance home builders face several Indoor Air Quality challenges in the building process before, during, and after a home is constructed. Choosing a reliable ventilation solution is key for maximum efficiency. Panorama Homes, a custom green home builder in Albuquerque, New Mexico, wanted to install an effective system in several newly constructed single family homes. They felt it was crucial to select a competitive, high performing ventilation system and fan that could bring in enough fresh air to dilute harmful indoor pollutants and create an easier breathing environment for the families that were about to grow up and make memories in these new homes. Panasonic Eco Solutions’ Intelli-Balance 100 ERV was chosen to be the primary ventilation system in all new single-family homes. Carol Orona of Panorama Homes selected the system because of its overall efficiency and cost effectiveness, and technical features that provide builders with much needed flexibility,... read more