EEBA's High Performance Home Newsletter

Todd Usher is the owner of Addison Homes and pursuing his PhD at Clemson University. He serves on the boards of Energy and Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA) and the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB). and Joe Burgett, PhD, is an assistant professor at Clemson University’s Construction Science and Management. Dr. Burgett is on the Board of the American Institute of Constructors and a member of the Exam Writing Committee. INTRODUCTION Innovation is discussed frequently in business as a way of driving continuous improvement and economic growth. The home building industry has been slower than most industries to undergo disruptive innovations. In the study Characteristics of Innovative Production Home Builders by Koebel and Cavell, the authors explain that industries that are not as dependent on science and technology tend to have extended periods between disruptive innovations and focus primarily on refining existing technologies (2006). Home building is clearly one... read more

With codes and market forces continuing to raise the bar for home performance, forward-thinking builders and developers are looking beyond the individual home. Some see the next big thing in sustainable building as the "smart neighborhood." The smart neighborhoods I've looked at all include community-scale energy generation and energy management, while some go further by prioritizing clean air and clean water. The trend is relatively new, however, and developers are still figuring out what works in a business sense. Challenges include how to keep costs down, how to work with the electric utility, and how to determine what features buyers will value. It Starts with the Home The core of the smart neighborhood is the smart home. It combines healthy, energy-efficient construction with electronic features like rooftop solar panels, backup batteries, connected appliances and home automation. Most people think of home automation as a control system for lights, shades, music,... read more

One would expect that months of a pandemic-driven news cycle would cause at least some shifts in home buyer priorities. Indeed it has. Joel Abney, VP of Operations at Woodside Homes, the nation's 28th largest production builder, says that the company's buyer surveys have reflected a measurable rise in concern about health and wellness. "A few months ago, most people just assumed their new home would be healthy," he says. "Then the Coronavirus hit." Now, buyers want proof that it will be healthy, and are asking for systems to ensure that outcome. Their worries aren't limited to viruses, either. "The specific concerns we hear most often are about allergens and mold," says Abney. These concerns aren't new: the virus merely added fuel to an already accelerating demand for healthy homes. An August 2019 Farnsworth Group survey of 40-55 year old homebuyers found that 59 percent placed a high priority on "Health & Well-Being," a priority Woodside had already made a centerpiece of... read more