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The U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE's) Building America Program advocates a systems engineering approach to home building that unites segments of the building industry that traditionally work independently of one another. It forms teams of architects, engineers, builders, equipment manufacturers, material suppliers, community planners, mortgage lenders, and contractor trades. Currently, there are five Building America teams who have worked with more than
507 industry partners:
Building Industry Research Alliance (BIRA) is the newest team member of Building America. BIRA consists of six national builders: Centex, Morrison, Pardee, Shea, Standard Pacific and William Lyon. The Team Leader is ConSol, a company with more than 20 years of energy consulting experience within the building industry, national and state energy agencies, large utilities, and building product manufacturers. ConSol is recognized as a leader in energy-efficiency analysis, policy, and implementation. BIRA anticipates that each builder partner in its Alliance will contribute at least one prototype home within the first year of the program. Each builder will then move to community-scale construction, resulting in 450 to 1,000 Advanced Residential Homes. BIRA proposes to expand its research effort beyond energy efficiency and reduced air emissions to also include conservation or recycling of other resources, including lumber, cardboard, drywall, concrete, and water.
Building Science Consortium works to design cost-effective, energy-efficient single-family homes for each of the four U.S. climate zones. Building Science builder partners have adopted Building America concepts to construct approximately
8,969 homes in
140
communities. Re-engineering and design is underway in additional locations. Results from homes tested for a year at Prairie Crossing in Grayslake, Illinois, confirm that their techniques allow for 50% to 60% energy savings over the regional standard construction practice at a small incremental cost over the builder's standard practice.
Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB), led by Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA), works with scores of professionals throughout the homebuilding industry to design, engineer, and test energy-efficient homes. More than
5,342 CARB homes have been built or are now under construction in approximately
43 communities under a full range of climatic zones. CARB projects start with a thorough analysis of current standard building practices and local climate conditions. The systems-engineering strategies used to build the houses assure the highest level of performance, while maintaining market appeal. Results range from a 40% improvement in energy efficiency with little or no cost to the builder, to truly "zero-net-electric" homes that consume virtually no electrical energy. CARB's research and development activities include new energy-saving technologies, such as an advanced geothermal heat pump and compact HVAC distribution systems. CARB also conducts training programs targeted to those on the front-line of residential construction, implemented through local homebuilder associations, CARB builder members, and subcontractor teams.
Davis Energy Group (DEG), complements the Building America collaborative with its 20+ years of technology development, building energy analysis, and field monitoring experience. In addition to working with builders, DEG identifies needs and opportunities for new technologies, conducts funded R&D to develop them and to evaluate their potential, and facilitates production by teaming with manufacturers. DEG also works with ACEEE to identify other promising technologies and participates in California's appliance standards proceedings to help to raise the performance bar. These activities produce more efficient choices for the building industry and facilitate progress toward Building America's efficiency and renewables goals.
Industrialized Housing Partnership brings decades of application-oriented energy research and industry consulting together with researchers from around the country. IHP focuses on effectively balancing cost, design, construction, and energy decisions to develop customized solutions for their residential housing industry partners. The IHP team has completed over
3,777 homes as part of their Building America projects.
BAIHP project goals include:
- Cost effectively reducing the energy cost of industrialized housing by up to 50% while enhancing indoor air quality, durability and productivity.
- Improving the energy efficiency of thousands of homes produced annually with industrialized methods.
BAIHP projects currently emphasize applied research and development with HUD code home manufacturers, Habitat for Humanity, and American Lung Association Affiliates.
Integrated Building and Construction Solutions (IBACOS) has conducted successful design and construction partnerships in 10 states to deliver energy-efficient, high quality, and affordable single-family homes since joining DOE's Building America Program in 1991. IBACOS partners with innovative builders and developers with a commitment to continually challenge and evolve current building practices to deliver better homes and communities. To date, partnerships with builders and developers have resulted in the construction of
1,612 homes built to the higher standards of Building America. In addition, six pilot homes were built and tested to expand field and technical understanding of advanced building system technologies into the mainstream marketplace. Past performance achievements include 40% to 60% utility savings to the homeowner annually with no additional cost to the builder.
NAHB Research Center
Created in 1964 as a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the NAHB Research Center has become the source for reliable, objective information and research on housing construction and development issues. The center's mission is to promote innovation in housing technology, thus improving the durability, affordability, and environmental performance of homes and home-building products. The Research Center has a unique relationship with the housing industry and a breadth of technical expertise, resulting in an unrivaled depth of understanding of the housing industry and access to its business leaders in fulfilling clients' research needs.
National Renewable Energy Laboratory
Research, development, and field support are provided by the National Renewable Energy Laboratory.
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Outreach and research implementation are provided by Oak Ridge National Laboratory.
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