EEBA Academy

Residential energy is changing quickly with new mandates, greater demand for electricity and an aging infrastructure. Home builders today are meeting these challenges in new ways to build homes of the future today. With new strategies and solutions, home builders are building not just smart homes, but homes with smart, sustainable, resilient energy.

This 1924 Colonial home had fallen into severe disrepair before coming up for sale. As part of the muchneeded renovation, the new homeowners (two Steven Winter Associates, Inc. employees) wanted to eliminate onsite combustion and produce as much of their operating electricity as possible. Other goals included lower embodied energy materials and a healthy indoor environment. LEED v4.1 for Homes offered one platform to address energy, health, and materials. The home was gutted down to the foundation, framing, and floors before the year-long renovation. After the first 8 months of occupancy (July-February), the home produced 14% more energy than it consumed.

Webinars 2 and 3 explore the 11 critical steps involved in building a house as a ‘system.’ Customer comfort is paramount and we have to consider how the client will use their home. We must ask ourselves one simple question: “Am I making the homeowner’s life easier or harder?" Webinar 2 looks at how to avoid improper planning and design from the outset, both of which can impact the entire home and create costly errors and rework.

Asthma and Allergies impact a staggering 50% of US households. Many indoor triggers are causing medical challenges. Dr John teaches us the triggers of asthma and allergies within the home and how to talk about it. We examine the lack of regulation in this area and the confusion this brings to home owners. Finally we look at how to mitigate against these common allergens and have better, more productive conversations with your customers on this topic.