The Housing Innovation Awards shine the spotlight on builders providing healthier, more durable, and efficient homes for Americans across the country.
October 3, 2024
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Leading Builders Honored with 2024 Housing Innovation Awards from the U.S. Department of Energy
The Department of Energy’s Housing Innovation Awards shine the spotlight on builders providing healthier, more durable, and efficient homes for Americans across the country.
The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) announced the winners of the 2024 Housing Innovation Awards. The awards recognize the nation’s leading builders participating in the Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program, the federal government’s most rigorous new home certification program. The 2024 awards ceremony recognized 24 builders from across the country for their award-winning projects and presented Grand Awards to five builders for their contributions to the housing industry and support of DOE’s goals.
“Housing Innovation Award winners represent the country’s most innovative builders leading the charge to low-to-no carbon emissions in all new home construction by 2035,” says Jaime Van Mourik, who oversees the Zero Energy Ready Home program. “The ZERH program serves as a proving ground for what home performance should be. These builders are truly the boots on the ground, fighting against climate change while also delivering more efficient, resilient, and healthier homes to American homebuyers.”
Each year, builders of ZERH-certified projects across the country submit applications to be considered for the Housing Innovation Awards. Applications are reviewed by a panel of judges with expertise in the high-performance housing industry. Winners are selected from the pool of applicants based on award criteria, and then Grand Winners are chosen in each award category. These award categories consider home performance as well as how builders are leveraging advanced technologies, practical building solutions, and best business practices to successfully reduce carbon emissions and promote a more sustainable housing industry. Every Housing Innovation Award-winning home is featured on the DOE Tour of Zero.
The 2024 Grand Awards categories and winners are:
Blazing the Trail
Award for the builder with the most innovative use of technologies, materials, sensors, automation, and advanced controls to optimize the performance of the home.
Winner: Daniel Colombini (Ossining, New York)
Change Maker
Award for the builder who demonstrates a successful strategy to transform the market (locally, regionally, or nationally) through innovative market interactions.
Winner: Addison Homes (Greer, South Carolina)
Decarbon Copy
Award for the builder whose innovative approach to decarbonization in Zero Energy Ready Homes produces the most replicability and predictability in results.
Winner: Powerhouse Designs and TC Legend Homes (Bellingham, Washington)
Off-the-Shelf
Award for the builder who best leverages readily available, off-the-shelf materials and systems to achieve advanced building science results.
Winner: Howard Building Science (Granite Falls, North Carolina)
Total Package
Award for the builder with the highest average score across all award categories.
Winner: Thrive Home Builders (Denver, Colorado)
Most Certified Homes
Award for the builder with the most certified homes in the year.
Winner: Beazer Homes (Atlanta, Georgia)
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Since 2013, the ZERH program has played a key role in pushing the new-home construction market toward greater efficiency, comfort, and durability. To achieve a superior level of home performance, the program first requires homes to earn certification under the Environmental Protection Agency’s ENERGY STAR® and Indoor airPLUS programs, providing a robust baseline of energy efficiency and indoor air quality protections. The ZERH program takes performance to the next level by leveraging best practices and proven innovations like advanced envelope construction, heat pump technology, and electrification readiness measures. These features optimize efficiency, minimize risks, and ensure homes are equipped with the necessary infrastructure to be future-ready. Every ZERH home is validated by independent, third-party verifiers.
“The DOE’s Zero Energy Ready Home program applauds these innovative builders for going above and beyond typical building practices and for showcasing the future of housing,” says Van Mourik.
Learn more about the Housing Innovation Awards and see the full list of winners on DOE’s website, where you can also learn more about the ZERH program.