If you asked a builder about their current greatest challenge, you might hear “labor shortage” near the top of the list. Many builders are seeing trusted trade partners nearing retirement, and new people not entering the industry. This becomes even more pronounced when discussing high-performance homes with tight envelopes and innovative technologies and systems.
The Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program kicked off in October by honoring some of the leading builder partners in the program at the Housing Innovation Awards (HIA), held at the Energy and Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA) High-Performance Home Builder Summit.
The Housing Innovation Awards shine the spotlight on builders providing healthier, more durable, and efficient homes for Americans across the country.
Early next month, the nation’s leading high-performance home builders, building scientists, energy professionals, manufacturers, and other housing industry stakeholders will meet in Salt Lake City, Utah, for the 2024 Energy and Environmental Building Alliance’s (EEBA) 2024 High Performance Home Builder Summit.
Over the past year and a half, the Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program has experienced tremendous growth both on the participation and programmatic side. With all the growth happening around the program, the ZERH team has been working hard on updating resources to support our partners and highlight their significant contributions to a more sustainable future.
As part of its Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program, the U.S. Department of Energy recognizes leading builders who are delivering better homes to Americans across the country. The DOE Housing Innovation Awards are made to those builders who are spurring the housing industry to construct more efficient, healthy, and resilient homes certified to the DOE ZERH program requirements. The DOE ZERH program represents the federal government’s most stringent above-code voluntary program for high-performance homes.
Building Zero Energy Ready Homes is not about spending money on high-tech appliances or super complex renewable energy systems. It’s about attention to detail, a focus on comprehensive construction specifications, and a desire to build homes the way they should be built today.
As the nation strives to meet the goal of a decarbonized economy by 2050, the ZERH program has taken the next step by developing new program requirements for multifamily buildings.
The DOE Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program experienced tremendous growth in 2023 in part due to the 45L tax credit and expanding industry commitment to high performance building.