Housing Innovation Awards Recognize Leadership in Residential Efficiency

Today’s housing market is incredibly competitive. Constructing homes that sell and that continue to delight homeowners for years to come is a challenge.

Motivated, leading-edge builders are using innovative energy-saving solutions and strategies to differentiate themselves and their products by building zero energy-ready homes. These high-performance homes are so efficient they can offset most or all annual energy consumption with a simple renewable energy system, like solar.

There are also opportunities to improve the energy efficiency of existing homes by working with contractors who are highly-skilled in home energy peformance, including identifying health and safety issues and providing recommendations for increasing a home's energy efficiency.

Here at the Energy Department it’s our pleasure to work side-by-side with the professionals in this dynamic industry, providing technical assistance and market resources that will drive energy-efficient construction practices. It’s our vision that these homes will become the norm: cost effective in any climate; for any housing type. It’s the Department’s top priority to develop and demonstrate whole-house solutions that will improve home energy performance while ensuring comfort and durability.

For the second year in a row, the Housing Innovation Awards provided us the opportunity to select a number of industry leaders who’ve developed strong businesses and services that radically improve the energy performance of our nation’s homes.

These leaders are delivering better homes at a lower cost of ownership—with , monthly utility savings typically exceeding monthly increases in mortgages. These Housing Innovation Awards go to the very best builders and contractors in the country who are commercializing and deploying cutting-edge technologies that are leading the way toward zero energy-ready homes and whole-house energy retrofits. Consider the dramatically higher customer satisfaction as an added bonus.

This year, the annual Housing Innovation Awards were held on Sept. 23 in St. Louis, Missouri, at the Energy and Environmental Building Alliance’s Excellence in Building Conference and Expo. The awards recognized leaders from two of DOE’s residential programs, DOE Zero Energy Ready Home and Home Performance with ENERGY STAR.

Take a moment to browse the photo gallery of award winners – and click on the links below to read full project profiles. Visit DOE Zero Energy Ready Home and  Home Performance with ENERGY STAR  to learn more about how your company can participate in these exciting DOE programs. Or, if you’re a homeowner or homebuyer, find out more about getting on the path to zero energy in your own home. This is the future of housing.

Home Performance with ENERGY STAR Awards
The following Home Performance with ENERGY STAR participating contractors received Housing Innovation Awards. The program’s participating contractors apply a whole-house approach to deliver significant home energy savings.

• Green Energy Improvement, Chicago, Illinois – Customer Relations and Sales & Marketing
• Isaac Home Energy Performance, Rochester, New York – Industry Leadership Award
• Neil Kelly Home Performance, Portland, Oregon –  Industry Leadership and Customer Relations
• Quality Insulation Installers, Milwaukee, Wisconsin – Industry Leadership and High Energy Savings

DOE Zero Energy Ready Home Leading Builders

Housing Innovation Awards were presented to builders in the Department’s Zero Energy Ready Home program who are changing the way homes are designed and constructed. These homes represent a whole new level of home performance, with rigorous requirements that ensure outstanding levels of energy savings, comfort, health, and durability.

Affordable Builder Awards

• Caldwell & Johnson, Inc. Custom Builders & Remodelers,  North Kingstown, Rhode Island
• Carl Franklin Homes, LC, & Green Extreme Homes CDC, Lewisville, Texas
• Habitat for Humanity South Sarasota, Inc. ,Venice, Florida
• Southeast Volusia Habitat for Humanity Inc., New Smyrna Beach, Florida
• Southern Homes (Clayton), Double Springs, Alabama
• TC Legend Homes, LLC, Bellingham, Washington, Grand Award Winner

Custom Builder Awards

• Amerisips Constructors, LLC, Charleston, South Carolina
• BPC Green Builders, Wilton, Connecticut
• Cobblestone Homes LLC,Saginaw, Michigan
• Clifton View Homes, Inc., Coupeville, Washington
• Imery & Co, LLC, Athens, Georgia
• John Hubert Associates, LLC, Wyncote, Pennsylvania
• One Sky Homes, San Jose, California, Grand Award Winner
• Promethean Homes, LLC, Steeles Tavern, Virginia
• Sterling Brook Custom Homes LLC, Double Oak, Texas

Production Builder Awards

• AquaZephyr, LLC, Ithaca, New York
• Brookside Development LLC, Woodbridge, Connecticut
• Greenhill Contracting Inc., Esopus, New York
• KB Home, Los Angeles, California
• M Street Homes, Houston, Texas
• Mandalay Homes, Phoenix, Arizona
• New Town Builders, Denver, Colorado [Grand Award Winner]

Zero Energy Ready Home Leadership Award: Palo Duro Homes, Inc., Albuquerque, New Mexico

Lifetime Achievement Award: Jerry Wade, Artistic Homes, Albuquerque, New Mexico

Take a moment to browse the photo gallery of award winners – and click on the links below to read full project profiles. Visit DOE Zero Energy Ready Home and Home Performance with ENERGY STAR  programs in the Department’s Building Technologies Office .