Building America Program

Lead Performer: U.S. Department of Energy – Washington, D.C.

Buildings

April 12, 2016

Lead Performer: U.S. Department of Energy – Washington, D.C.
Program Web Page: Building America Program Homepage

PROJECT OBJECTIVE

The U.S. Department of Energy (DOE)’s Building America program is a multifaceted research, development, and demonstration program that bridges the gap between emerging technology development, codes and standards, and full voluntary market adoption of advanced energy efficiency and home performance solutions. A large portion of Building America research is conducted by industry-led research teams and their builder partners.

PROJECT IMPACT

The impact of Building America is captured in positive changes to building codes, voluntary performance programs, and business and construction practices among the nation’s leading home builders, remodelers and contractors. Over the coming years, Building America will provide knowledge and solutions for builders, remodelers and contractors to address increasing demands for performance and quality. A broad market adoption of Building America innovations and best practices will help reduce the energy use intensity (EUI) of new single-family homes by 60% and existing single-family homes by 40%, relative to the 2010 average home EUI in each climate zone, with a focus on reducing heating, cooling, and water heating loads. By 2025, Building America’s work will help reduce the energy used for space conditioning and water heating in single-family homes by 40% from 2010 levels.

RESEARCH AND TOOLS

Building America's research work results in a variety of technical research publications, which are distilled into the web-based tools of the Building America Solution Center. These tools help accelerate the adoption of best practices by residential building professionals; including builders, remodelers, installers, code officials, designers, raters, sales professionals, teachers, and students, and include the following:

  • Building America Solution Center (BASC): A comprehensive information bank for the residential building industry that covers high-performance homes. The BASC includes construction guides, building science reports, energy efficiency specifications, and sales tools for new and existing homes.  
  • Building Science Explorer: A BASC user interface to search Building America reports and case studies by key topics.
  • Building Science Translator: A communication aide within the BASC for government programs and the residential building industry to explain high-performance homes from a consumer perspective.

CONTACTS

DOE Technology Manager: Eric Werling

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