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This Year in Building America: Our Favorite Memories from 2015

As we reflect on the past year at Building America, we have a lot to be thankful for. Building America has been delivering building science innovations for over 20 years, and in 2015 we were able to continue researching and sharing our research through 12 webinars, 12 newsletters, and more than 150 publications. Here's a list of our favorite things from 2015:

  • The Building America Solution Center: 2015 saw many updates to the U.S. Department of Energy’s online interactive resource for high-performance home construction, including 28 new guides on new construction topics, 21 updated guides, 10 guides on retrofit construction techniques, and 90 new how-to videos. More than a dozen Code Briefs were added to show builders and code officials how to comply with challenging code requirements. Another new feature, the Sales Tool, was added to help sales staff show home buyers the great features of high-performance homes in terms that convey the benefits homeowners care most about. Visit the Building America Solution Center.
  • The Race to Zero Student Design Competition: In April 2015, 33 teams from 27 universities (more than 300 students in total!) came together to present their innovative zero energy ready home designs at an event held at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory. The University of Minnesota's Opti-MN team captured the Grand Winner prize with its Impact House, a flexible, high-performance, affordable house that can be easily built by a local nonprofit housing organization for low-income residents. Learn more about the annual Race to Zero competition.
  • The Housing Innovation Awards: In October 2015, the U.S. Department of Energy recognized the best and brightest in innovative building for making progress on the path to zero energy ready homes with the Housing Innovation Awards. Twenty-four builders were recognized for custom, production, affordable, and multifamily homes across the United States that feature unique, energy-saving innovations. Five grand winners were honored as models for the building community at the Energy & Environmental Building Alliance Excellence in Building Conference and Expo on October 6th. Learn more about the Housing Innovation Awards.
  • Our new Building America teams: Building America's research teams are the driving force behind the program's building science revelations and market impacts. In 2015, Building America decided on five teams and seven specific projects that the program will focus on for the next three years. These new projects are dedicated to optimizing indoor air quality, creating superior building envelope systems, and simplifying HVAC systems, and generally give builders the opportunity to make homes more comfortable and efficient for a lower price. Learn more about current Building America projects.
  • Looking forward to 2016: We have a ton of new Building America content lined up for next year, from informational webinars to case studies and reports, featuring groundbreaking technical advancements on the path toward zero energy ready homes. Keep up to date on upcoming events with the Building America Update newsletter, and we will see you next year.