Home Innovation Insights

Insider insights on what's going on in the home building industry.

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John Peavey, PE
September 29, 2023

Building Resilient Homes: The Ultimate Guides

As National Preparedness Month comes to a close, it’s time to look ahead to how we will build in the future. Resilience has become a top concern with natural disasters becoming increasingly common and increasingly destructive. Communities looking to rebuild are focused now on creating structures that will last. Uncover the most common damages for various weather events and find out the most cost-effective ways to prevent them. 

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Katie Dorn
August 28, 2023

5 NGBS Practices to Beat the Summer Heat

The summer of 2023 has marked the hottest temperatures on record in human history. In order to stay cool, many households have their air conditioners running at full blast, resulting in high energy bills. Whether you are building a new home or retrofitting an existing one, the NGBS has several innovative practices that can be used to minimize heat gain.

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Michelle Foster
August 8, 2023

Sizing Up Comfort: The Art and Science of Proper HVAC Equipment Sizing

When it comes to achieving optimal comfort and energy efficiency in a home or apartment, proper sizing of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) equipment plays a pivotal role. Just like Goldilocks searching for the perfect bowl of porridge, getting the sizing just right can ensure that an HVAC system performs at its best, providing consistent comfort and saving you money in the long run.

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Patricia Gunderson, PE
January 27, 2017

SolSmart Serves Up Soft Cost Savings

Soft costs can often be a deal-breaker for solar installation. DOE's SolSmart is helping builders and developers overcome barriers to solar in residential construction that can often come from arduous local zoning, permitting, and inspection requirements. Find out more about the program and how it can help in your community.

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Patricia Gunderson, PE
August 15, 2016

Streamlined Permitting for PV? Yes, Please!

DOE's SolSmart is helping builders and developers overcome the barriers to solar in residential construction that can often come from arduous local zoning, permitting, and inspection requirements. Find out more about this new program and how it can help in your community.

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Anne Evens
March 27, 2014

How to Help Appraisers Fairly Value Home Energy Efficiency Improvements

At Elevate Energy, we design and implement efficiency programs that lower costs, protect the environment, and ensure the benefits of energy efficiency reach those who need them most. As a provider of these programs, we understand that future success is dependent upon energy efficiency becoming transparent in the real estate transaction of high performance homes.

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Sam Rashkin
January 16, 2014

2014: A “Race to Zero” Odyssey

The next generation of housing industry professionals has to be better trained to deliver the home of the future. The DOE Challenge Home Student Design Competition is part of this important transformation process toward creating better homes and communities.

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Thomas Kenney, PE
December 19, 2013

Student Design Teams "Race to Zero" in DOE's Challenge Home Competition

In mid-December, we closed out registration for the DOE Challenge Home Student Design Competition. The response we got from colleges and universities across North America was really inspiring — all told, 32 teams have stepped up to the challenge in DOE's "race to zero" in energy-efficient home designs. Find out more.

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Cindy Wasser, MBA
October 31, 2013

Multiple Units, Multiple Benefits: Multifamily Certification to the NGBS

The National Green Building Standard (NGBS) has broad applicability for projects of all sizes and designs, including single-family homes and multifamily buildings, and both new construction and rehab/remodel projects. This post breaks down perhaps the “best kept secret” of the NGBS - the option for multifamily rehab projects. 

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Cindy Wasser, MBA
September 26, 2013

Tallahasee Community Becomes First NGBS Green Certified Student Housing Project

Continuing my series on NGBS "firsts," find out more about the first student housing community to ever be NGBS Green Certified. In keeping with market demands for multifamily development, Home Innovation now offers NGBS Green certifications for some hotels, barracks, and dorms. 

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