Home Innovation Insights

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

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Ed Hudson, MBA
August 29, 2024

New Trends Revealed in HVAC, Plumbing, and Electrical Systems

Home Innovation's 2024 Builder Practices Survey of about 1,200 home builders has revealed new trends in new home building, specifically in HVAC, plumbing, and electrical systems. Tankless water heaters gain market share along with standby generators and new types of duct insulation. 

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Ed Hudson, MBA
May 3, 2024

Key Facilitators for Offsite Construction Going Mainstream

Perceived barriers to offsite construction have lessened, but more efforts will need to be made to facilitate the shift. We surveyed a nationwide sample of 300 homebuilders in 2021, and 248 homebuilders in 2023 and asked them to describe in their own words what would push them to adopt offsite construction (modular, panelization, etc.). 

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Katie Dorn
March 25, 2024

Top 5 Green Building Trends from IBS 2024

On February 27-29th, many Home Innovation staff, including Michelle and Katie from the NGBS Green Team, attended the 2024 International Builder’s Show (IBS) in Las Vegas, Nevada. Here are Katie’s takeaways of the Top 5 Green Building Trends from IBS 2024. 

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J. Michael Luzier
February 14, 2024

Fire is Catching at Home Innovation Research Labs

Home Innovation Research Labs is achieving a significant milestone in its commitment to advancing product safety with the completion of a state-of-the-art fire testing lab. Scheduled for an official opening in May 2024, this facility represents a substantial investment in research and development to enhance the safety and fire resistance of building materials and systems.

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Ed Hudson, MBA
January 18, 2024

ESG Reporting in the Homebuilding Industry

ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) reporting has become an increasingly popular way for companies to show their commitment to sustainability and social responsibility. In an effort to track diffusion of this practice among home builders, Home Innovation Research Labs, in collaboration with Professional Builder Magazine, surveyed 300 home builders in September 2023 about their current and anticipated ESG reporting practices and motives for adopting ESG reporting. 

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Ed Hudson, MBA
January 4, 2024

Offsite Construction: The Top 6 Barriers

Over the past few years, Home Innovation has conducted numerous studies to track the adoption of offsite technologies, identify and remove specific barriers, and create solutions that enable the industry to make the shift. While perceived barriers are shrinking slightly, they are still very present. We surveyed a nationwide sample of 300 homebuilders in 2021, and 248 homebuilders in 2023 and asked them to describe in their own words what’s keeping them from adopting offsite construction (modular, panelization, etc.). 

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Damiyen Wilkerson
December 21, 2023

The Ins and Outs of Grade I Insulation

Grade I insulation is a common term used widely by building professionals; however, how Grade I is defined varies considerably among building professionals. At its core, the term is meant to construe that the home’s insulation is installed properly and will be as effective as possible based on the properties of the material. Learn how to achieve proper Grade I insulation based on NGBS Green requirements. 

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Deanna Williams Seale, PE
October 10, 2022

#WillItCorrode: Is Your Product Cable to Withstand Corrosion?

This year, the Home Innovation lab team is on a mission to test some everyday gadgets in our salt spray chamber to find out #willitcorrode. Home Innovation's full range of corrosion testing helps building product manufacturers ensure the performance of metals and coatings. Typically, we test products such as nails, screws, anchor bolts, bollards, stair nosing, gutter clips, ladders, cable, baluster, hand railing, support systems for curtain walls, etc. But we have decided to mix it up a little with this experiment to emphasize the practical nature of this type of testing. Check out the results of our latest experiment with a steel cable.

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Ed Hudson, MBA
September 8, 2022

Change in the Air: How Builders Plan to Navigate the Future

It’s very rewarding being a construction marketing researcher. I truly enjoy tracking, measuring, and predicting changes within the construction industry. But what I enjoy even more is helping our clients continue to reshape their businesses and product offerings to ensure they are providing the greatest value to their customers. This work requires regular interaction with builders and remodelers, keeping our “finger on the pulse” of the industry through interviews, focus groups, surveys, and jobsite observation. We listen and learn about their purchasing behaviors, problems at the office and jobsite, and the solutions they need or opportunities they are seeing.

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Deanna Williams Seale, PE
September 2, 2022

#WillItCorrode: Your Reputation Hinges on Your Product's Reliability

This year, the Home Innovation lab team is on a mission to test some everyday gadgets in our salt spray chamber to find out #willitcorrode. Home Innovation's full range of corrosion testing helps building product manufacturers ensure the performance of metals and coatings. Typically, we test products such as nails, screws, anchor bolts, bollards, stair nosing, gutter clips, ladders, cable, baluster, hand railing, support systems for curtain walls, etc. But we have decided to mix it up a little with this experiment to emphasize the practical nature of this type of testing. Check out the results of our latest experiment with a steel door hinge.

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