Building America
Building America is a Department of Energy (DOE) sponsored private/public partnership that develops energy solutions for American homes. The goal of the program is to make “zero energy” homes – homes that require no net off-site energy over the year to operate – a practical, cost-effective reality by 2020.
Since 1995, Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (SWA) has headed the Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB) under DOE's Building America program. Besides SWA, CARB’s roster includes an expanding list of large and medium-sized production home builders and major industry suppliers. CARB provides home builders and developers with state-of-the-art design, engineering and testing to help them raise the energy performance and resource efficiency of their homes at little or no added cost. The Consortium has reduced energy consumption by at least 30% in several thousand homes, with the numbers expanding steadily. The team works with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory using a "build, test, rebuild, retest” methodology to develop the optimal cost-effective solution to each home design, community, region, and climate zone.
CARB is always looking for builders interested in moving towards the “zero energy” goal by combining excellent design and efficient technologies with renewable energy systems. CARB is currently working with builders to target energy savings of at least 40% to 70% over the Building America Benchmark which is based on the International Energy Conservation Code. CARB is also expanding its role to include multi-family low-rise housing, and factory-built housing, and is researching advanced mechanical and electrical systems for production homes. Through Building America, SWA can offer:
Architecture and engineering design services - Energy modeling
- Performance Optimization
- Cost-benefit analyses
- Value-engineering
- Design support
- Construction support
When homes are completed, CARB typically works with builders to perform commissioning and testing to make sure things are working as designed, to evaluate advanced systems, and to inform the design of future projects. CARB provides uniquely builder-oriented assistance to improve energy performance and resource efficiency. By incorporating the builder’s cost and marketing goals, CARB insures that innovations will be adopted throughout the builder’s product line. In addition, CARB works with builders to ensure that measures are in place to maintain quality assurance.
SWA is a fully accredited architecture and engineering firm and has been a leader in high-performance, efficient, and sustainable building for over 30 years.
If you are interested in participating in the Building America Program, please contact Dianne Griffiths at dgrif@swinter.com.
For more Building America information on online, visit:
www.buildingamerica.gov
www.carb-swa.com
For our CARB Newsletter, visit:
www.carb-swa.com/carbfax.html
Case Studies:
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Current CARB partners:
Team Members
Davis Energy Group
Steven Winter Associates, Inc.
NewPort Partners LLC
Builders/Developers
Actus Lend Lease
Arcadia Homes
Austin Design
Carmel Partners/UC Davis
Clarum Homes
Evergreen Building Systems
Grupe Company
Habitat for Humanity of the Chesapeake
Habitat for Humanity of Greater Newburgh
Habitat for Humanity International
Hamilton Homes
Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services
Jonathon Rose Companies
La Mirada
Lennar Homes
Lewis Planned Communities
Leyland Alliance
New World Home
Omni Construction
One Sky Homes
Paragon Homes
Rural Development, Inc.
Sun Terra Homes
William Ryan Homes - Tampa
Zeta Communities
Manufacturers
Advanced Energy Products
BASF
Beutler Corporation
Certainteed
Corvid Inc.
DOW
Georgia Pacific
Hallowell
Home Automation, Inc.
Johns Manville
Panasonic
SunPower
UltimateAir
USG Corporation
WaterFurnace International, Inc.
Whirlpool
Agencies/Utilities/Universities
Building Media, Inc.
Connecticut Light & Power
EDAW
Green Builder Media
Maryland State Energy Office
Northeast Utilities
PG&E
UCD Energy Efficiency Center
WPPI Energy
Improving the built environment through research, sustainable design and technology. © 2008 Steven Winter Associates, Inc.