Three Steven Winter Associates’ Projects Win US Department of Energy’s Housing Innovation Awards
Norwalk, CT (PRWEB) October 02, 2014 -- Steven Winter Associates, Inc., (SWA) is pleased to announce that three of their Zero Energy Ready Home projects were honored at the second annual Department of Energy’s (DOE) Housing Innovation Awards. The Energy Department presented Housing Innovation Awards to 28 outstanding projects from across the nation during the Energy and Environmental Building Alliance’s Excellence in Building Conference in St. Louis, Missouri. These builders and their teams are commercializing and deploying cutting-edge technologies and helping to significantly reduce the energy costs of the nation’s homes.
"The Housing Innovation Awards recognize forward-thinking contractors and builders for delivering extraordinary energy efficiency while ensuring superior comfort, health and durability in new and existing homes," said Dr. David Danielson, Assistant Secretary for Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy.
The award-winning projects include TREE at EcoVillage in Ithaca, NY; The Trolle Residence in Danbury, CT; and the Singer Development in Derby, CT. SWA provided energy modeling, design reviews, verification, testing, and documentation to support third-party verification under a variety of green building programs for all projects.
TREE at EcoVillage, built by AquaZepher, LLC, received a Production Builder Award for its landmark community of 25 attached single-family homes, and one 15-unit apartment building. EcoVillage was built to Passive House, LEED® Platinum, and Zero Energy Ready Home Standards. The builders seek to provide housing that is affordable, durable, sustainable, comfortable, and accessible. TREE embraces the philosophy of EcoVillage communities around the world. SWA acted as the Passive House Design Consultant for the TREE community and provided rating services for Passive House Institute US (PHIUS+), LEED® for Homes™, and ENERGY STAR® certified homes.
The Trolle Residence, built by owner and builder Mike Trolle of BPC Green Builders, was awarded the Custom Builder Awards. Earning a final Home Energy Rating Systems (HERS) Index of 35, the Trolle Residence is also a certified Passive House through PHIUS+, an ENERGY STAR Certified Home, a certified Zero Energy Ready Home through the DOE’s Building America program, and is certified under the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Indoor airPLUS program. The Trolle Residence is a unique twist on modern architecture with a vaulted ceiling in the great room and an efficient layout which allows for energy-saving passive design features. The new structure is built on the existing footprint utilizing the foundation walls as well as existing landscaping stone and paneling and interior doors. SWA also provided rating services for PHIUS+ and ENERGY STAR certified homes.
The Singer Development spec home in Derby, CT built by Brookside Development is a prime example of low-cost, high-savings energy efficient homebuilding. This seven home community has received a Production Builder Award. The project was built to the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home program’s standards, which include meeting all of the requirements of ENERGY STAR certified homes, the U.S. EPA’s Indoor airPLUS, and the insulation requirements of the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code.
“Last year SWA represented four amazing builders at the first annual DOE Home Innovation Awards ceremony and we’re thrilled to have recognition again this year with one repeat and two new builders! These project teams work rigorously to produce high performing buildings and push the industry ahead with their innovations in sustainable housing,” stated Karla Donnelly, Senior Sustainability Consultant at SWA.
Since 2008, the U.S. Department of Energy's (DOE) Builders Challenge program has recognized hundreds of leading builders for their achievements in energy efficiency—resulting in millions of dollars in energy savings. The DOE Zero Energy Ready Home — an ambitious successor to the Builders Challenge program — represents a whole new level of home performance, with rigorous requirements that ensure outstanding levels of energy savings, comfort, health, and durability on the path to zero energy ready homes. A Zero Energy Ready Home is a high-performance home that is so energy efficient that a renewable energy system can offset all or most of its annual energy consumption
About Steven Winter Associates, Inc.
Steven Winter Associates, Inc. provides research, consulting and advisory services to improve commercial, residential, and multifamily built environments for private and public sector clients. The company specializes in energy, sustainability, and accessibility consulting as well as certification, research and development, and compliance services. Its engineers and architects have led the way since 1972 in the development of best practices to achieve high performance buildings. As a matter of course, the company’s staff collaborates with its clients to produce the most cost-effective and innovative solutions. For more information, visit http://www.swinter.com.
Heather Breslin, Steven Winter Associates, Inc., http://www.swinter.com, 203-857-0200, [email protected]
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