Steven Winter Associates Announces Four Projects as Department of Energy Challenge Home Winners
Norwalk, CT (PRWEB) September 25, 2013 -- Steven Winter Associates, Inc.(SWA) will be honored at the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Housing Innovation Awards breakfast for their contributions to four Challenge Home award-winning projects. The DOE awards have been recognizing accomplishments in energy-efficient home building since 2008.
“We are honored to have four projects recognized in this year’s Challenge Home competition. SWA is dedicated to conducting research to improve the energy efficiency of new homes and seeing it to fruition in these Challenge Homes is truly rewarding,” stated Dianne Griffiths, Executive Vice President of SWA.
The Challenge Home winners are: the Performance House in Old Greenwich, Connecticut; the Gainfort-McKay home in New Fairfield, Connecticut; Wainscott Harbor Road project by Ferguson Design & Construction in Sagaponack, New York; and the Holly Creek community of townhomes in Ithaca, New York. The Gainfort-McKay home and the Performance House also received awards for the 2012 CT Zero Energy Challenge, respectively placing first for the lowest HERS Index without renewables, and honorary mention for overall runner up.
Wainscott Harbor and the Gainfort-McKay home will be competing for the grand prize in the Custom Home category at the Housing Innovation Awards. Both custom homes implemented an enhanced thermal envelope, outstanding indoor air quality measures, and building-material efficiency using technologies and techniques that can be applied to a wide variety of projects.
The Performance House was only the second home in the country and first in the Northeast to receive the DOE’s Challenge Home certification. The project was recognized in the Spec Home category not only for its curb appeal, but more importantly for the building systems and technologies that make it quiet, comfortable, and near net zero energy. This will be the project’s fourth award since its completion. Other accolades include 2012 Spec Home of the Year Award from Home Builders & Remodelers Association of CT (HOBI), and the 2013 Merit Award from the CT Green Building Council.
Holly Creek will be competing for a grand prize in the Affordable Housing category. The development was championed by project partner Ithaca Neighborhood Housing Services to address the need for low-cost- and- low-maintenance housing. INHS and SWA have completed Phase I of the project which includes eleven attached homes in three buildings. Phase II is currently under construction.
SWA recently launched a revamped web presence for their sister site, the Consortium for Advanced Residential Buildings (CARB), a DOE Building America program team. The website presents the team’s research and is a resource for builders, with guides, case studies, technical details, and more. You can also find more information about the DOE Challenge Home competition on the site.
The Housing Innovation Awards Breakfast presented by BASF will take place at the Solar Decathlon in Irvine, California on Friday, October 4th, 2013 from 8:30-10:30 am, at the Orange County Great Park’s historic Hanger 244.
About Steven Winter Associates:
Established in 1972, Steven Winter Associates have led the industry in the development of best practices to achieve high performance buildings. SWA provides research, consulting and advisory services to improve commercial, residential and multifamily built environments for private and public sector clients. Specializing in energy, sustainability and accessibility consulting as well as certification, research and development as well as compliance services, SWA projects have received countless awards throughout 40 years of experience. Our success has come from providing superior services and innovative solutions, while exceeding our client’s expectations, and inspiring them to do more. For more information, please visit http://www.swinter.com.
Heather Breslin, Steven Winter Associates, Inc., http://www.swinter.com, 203-857-0200, [email protected]
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