NAHB Research Center Studies

by Joel Barkman

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Research Center in Upper Marlboro, MD has been chosen as one of 15 national research and deployment partners that will be working with the Department of Energy's (DOE) Building America program to support efforts by the agency to increase the energy efficiency of new and existing homes.

As a partner in the Building America program and as member of NAHB I am pleased to see the two organizations join forces to participate in this undertaking. The Research Center has created its Industry Partnership for High Performing Homes, which is a team of 76 key stakeholders that includes the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Forest Products Laboratory, the Southface Energy Institute in Atlanta, local trade associations, non-profits, state energy offices, area builders and remodelers, and manufacturers.

The Research Center will be competing for DOE award grants of between $500,000 and $2.5 million for projects over the next four-and-a-half years that are designed to make the nation's housing stock more energy-efficient through cost-effective new technologies, streamlined building processes and other means.

The proposed work spans a four-and-a-half year effort with 60 percent emphasis on existing buildings and the balance on new construction. New and enhanced building technologies, innovative solutions to problems, technical resources, quality management systems, an expanded network of energy-efficient builders and professionals, and strategic and targeted communication vehicles will all flow from the Research Center's proposed research, which will include the following:

A study of business models for performing energy-efficient remodeling on a larger scale. The project team will look at quality management control issues and how to successfully replicate certain tasks. This will take energy-efficient remodeling beyond just air sealing and insulation.
A look at the relationship between additional insulation and moisture management, aimed toward the structural and energy performance of walls with high R-values to address moisture management as well as durability which can eventually affect indoor air quality.
An exploration of the benefits of thermal mass — a form of passive energy collection that can be used in place of traditional fuels and electric. The Research Center will examine how to take advantage of the thermal mass of homes to operate heating and air conditioning systems more efficiently.
A study of new and existing homes with a variety of builders and remodelers to find climate-specific and cost-effective solutions for energy efficiency.

The NAHB Research Center is working closely with custom builders and remodelers, NAHB Remodelers, The Construction, Codes and Standards Energy Subcommittee, Construction Technology Research Subcommittee, and The Building Systems Councils as it moves forward on this project.

NAHB continues its surge to educate area builders, businesses, and the general public on how retrofitting homes for energy-efficiency could be furthered by training programs for contractors and by incentives for home owners, such as the cash rebates of up to $8,000 proposed in the "cash for caulkers" legislation that has been moving through Congress.

The opportunities are plenty, but beyond incentive programs, remodelers need to know how to market their services — and convince homeowners that the return on investment from better air sealing is just as important as a new granite countertop.

NAHB along with the DOE Building America program is trying to get people to be mindful of their monthly utility payments and balance that with the idea that no matter what, energy costs are all but guaranteed to increase. With the high costs of construction, many homeowners still seem more inclined toward luxury options which can eat into the costs that could be put toward the performance aspects of a custom home or remodeling project. I try and steer my clients somewhere in the middle without sacrificing performance.

However, much of the focus of the Research Center will placed on the area's existing homes. "The growing and aging American housing stock of more than 116 million units represents a significant potential for controlling energy consumption," said NAHB Research Center President.

The results of the NAHB Research Center studies "will serve to enable an enduring change in construction practices sustained by the industry without continued federal support. The benefits will extend to improved housing energy performance, enhanced quality of American homes, and a stronger industry outfitted for advancing the nation's economy."

Moving forward does not mean that we should discard the old in favor of the new. My goal is to ensure that our existing homes can be made to serve the next generations and one of my jobs as an industry leader is to make sure that area builders have the best training, most up-to-date information through building-sciences and research, and the necessary skills to make it all happen.

If you think your home can serve you better, you may be right — just "Ask a Builder."

As always e-mail your questions or comments to joel@goldenrulebuilders.com or write to "Ask a Builder" at P.O. box 294, Catlett, VA 20119.

Barkman is past president of the Fauquier Chapter of The Northern Virginia Building Industry Association.

Read Joel's column weekly in the