Buildings
|
Building America The U.S. Department of Energy's [DOE] Building America Program embodies its thrust to reengineer the American home for improved energy efficiency and affordability. Through this program, builders and homeowners are exposed to innovations that result in millions of dollars of savings for both parties. The goals of this industry-led, cost-shared partnership program are to:
Bridging a Communications Gap Building America is a public/private partnership whose objective is to become the catalyst for change in production housing construction practices. To achieve that end, it forms teams of professionals that work in and around the construction industry — professionals that have traditionally worked independently of each other. At the present time, there are five Building America Program teams, made up of more than 150 companies. The teams include architects, engineers, builders, equipment manufacturers, material suppliers, community planners, mortgage lenders, and contractor trades. A Whole-House Approach The teams begin working together at the design phase — carefully considering the possible interactions among a variety of factors, such as the building envelope, mechanical systems, landscaping, nearby houses, orientation, and climate. Changes that are made as a result of design phase analysis often entail little or no additional construction cost. Changes that have been made to date as part of this program affect framing, methods of sealing the envelope, window selection, mechanical system specifications, and ducts. The Building America Program also is interested in factory construction because of several potential benefits — better quality control systems, greater productivity, tighter envelopes, and less waste. Building America teams work together to insure that whatever savings are being achieved get appropriately reinvested in energy efficiency and quality products. The teams work with a philosophy of design, test, redesign, and retest. After the initial design has been evaluated, a prototype or "test" house is built. The systems in that house are tested and modified as needed to further increase both energy efficiency and cost savings. Once this design has been retested and proves acceptable, the design is confirmed as being ready for use in production and community-scale housing. The research being performed by the Building America teams is part of a larger feedback loop that will ultimately influence the development of "next generation" building systems. For More Information For additional details on this U.S. Department of Energy initiative, see Building America. For more information on Advanced Energy program development services, please contact Advanced Energy at (919) 857-9000 or moreinfo@advancedenergy.org .
|