Partners for High Performance Homes

Partners for High Performance Homes is an informal network of industry professionals and advocates who wish to advance high-performing-home supply and demand in Colorado. PHPH was formed to pursue the vision and action items recommended by members of the New Home Stakeholders Group convened by City of Fort Collins and E-Star Colorado. PHPH will also look for related opportunities to improve housing performance in the existing home market.  For more information on the Partners for High Performance Homes, contact Susan Castellon at scastellon@oemc.state.co.us.

High-Performing Homes

What is a “high-performing home?” The New Home Stakeholder Group report addresses that question in Section 3.2, excerpted here:

"As used throughout the NHSG process and this report, the term ‘high-performing home’ describes a home that offers a package of benefits compared with a conventionally built new home:

• Better comfort
• Healthier indoor air
• Longer durability
• Lower energy bills

“The high-performing homes concept has evolved out of the U.S. Department of Energy’s Building America program. This building-science-based research program has demonstrated the feasibility of building homes that deliver these benefits. It has also demonstrated that, with practice, builders who use a “whole-house” or “systems” approach to design and construction can build homes like this for a moderate cost increase (1%-2%) compared with conventional new homes. More than 25,000 homes offering these benefits have now been built, in many regions of the United States. Many of these homes have measured energy use that is 30% to 50% lower than in comparable new homes built with conventional approaches.

“It’s important to note that no consensus definition yet exists regarding the details of what can be considered a high-performing home. In this report, ‘high-performing home’ is not intended to signify a definition, recipe or brand; instead it should be thought of as generic performance criteria in the four areas of comfort, durability, indoor air quality, and lower energy use.”

Section 3.2 of the NHSG report includes sidebars describing examples of methods used to design and build high-performing homes, the economics of such homes, and one Colorado organization’s working definition for a “high performance home.”

Next Meeting

• Tri-State
  Thursday, September 15th, 1pm - 4pm

Meeting Notes

Speaker Presentations - June 23rd Meeting

• Sam Rashkin, EPA National Program Director, for Energy Star Homes
  EPA's Energy Star Homes Program -overview of changes.
• Duncan Prahl, IBACOS
  Government Research and Findings in Higher Efficiency Hot Water Heating Systems
• Jeff Mahoney, Rheem
  Energy Efficient Water Heating: Trends from a Manufacturing Perspective

Meeting Minutes

• April 14, 2005
• February 10, 2005
• December 2, 2004
• October 12, 2004
• August 10, 2004

Partners for High Performance Homes Contact List (Excel)
PHPH Progress Matrix (Excel)
Special Projects Grants

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Last Updated: 01/21/2007