Category: Learning Resource

Energy Efficiency made Simple

Energy Efficiency and Indoor Air Quality Top Buyers’ Green Preferences

Consumers are attracted to the cost savings green features provide. Nearly half of home buyers are willing to invest between $1,000 and $9,999 for $1,000 annual savings on their utility bills, with 37 percent willing to spend upward of $10,000. This according to the 2019 NAHB survey of nearly 4,000 home buyers. To achieve their…
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Energy Efficient Building with High R-Values

R-Value/SIPS Panels Information The type of insulation you choose can result in thousands of dollars saved in utility bills over the life of your home.  Insulation is rated by R-Value, which measures a material’s thermal resistance.  Insulating materials with a higher R-Value correspond with increasingly better performance.  However, studies have shown that determined R-Values have…
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4 Undeniable Benefits of Offsite Construction

4 Undeniable Benefits of Offsite Construction It takes an average of four to six months to build the typical new construction home and in the homebuilding business, time is money. Complicating the issue for most builders is a shortage of skilled tradespeople, including framing carpenters, the constraints of weather-related delays, and countless other risks associated with construction…
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The cutting edge of Building Science continues to be covered by FastFlash

FastFlash is the first and only fluid-applied flashing to be evaluated and approved by the International Code Council Evaluation Service. FastFlash has racked up yet another industry first – it’s the first and only fluid-applied flashing included in an Evaluation Service Report (ESR) from the International Code Council Evaluation Service (ICC-ES). The organization, a third…
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Panelization Makes Quick Work Of Passive Building

Factory-made components are helping builders achieve passive levels of performance. These days, it’s not uncommon for builders to construct homes from panels. They provide an attractive combination of customization, factory quality control, and reduced construction time—at a point when the industry is facing a nationwide shortage of skilled labor. All these benefits make panelization ideal…
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(VIDEO) PREFAB SUMMIT 2 — A DEEPER JUMP

The Accelerator’s second Prefab Summit showcased another series of prefab all-stars with materials and methods intended for buildings small and large. Each speaker brought a depth of experience to the event and a sense of the excitement and growth currently being experienced by so many in the prefab industry. There are too many great moments…
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Why Homeowners Should Install Triple-Glazed Windows In Their Home

Original Story Published On Forbes by Sheri Koones It is estimated that 40 percent of the United States energy consumption is used for heating and cooling buildings as well as 75 percent of the electricity. One of our main concerns in building a house should be in building a structure that requires minimal energy, rather…
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Passive House Past, Passive House Future

At this decadal-shifting, stock-taking moment, where is Passive House headed? On the one hand, Passive House building—like other parts of the clean energy transition—is growing at an exponential rate. In the United States, for example, it is doubling every year (based on PHUIS+ project data). That is heartening! On the other hand, the market share…
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Build SMART is Proud to be Part of the Solution

The shortage of affordable housing is becoming critical across the United States. We are very grateful to all the developers that have been turning to BuildSMART for high performance, high quality affordable housing solutions. We agree wholeheartedly with the premise that every American should have safe, decent and affordable housing. This article documents the 2018…
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Building Affordability, Piece by Piece

BuildSMART is well aware of America’s well-documented affordable housing crisis which is often framed in terms of the big urban areas, where housing and living costs are sky high and rapid gentrification pushes rents and prices up and lower-income residents out. But the affordability crisis is also playing out across rural America. At BuildSMART we…
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