2009 EVHA Winners
Check out the winners of the 2009 EnergyValue Housing Award! Learn more about the current winners in the 2009 EVHA Winner Magazine.
A complete list of all EVHA winners is available, sorted by year.
2009 EVHA Gold Award and Builder of the Year - Scott Homes, Inc.
Category: Custom
Climate: Cold
Location: Olymipia, Washington
Square Footage: 1,930 s.f.
Construction Cost: Not reported
Energy Features
When this seasoned builder started energy-efficient construction in the mid 1980s, it noticed such a big difference in home performance that it has been on a self-proclaimed "odyssey to build energy-efficient homes" ever since. Through the custom home building process, clients are starting to bring ideas and products to the table, creating a synergy that helps the company find practical, economical ways to build high performance homes. This team effort extends beyond the builder-client relationship to the subcontractors, suppliers, field workers, and field supervisors. The builder identifies this commitment and cooperation among the entire team as a key to the company's success. The EVHA judges were impressed with the company's "ability to convey the message" about energy efficiency to everyone involved in the home's construction and with its "great homeowner's manual."
2009 EVHA Gold Award - McIntyre Builders, Inc.
Category: Custom
Climate: Cold
Location: Grand Rapids, Michigan
Square Footage: 2,315 s.f.
Construction Cost: $75 per s.f.
Energy
Features
One essential element of McIntyre Builders' mission is to strive for continuous improvement in all that it does. Through a structured, continuous improvement process, McIntyre Builders constructs highly energy-efficient homes that perform as designed. Although the builder describes continuous improvement as a "simple process," it greatly impressed the EVHA judges, leading them to remark that the builder "is really working at testing and integrating as they continue to improve" home performance. Using the same trade contractors to build energyefficient homes has paid off for McIntyre Builders. The company's trade contractors, who have been trained and understand energy efficiency concepts in practice, are often the ones who find ways to improve a home's performance or optimize a construction process. Overall, the judges felt that McIntyre Builders "integrates the whole house-as-asystem approach in all that it does in home building, and takes advantage of continual testing and improvement to refine their unique philosophy."
2009 EVHA Gold Award - Aspen Homes of Colorado, Inc.
Category: Production
Climate: Cold
Location: Windsor, Colorado
Square Footage: 2,896 s.f.
Construction Cost: $110 per s.f.
Energy
Features
According to one EVHA judge, Aspen Homes is the company you should look to "if you want to see how it should be done … with respect to marketing to the public." From the company's perspective, energy efficiency is the cornerstone of its business and is incorporated into all marketing materials. Further, by making every member of the company "highly knowledgeable about the energy-efficiency product," the company can effectively communicate energy efficiency to potential customers. It's not just talk with Aspen Homes. Their exceptional energy-efficient construction practices prompted the EVHA judges to remark about the "nice, thorough job" that Aspen Homes does, and the company's "outstanding attention to detail."
2009 EVHA Gold Award - Yavapai College Residential Building Technology Program
Category: Affordable
Climate: Moderate
Location: Chino Valley, Arizona
Square Footage: 1,600 s.f.
Construction Cost: $62 per s.f.
Energy
Features
According to the EVHA judges, Yavapai College Residential Building Technology Program does "an incredible job" building state-of-the-art energy efficient homes and demonstrates a "great commitment to quality." This affordable home, built in partnership with the local Habitat for Humanity affiliate, is a shining example of the program's philosophy that "everyone deserves to live in healthy, energy- and resource-efficient, environmentally-responsive surroundings." According to program director Tony Grahame, one of the keys to the program's success is its balanced approach, which combines classroom instruction with practical, hands-on skills training. Each of the homes built by the program follows green building strategies, such as those of the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines, with the goal of educating students, home buyers, and the local industry about the benefits of green building.
2009 EVHA Gold Award - Clifton View Homes
Category: Custom
Climate: Moderate
Location: Coupeville, Washington
Square Footage: 1,927 s.f.
Construction cost: $169 per s.f.
Energy
Features
One thing that struck the EVHA judges about Clifton View Homes is that "they're preaching energy efficiency, not just building [it]." Clifton View Homes is not content to build homes that use less than half the energy of similar code-built homes, nor to build homes that meet or exceed the three-star level of the local builders association's Built Green program. Instead, company president Ted Clifton is extremely active in educating consumers and other builders about building green. He speaks at a variety of local and national venues about green building and energy efficiency and is involved in a number of green building committees and organizations. Not surprisingly, Clifton View Homes has a multi-year backlog of custom energy-efficient homes to build.
2009 EVHA Gold Award - Scandia USA
Category: Production
Climate: Moderate
Location: Richmond, Virginia
Square Footage: 2,350 s.f.
Construction Cost: $152 per s.f.
Energy
Features
The EVHA judges were impressed with the attention to detail paid by Scandia USA while building this "very green home" in a mixed-use, urban development on a former industrial site. From design to completion, Scandia USA endeavors to incorporate sustainability, energy efficiency, and indoor air quality into all of its homes. Exemplifying this effort, this winning home received accolades from the judges for energy efficiency as well as for its innovative features that piqued the judges' interest. For example, the vegetated roof will reduce not only cooling needs but also runoff into the storm sewers, which will be especially helpful on this ex-industrial property. Dual-flush toilets will decrease household water consumption, thereby diminishing the load on municipal sewage treatment capacity.
2009 EVHA Gold Award - Ferrier Custom Homes
Category: Custom
Climate: Hot
Location: Grapevine, Texas
Square Footage: 3,212 s.f.
Construction Cost: $120 per s.f.
Energy
Features
The EVHA judges were impressed by Ferrier Custom Homes' long track record of dedication and their tireless effort to educate "anybody who'll listen" about the value of energy-efficient construction. As one EVHA judge put it, "This builder demonstrates a complete understanding of the concepts, value, and systems that create an energy-efficient home." Ferrier Custom Homes produces "a complete package" and attempts to "push the envelope and make sure it's done right." Doing it right, according to the EVHA judges, includes an "extensive cost benefit analysis used in the selection of equipment and materials for indoor air quality," plus taking "great care to create the most energy-efficient home possible." The judges added that the company's marketing materials provide an "exceptional example of responsible marketing and commitment to educating consumers and the building industry."
2009 EVHA Gold Award - Coastal Green Building Solutions
Category: Production
Climate: Hot
Location: Hilton Head, South Carolina
Square Footage: 1,355 s.f.
Construction cost: $140 per s.f.
Energy
Features
The "driving force" behind this small community of cottages by Coastal Green Building Solutions was to offer the most energy-efficient homes on Hilton Head. The builder's objective was to construct the best quality, most efficient home with the highest level of indoor air quality while remaining cost effective. To accomplish this goal, the builder worked with the Building America program and the local EarthCraft House program during the planning stages. In the model home, prospective buyers learn about the energy features through small signs placed throughout the home. Exposed insulation helps people see what's behind the walls. In the builder's words, "It is one thing to tell them what we do. It is quite another to show them."
2009 EVHA Silver Award - Urbane Homes
Category: Affordable & Production
Climate: Moderate
Location: Louisville, Kentucky
Square Footage: 2,184 s.f.
Construction Cost: $36 per s.f.
Energy
Features
As a start-up company, created with the goal of setting itself apart by building a better home than its competitors, Urbane Homes is off to an exceptional beginning. Through extensive research before production, they created a highly efficient home at a very affordable price. According to the company, price per square foot is paramount to success in the local market. And when it comes to energy value, this affordable home packs a powerful punch. Every decision is governed by the overriding principle that the homebuyer must have the highest level of energy efficiency at a sales price below $150,000. According the Urbane Homes, "building for energy efficiency is not only smart from an environmental perspective, it's smart from a business perspective."
2009 EVHA Silver Award - Seville Consulting
Category: Custom
Climate: Moderate
Location: Atlanta, Georgia
Square Footage: 7,172 s.f.
Construction Cost: $120 per s.f.
Energy
Features
Seville Consulting is dedicated to educating the residential construction industry about energy efficiency and green building. This home, a 2007 Southern Building Show showcase home, gave Seville Consulting a tremendous opportunity to fulfill that mission. Hundreds of builders and industry professionals who visited the show home were introduced to its green building and energy efficiency features in educational information presented throughout. Not content to stop at educating the industry, Seville Consulting installed a home energy monitoring device to help homebuyers understand their energy use – a key to energy-efficient home performance. Additionally, the home's in-town location facilitates the homeowners' reduction of their energy use for transportation.
2009 EVHA Silver Award - R Godfrey Homes
Category: Affordable
Climate: Hot
Location: Rainbow, Texas
Square Footage: 1,723 s.f.
Construction Cost: $83 per s.f.
Energy
Features
R Godfrey Homes is committed to building extremely energyefficient, affordable homes. Their goal was acknowledged by the EVHA judges, who claimed they have produced an "excellent example of affordable energy-efficient housing." Recognizing the cost constraints of affordable housing, the judges remarked that "the project is an excellent example of an integrated package of efficiency measures." Owner Ronnie Godfrey is not content to simply build energy-efficient homes. Instead, he provides an additional service to the local community by writing a regular newspaper column that educates consumers about energy efficiency in homes. In an interesting marketing twist, Suz Godfrey (wife of Ronnie Godfrey) wrote an educational children's book that is available for free download from the company's website.
2009 EVHA Silver Award - GreenCraft Builders
Category: Custom
Climate: Hot
Location: Grapevine, Texas
Square Footage: 2,384 s.f.
Construction Cost: $165 per s.f.
Energy
Features
According to the EVHA judges, GreenCraft Builders showed "dedication to quality energy-efficient construction based on sound building science" in this "excellent project." This was a "very good application of the best systems available" in energy efficiency, the EVHA judges acknowledged. Yet, GreenCraft Builders goes well beyond energy efficiency by defining its identity, its niche, and its green building philosophy with its name, GreenCraft. The company has pledged to incorporate "the best practical building science and sustainability principles" into every home it builds. As part of its commitment to green building, GreenCraft Builders has successfully created partnerships with trade contractors who are knowledgeable about green home building practices and who use green practices within their businesses.