2024 Housing Innovation Awards Part Five: Total Package Award

Awarded to the builder with the highest average score across all award categories.

Source: U.S. Department of Energy Building Technologies Office

The Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program kicked off in October by honoring some of the leading builder partners in the program at the Housing Innovation Awards (HIA), held at the Energy and Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA) High-Performance Home Builder Summit. The 2024 awards recognized 24 award-winning projects from across the country. In addition, six grand winners were announced and recognized for their projects and leadership in supporting DOE’s overarching goals .

Total Package

Awarded to the builder with the highest average score across all award categories.

Total Package

The winner of more HIA awards than any builder in program history is Thrive Home Builders, who earned the 2024 Total Package award for their project that scored the highest across all the award categories listed above. This net-positive, all-electric home includes rooftop solar to reduce operational carbon emissions. The company is working with technology from the University of Denver to quantify and offset the embodied carbon of Thrive-built homes. This home uses off-the-shelf materials such as widely available double-paned windows and blown-in insulation, as well as leveraging innovative technologies with cold climate heat pumps and an aerosolized air sealant approach. In addition, Thrive has long been a leader in the high-performance housing market with their position having built the most ZERH certified homes in Colorado and the third most nationally

“The E-PWR all-electric homes collection combines modern features and energy efficiency with a focus on homeowner comfort and well-being. Thrive is dedicated to integrating its innovative building practice within the community, making these homes affordable and enhancing the overall lifestyle.” – Builder

The E-PWR Volt Townhome at Loretto Heights

Project Address: Denver, CO
Conditioned Square Footage: 1,669 sqft
Number of Bedrooms: 2 Beds
Number of Bathrooms: 4.0 Baths
Number of Floors Above Grade: 3 Floors Above Grade
Home Type:Production

WITH PV

HERS Index with PV: -1 HERS (PV)
Average Monthly Energy Bill PV: $0
Annual Energy Cost Savings with PV: $3,200
30 Year Savings with PV: $134,850

Built By:
Thrive Home Builders
Profile | Website

Key Features

All-electric home
Cold-climate heat pump
Electric Vehicle Charger Installed or Wired for Charger
Heat pump water heater
Photovoltaics
Raised-heel trusses
Sensor controls for better indoor air quality
Hot Water Recirculation Pumplated attic

SEE THE POSTER

Updated Program Documents

DOE releases updated program documents annually for the Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) program that incorporate changes and clarifications to program requirements, many of which result from dialogue with the program’s builders and raters. The updated program Versions/Revisions will be required for projects with permit dates on or after January 1, 2025. The ZERH program has also released Policy Record documents for both the Single Family and Multifamily programs, which detail the major updates included in these revised documents and the rationale behind the changes. A webinar highlighting these changes and their impact on program compliance is available here.

Article posted by:

Levi Gwaltney

Levi Gwaltney is the Editor In Chief of Las Cruces Digest. The Editor makes editorial and posting decisions regarding content published on this site. In most cases, the Editor makes little if any contribution to content published, and takes no credit for the content of republished posts. If available, the source or author of posts is provided at the top of the article.