BerHoff Homes, LLC is proud to team with the
U.S. Department of Energy - Building America Program
Click on the logo at right for additional information from the U.S. DOE.

The Harmony House
Our Building America & Green Built Home
(Click on the home to see photos)

Building America is a private/public partnership sponsored by the U.S. Department of Energy that conducts research to find energy-efficient solutions for new and existing housing that can be implemented on a production basis. BerHoff Homes, LLC is currently building this test home. Many of our current projects are utilizing many aspects of this program. Our goal is to force change and create the new, energy-efficient and ideally self-sufficient home of the future.

What Does Building America Do?

Building America conducts systems engineering research to do the following:

Produce homes on a community scale that use on average 30% to 90% less energy.

Integrate onsite power systems leading to "zero-energy" (ZEH) homes that will ultimately produce as much energy as they use by 2020.

Help home builders reduce construction time and waste.

Improve builder productivity.

Provide new product opportunities to manufacturers and suppliers.

Implement innovative energy- and material-saving technologies.

By using a systems engineering approach to home building, Building America unites segments of the building industry that traditionally work independently of one another. It forms teams of architects, engineers, builders, equipment manufacturers, material suppliers, community planners, mortgage lenders, and contractor trades. Currently, there are five Building America teams who have worked with over 530 different industry partners.

Throughout the design and construction process, research participants in Building America projects evaluate the interaction between the building site, envelope, mechanical systems, and energy-use factors. In many uses, cost tradeoffs allow the teams to incorporate energy-saving strategies at no extra cost. Building America research participants agree to:

Provide all construction materials and labor for research projects

Evaluate their design, business, and construction practices

Identify cost savings

Re-invest cost savings in improved energy performance and product quality

Extend their efforts from discussion of possibilities to development of solutions

Use a design, test, redesign, and retest process to resolve technical barriers.

The research conducted by Building America teams increases the quality and performance of today's homes and provides valuable information for homes of the future. By supporting industry-driven systems engineering research, the Building America Program provides the feedback required to develop critical "next generation" building systems.

The long-term goal of the Building America program is to develop cost-effective systems for homes that can produce as much energy as they use—a zero energy home.

Building America Homes have a Number of Advantages

Improved comfort—an energy-efficient building envelope reduces temperature fluctuations.

Reliability—BA homes can be designed to continue functioning even during blackouts.

Security—a home that produces energy protects its owner from fluctuations in energy prices.

Environmental sustainability—a BA home saves energy and reduces pollution.

Building America Homes Optimize a Variety of Features

Climate-specific design

Passive solar heating and cooling

Natural daylighting

Energy-efficient construction

Energy-efficient appliances and lighting

Solar thermal and solar electric systems.