Pilot home projects built under the Building America Program not only help builders learn energy efficient construction strategies and practices, but also enable IBACOS to test strategies a production builder can use to achieve Quality Homes®. To demonstrate to federal agencies how a Quality Home® is built, and how IBACOS uses pilot home projects to further our research into building high performance homes, IBACOS held a series of informational tours at a demonstration home. The home, built by Washington Homes near Washington, D.C., was designed to achieve a high level of efficiency (HERS 90, a reduction of 50% compared to the 1993 Model Energy Code benchmark), as well as to be durable, and comfortable, safe, and healthy for its occupants. IBACOS worked with the builder through the design, construction, and quality control stages, and is using the home to evaluate approaches to basement insulation, room air distribution, system downsizing, thermal envelope improvements, building durability, and integrated systems design.

Representatives from the Department of Energy, Department of Interior, Department of Agriculture, Department of Transportation, Environmental Protection Agency, and Housing and Urban Development attended two tours, one during framing and the second at completion, to learn about building and research strategies at different stages of construction.