Architects, HVAC installers & affordable housing projects win ‘Best of the Best’ awards
SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT
Thirteen firms honored for energy leadership at Efficiency Vermont's annual Better Building by Design (BBD) conference
SOUTH BURLINGTON, VT—More than 900 attendees gathered at the Better Building by Design (BBD) conference this week. Efficiency Vermont’s annual event brings together design professionals, leaders in building construction, and experts in climate workforce trades. Thirteen “Best of the Best” awards were given out to builders, architects, designers, and HVAC and plumbing installers for their commitment to energy excellence.
Hosted at the DoubleTree Hotel & Conference Center in South Burlington from April 2-3, the event was devoted to the theme of “2030 on the Horizon: Assessing Vermont's Vision Versus Reality.” Attendees gathered to discuss the latest in efficiency practices and technologies, build new relationships and professional connections, and share insights and experiences through nearly 50 sessions and workshops. In all, over four dozen vendors packed the sold-out exhibit hall with new products and systems that can help Vermont homes and businesses achieve their energy goals.
With volatility around prices, energy policies, and workforce availability, Efficiency Vermont Managing Director Peter Walke told the crowd he remains optimistic about Vermont’s path to 2030. “Politics and policies may change, but what doesn’t change is how we deliver for our customers,” Walke said. “Investments in efficiency offer stability and affordability when so much else is uncertain.”
This year’s BBD keynote addressed energy insecurity. Speaker Dr. Diana Hernández, an associate professor of sociomedical sciences at Columbia University’s Mailman School of Public Health, shared solutions that emphasize people, health, comfort, and resilience. Noting multiple shortcomings in the U.S. energy safety net, Dr. Hernández said aging energy infrastructure and climate change further increase vulnerability. She urged policymakers, community organizations, utilities, and the climate workforce to work together to improve energy affordability. “If we get it right, eradicating energy insecurity will deliver social and environmental benefits around emissions, efficiency, affordability, and accessibility, while promoting health, wealth, and democracy,” she said. Dr. Hernández’s first book, Powerless: The People’s Struggle for Energy, is being published this month.
Efficiency Vermont celebrated 13 companies leading the way in efficient buildings and innovative and sustainable designs. This year’s “Best of the Best” awards include two Efficiency Excellence Network (EEN) member awards, seven residential project awards, and four commercial project awards. The winners are:
- Efficiency Excellence Network - Partner of the Year: Sisler Builders Inc., Stowe. For more than 40 years, Steve Sisler and his crews and teams of subtractors have been building high-quality custom homes and remodels in north-central Vermont ski country. Sisler emphasizes investing in energy efficiency at the point of construction to meet or exceed Vermont’s Residential Building Energy Standards and achieve exceptional ratings for tight building performance that exceed the national standards around air changes per hour. An EEN member since 2015, Sisler Builders has a strong track record of partnering with Efficiency Vermont to promote weatherization and efficiency in new construction and existing homes alike.
- Efficiency Excellence Network - Leadership Award: Tim Ryan, owner, J.W. & D.E. Ryan, Inc., Vergennes. A fourth-generation family-owned business operating from the same location since 1885, Tim Ryan joined the business in 1974. The company’s plumbing and HVAC business—part of the EEN since 2013—achieves excellence through continuing education and worker training. Their average installer has more than 14 years of experience. Long delivering heat pump HVAC solutions, J.W. & D.E. Ryan now offers solar and geothermal projects, leading the way for ground source heat pump work in Vermont. They take pride in marrying creativity with complicated projects to meet customers’ high expectations that maximize efficiency and comfort.
- Residential New Construction – Single Family Market Rate Project – Site Built: Kinsey Construction LLC and David Koschak Design, LLC (location: South Craftsbury Road, Craftsbury). This modern energy efficient home achieves high efficiency thanks to double-stud construction, triple-glazed casement windows, and heating and cooling via heat pumps. A super-insulated poured concrete basement with additional insulation measures applied to below- and above-grade walls and in the ceiling and attic spaces. Multiple measures in the interior walls, air and weather-resistive barriers, and exterior sheathing help manage moisture and promote longevity. The home is a model for designers seeking to provide comfort, air quality and durability while meeting the housing needs of Vermonters with average budgets.
- Residential New Construction – Single Family Market Rate Project – ADU/Tiny House: New Frameworks (location: Alfred Street, Burlington). A 580-square-foot prefabricated modular home that serves as an Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU), this home was built with sustainability in mind. The all-electric home heats and cools without any fossil fuels. Prefabricated Straw-Structural Insulated Panels crafted from locally-sourced organic straw provide insulation while storing carbon. A concrete-free helical pile foundation minimally disturbs the ground and soil, avoiding emissions related to concrete while boosting flood resilience. And exterior and structural elements were sourced from Vermont forests and sawmills.
- Residential New Construction – Single Family Affordable Housing – Site Built: Hildebrand Homes, LLC (location: 112 River Street, Rutland). Converting an 1865 two-unit dwelling into four all-electric low-income housing units required creativity and commitment. A new building envelope was created, allowing for new drainage, ventilation, and insulation measures while also creating exterior access to the units via a covered porch and ramp to accessible first-floor units. A steel roof and cladding cover wrapped and well-insulated walls. Heat pumps keep the building warm through hydronic distribution. The well-ventilated and airtight units are also solar-ready.
- Residential New Construction – Single Family Affordable Housing – Manufactured Housing: Rural Edge (location: Shattuck Hill, Newport). RuralEdge used funds provided by Vermont’s Manufactured Home Replacement & Infill Initiative through the Vermont Housing & Conservation Board to purchase and install two homes at the Shattuck Hill Mobile Home Park. Each two-bedroom Zero Energy Ready Home (ZERH) meets Efficiency Vermont’s Advanced Manufactured Homes’ efficiency standards, including efficient all-electric heating systems that keep operating costs down. The homes will be rented to people over the age of 55 who are moving from homelessness, as selected through the Coordinated Entry program administered by Northeast Kingdom Community Action. Fecteau Homes procured the housing units, with partners including MEI (electrical work), Harris Plumbing and Heating, and Vermont Electric Cooperative.
- Residential New Construction – Multifamily – Small Projects: Village Ventures (location: 501 Main, Fairlee). A mixed-use building made up of eight apartments and a retail space hosting a thriving coffee shop, this project reinvigorates a 1932 building built as Fairlee’s first post office. The building achieves high efficiency through extensive air sealing and insulation, triple-pane windows, and ultra-efficient heat pumps. Affordability and sustainability were key to the project, and the building owners report—after 18 months of operation—tenants are spending an average of $57 per month on electricity for lights, cooking, heating, and hot water.
- Residential New Construction – Multifamily – Large Projects: Cathedral Square (location: Bayview Crossing, South Hero). A 30-unit affordable housing community for older adults and designed for aging in place, Bayview Crossing exceeds Efficiency Vermont’s high-performance thermal shell requirements. It also meets its heating and cooling needs with all-electric heat pumps, with a portion of that electricity met by rooftop solar panels. Other energy features include triple-pane windows, LED lighting, extensive insulation, and an energy recovery ventilation system.
- Residential New Construction – Multifamily – Gut Rehab Large Project: Community Development Support, Inc. (location: DeWitt Block, Brattleboro). The full gut rehab of the long-vacant DeWitt Block built around 1900 includes a co-working office space on the first floor and a total of 15 housing units. The homes benefit from substantial renovations, including environmental remediation, new insulation and air sealing, new high-efficiency windows, and a rooftop solar panel system. The building meets Efficiency Vermont’s high-performance track and received ENERGY STAR and Zero Energy Ready Home certifications thanks in part to ENERGY STAR appliances, LED lighting, and all heating and cooling met via roof-mounted heat pumps.
- Commercial Building Design & Construction - Innovative Combined Commercial New Construction & Rehabilitation: TruexCullins Architecture + Interior Design and ReArch Company (location: Winooski School District). Rehabilitating the 1957-era building was an inclusive process with input from Winooski’s diverse community. A main lobby “town center” includes a student health center, a basic needs store, and multilingual liaison support. A net-metered rooftop solar array meets about 97% of the school’s electricity needs, including powering a geothermal heating and cooling system and four 80-gallon heat pump water heaters. The building also underwent a deep energy retrofit of all structures, as well as extensive interior renovations—creating an engaging, inclusive, and equitable learning environment.
- Commercial Building Design & Construction - Large Commercial New Construction: Wiemann Lamphere Architects and ReArch Company (location: OnLogic Corporate Headquarters, South Burlington). Designed to meet the needs of a growing workforce for its cutting-edge industrial computer products, the new OnLogic Corporate Headquarters is built to be flexible and adaptable to the company’s changing needs. A rooftop solar panel array substantially offsets the building’s electrical consumption. A 700 GPM geothermal heat pump system provides heating and cooling. The facility’s thermal envelope and insulation minimize fossil fuel-based foam products. Careful engineering of the building shell further minimizes energy use, exceeding Passive House commercial requirements.
- Commercial Building Design & Construction – Mid-sized Commercial New Construction: SAS Architects (location: Williston Public Safety Building). A new 22,500-square-foot public safety facility for the Vermont State Police (and a separate 11,000-square-foot vehicle storage facility), this project was designed to exceed the 2020 Commercial Building Energy Standards. The main building is all-electric, with a well-insulated building envelope, above-code airtightness, and heating and cooling via ground source water-to-water heat pumps with a closed-loop geothermal bore field. Daylight-dimming and occupancy sensors control the LED light fixtures, with careful design of exterior zones, their activities, and security requirements that maximize lighting efficiency without sacrificing safety.
- Commercial Building Design & Construction—Compact Commercial New Construction: gbArchitecture (location: Memory Care Home at the Gary Residence, Montpelier). A new one-story addition connected to an existing three-story residential care building, the Memory Care Home was elevated 30 inches above the first floor of the existing facility to meet city and state floodplain requirements, with accessible ramps connecting the two. An all-electric design heated and cooled with heat pumps, ENERGY STAR-certified commercial kitchen appliances, and an airtight and well-insulated building envelope help the project meet the owner's commitment to reducing energy use and fossil fuels.
About Better Building by Design
Hosted by Efficiency Vermont, the annual Better Building by Design (BBD) conference provides building professionals with a variety of continuing education opportunities to increase their knowledge in energy efficiency best practices and technologies to better serve their customers. Each year BBD gathers participants from among Vermont’s 18,000 person-strong clean energy and climate workforce, along with other professionals from around New England, for training sessions and workshops at the two-day conference.Learn more at https://www.efficiencyvermont.com/bbd
About Efficiency Vermont
As the nation's first Energy Efficiency Utility, Efficiency Vermont has helped Vermont save more than $3.3 billion in lifetime savings and avoid over 14.1 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions since 2000. Operated by clean energy nonprofit VEIC, Efficiency Vermont has received the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's ENERGY STAR® program Partner of the Year - Sustained Excellence award over eight consecutive years. Efficiency Vermont works with partners to help our state transition to more affordable, low-carbon energy use through education, incentives, and support for our clean energy workforce. Learn more at www.efficiencyvermont.com.
Efficiency Vermont Press Contact
Matthew Smith
Phone: (802) 540-7662
[email protected]