In 2010, five homebuilders were recognized as inaugural winners of the Best Practices Research Alliance Home Quality + Performance award. This month we're featuring S&A Homes, based in State College, PA. We'll examine what makes them an Alliance award-winner--aside from building the Alliance's flagship project, the Energy Efficiency Lab Home. To learn more about the Home Quality + Performance awards, visit here.
When the Alliance contacted S&A Homes about being the builder for the Energy Efficiency Lab Home, S&A Vice President Chris Schoonmaker said the company, headquartered in State College, PA, didn’t hesitate.
“Since Bob Poole started S&A back in the early 1980s, delivering a high performance, high quality home has always been a focus for us,” he said. “Energy efficiency is key to saving money for the homeowner.”
S&A builds homes in Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Maryland and is a founding member of the Alliance.
S&A’s marketing strategy has long emphasized quality. They currently market their homes as “E-homes,” citing their energy efficient, eco-friendly and health benefits. S&A builds all its homes to exceed ENERGY STAR® standards.
S&A broke ground on the Lab Home in March 2010 and construction was completed in September of the same year. The company was also integrally involved in all aspects of the home’s design, which was directly based on their Crestmont production model, and in every step of the building process.
Schoonmaker said S&A’s intention in building the Lab Home was to “be a part of the learning curve,” and to push the boundaries of their own knowledge base.
He added that with legislation and building codes pushing builders toward greater levels of energy efficiency, and homebuyers increasingly interested in low energy, efficient homes, it only made sense to participate in the Lab Home project.
“This is a great way for us to learn about how to provide what our customers want, while we invest in the future,” said Schoonmaker.
“While we may not be ready to market a net zero energy home, we hope this project will help the whole industry improve and move in that direction.”
Michael Dickens, co-founder of IBACOS and director of the Alliance, said that aside from S&A’s achievement with the Lab Home, they also deserved the Quality and Performance Award for the way they’ve weathered the recent housing market downturn.
“While S&A downsized its divisions last year, they stuck to the mantra of quality and customer service,” he said. “They’re differentiating themselves in a tough market with their E-homes.”
Schoonmaker added that the Lab Home has helped S&A educate its customers about what makes the company different.
“It’s a great sales tool for us to demonstrate our commitment to quality.”
For more on S&A Homes, go to http://www.sahomebuilder.com/.
The Alliance Energy Efficiency Lab Home, built by S&A Homes
