Habitat for Humanity Montgomery County (HFH-MC) worked in conjunction with Montgomery County to purchase foreclosed homes, remodel them, and ultimately deliver 12 fully renovated homes to clients. The goals of the project include affordability, enhancing safety, improving durability, lowering the energy cost, and adhering to schedule and budget. As part of this project, HFH-MC partnered with Home Innovation Research Labs through the Department of Energy's (DOE's) Building America Program. The intent of the partnership was to address energy efficient remodeling within the context of affordable homes.
The Home Innovation Research Labs role in HFH-MC’s remodeling project included observing the remodeling process, reviewing for durability & energy efficiency opportunities, obtaining "test-in" and "test-out" data where possible, detailing efficiency enhancements, identifying products and methods for increased energy efficiency, documenting the process as implemented, modeling energy savings, and cataloging construction details for retrofit.