High performance builder Hammer & Hand (offices in Seattle and Portland) unveils its ten predictions for the High Performance Building Industry which you will find below. Read the full report at the Hammer & Hand Website.

1. Focus will move beyond Net Zero Energy to Net Positive Energy buildings.

2. Market mechanisms that reward energy conservation and renewable energy production will flourish.

3. Building energy codes will move away from prescriptive rules toward performance-based measures.

4. CO2 heat pumps will help transform heating and cooling performance.

5. US-made high performance windows will continue to make high performance building easier here.

6. Builders and designers of high performance homes will design ventilation systems with a focus on quality of ventilation rather than just quantity.

7. The US-led move to make Passive House more climate-specific will improve performance at both micro and macro levels.

8. Passive House competition will result in better software tools for high performance building practitioners.

9. Europe's push to eliminate thermal bridges in buildings will make high performance building more mainstream in the US, too.

10. China's interest in high performance building will propel US market.

Editor's Note: CR4 would like to thank Larry Butz, President of GEA Consulting, for contributing this blog entry.