17th Annual Green Home of the Year Awards and Sustainability Awards

Call for Entries

HOTY-2025
GBMSA2025WHT2
16th hoty compilation

Green Builder Media’s annual Green Home of the Year and Sustainability Awards recognize the industry’s most authentic, advanced, beautiful, sustainable projects and the professionals who design and construct them.

We’re looking for the best green homes that include sustainable features, innovative design, whole home performance, and integration with the natural environment, as well as the Sustainable City of the Year and Sustainability Superhero. Again this year, we’ve added award categories for projects that go “Above and Beyond” to address environmental risks and concerns and achieve net zero carbon. 

A panel of respected builders and design professionals will review each completed entry. Winners will be notified in January 2025. Judges decisions are final. Winners will receive coverage in the January/February 2025 issue of Green Builder magazine, on www.greenbuildermedia.com and on our social media outlets. They will also receive five complimentary copies of the January/February 2025 issue.

All materials submitted to the GREEN BUILDER HOME OF THE YEAR AWARDS become the property of Green Builder magazine, and will not be returned. Please keep a copy of your entry for your records. No refunds will be issued.

The deadline to enter is October 25. 

FAQs

GENERAL CATEGORY: We strive to find the BEST projects from the entries we receive and then categorize them. We feel this gives each entrant the best possible chance to become a finalist as they are not attempting to fit their project into a category - they are simply showcasing their best work. All residential green designed and high-performance housing and communities meeting the following criteria are eligible for entry into the General Category:

  • Grand opening or first occupancy between November 2023 and October 2024.
  • Custom, production, remodeling/restoration and multifamily projects are all eligible. (Project can be any size)
  • Third party certification (e.g., LEED, Energy Star, Environments for Living, etc.) is NOT an entry  requirement.
  • Fill out entry form here 
  • Entry fee is $140 - pay here

NET-ZERO CARBON: To be eligible for this category, your project must meet the following criteria: 

  • Grand opening or first occupancy between November 2023 and October 2024. 
  • Demonstrable use of building science, green construction, low carbon products, carbon offsets or other measures to create a net-zero carbon home. 
  • Fill out entry form here
  • Entry fee is $140 - pay here

MAINSTREAM GREEN CATEGORY: We continue our search for the most energy-efficient homes! To be eligible for this category your project must meet the following criteria:

  • Grand opening or first occupancy between November 2023 and October 2024.
  • Total project is less than 2,600 square feet conditioned space.
  • HERS rating of 50 or better (verified HERS Index Score will be required).
  • Fill out entry form here 
  • Entry fee is $120 - pay here

ALTERNATIVE BUILDING TECHNOLOGY CATEGORY: Open to projects that include some form of alternative building technology systems (i.e. SIPs, ICFs, etc.). To be eligible for this category your project must meet the following criteria:

  • Grand opening or first occupancy between November 2023 and October 2024.
  • Project must include some form of alternative building technology.
  • In your narrative, tell us why you chose the particular technology you employed in your project.
  • Fill out entry form here 
  • Entry fee is $120 - pay here

OFF-SITE CONSTRUCTION:  Send us your best project utilizing off-site construction (prefab, modular, etc.). To be eligible for this category your project must meet the following criteria:

  • Grand opening or first occupancy between November 2023 and October 2024
  • Any homes utilizing off-site construction (IRC-Code) are eligible.
  • In your narrative, tell us why you utilized off-site construction as well as any lessons learned.
  • Fill out entry form here 
  • Entry fee is $120 - pay here

SMALL FOOTPRINT LIVING: To be eligible for this category your project must meet the following criteria:

SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITY OF THE YEAR: To be eligible for this category your project must meet the following criteria:

“ABOVE AND BEYOND” Green Home of the Year Award Categories. 

Above and Beyond: Drought Ready . This project optimizes the use or re-use of onsite water, putting it in a class of its own with regard to water conservation.

Above and Beyond: Flood Ready. This project applies various mitigation techniques to reduce not only the risk from water damage and flooding, but enhancing the ability to recover following a flooding incident.

Above and Beyond: Wildfire Ready . This project offers a case study in how to build a home to resist all but the worst wildfire situations, from site preparation to product selection.

Above and Beyond: Net Zero Plus Energy. This project applies solar or wind energy systems to provide enough renewable energy to satisfy more that 100 percent of likely energy demands on an annual basis.

Above and Beyond: Extreme Heat Ready. This project applies good building science, optimal insulation, massing, windows and other features to reduce the impacts of extreme temperatures outdoors, and reduce cooling costs.

Fill out entry form here (process as a general entry).

Entry fee is $120 - pay here

SUSTAINABILITY SUPERHERO OF THE YEAR: To be eligible for this category your project must meet the following criteria:

  • The person must be a part of the building industry in some way (builder, architect, designer, manufacturer, code official, etc.)
  • The person's accomplishment(s) must have occurred or started between November 2023 and October 2024 .
  • Fill out entry form here
  • Entry is free

THE PATHFINDER AWARD: This award goes to an under-40 homebuilder who's leading by example.

  • Winner must have completed at least three homes as primary builder/developer.
  • Winner should have good chemistry with trades and staff, with spirit of collaboration.
  • Winner should demonstrate a serious commitment to sustainability.
  • Fill out entry form here
  • Entry is free

SUSTAINABLE CITY OF THE YEAR: To be eligible for this category your project must meet the following criteria:

  • Program must be managed by a U.S. municipality (town, city, village, borough, etc.).
  • Fill out entry form here
  • Entry is free

FAQs

How do I submit my project? Complete Entry Pack Checklist. Each Green Home of the Year entry packet should include the following items:

  • Completed entry form (complete online).
  • A one-page (max 400 words) narrative (in Word or PDF format) that describes the process of your project. Feel free to include anything you think will help the judges understand the details of your green/ sustainable/energy-efficiency commitment.
  • A floor or site plan with dimensions in feet (high resolution .JPG) for building projects. Additional site or floor plans (optional) in high resolution .JPG format) as appropriate.
  • 6-8 color photos at resolution 300 dpi and sized 8x10 or larger. Failure to provide photographs in required specs may result in loss of photographic coverage in the magazine. 
    • JPEG or TIFF for building projects. 1- 3 color photos at resolution 300 dpi and sized 8x10 or larger (including a head shot if appropriate)
    • JPEG or TIFF for non-building project category entries. You may submit low resolution images for the entry, but will need to provide high resolution if selected as a winner.
  • Sustainability Awards are entered online only and require only the completion of that submission. Winners may be asked to supply high resolution artwork.

What is the deadline? Completed entry packets must be emailed no later than 11:59pm Eastern time,
October 25, 2024.

How much would it cost to enter the General category with more than one project? $140 for the first entry, $89 for
each additional entry.

How much would it be cost enter the General category and the Mainstream Green category? See the answer to the previous
question.

Can I enter the same project into both the General category and the Mainstream Green category? Yes.

What are the qualifications for the Alternative Building Technology category about? We are looking for interesting projects that use alternative building techniques. We list SIPs and ICFs but if you have used another alternative building technology and
want to run it by us just email mike.collignon@greenbuildermedia.com.

Are certifications like LEED, Energy Star, Environments for Living, etc. required? No. In the General category certifications will neither help nor hinder your entry. The only required document is in the Mainstream Green category (HERS Index) to
show proof of a HERS rating of 50 or better.

Do you allow extensions? To be fair to all entrants we do not allow any extensions.

Can I enter a project I have entered before? Past projects, products, or other winners of Green Builder Media awards are ineligible.

Are photos important? Absolutely. Without photos we can't judge your project fully and we would need them for the magazine if you were chosen as a winner. Six to eight high resolution (8x10 at 300 dpi or larger; .JPEG or .TIFF format) photos will
be required if you are chosen as a winner. Six to eight photos are needed for your project to be judged.

Still have questions? Contact Mike Collignon with any general questions or Mel Smith with any payment questions.