Green Home of the Year Awards 2022 Judges

Green Builder Media’s awards program would not be possible without the tireless work and excellent credentials of our judges. 

Sometimes, the old adage “location, location, location” makes all the difference. The 2022 Green Home of the Year winners offer the right perks: They’re environmentally friendly, well constructed, energy efficient, and creatively designed. But our grand winner topped them all thanks to its sustainable new “old look” within an existing neighborhood. 

How were they chosen? Our expert panel of judges evaluated projects in terms of overall sustainability, resilience, synergy with the environment and surrounding neighborhood, affordability, creativity, and the depth of science employed. Green Builder Media thanks the following judges for their time and expertise: 

Juan M. Fernandez 

Fernandez founded CVF Homes in 2005, focusing on infill development, and building energy- and water-efficient homes with great design. CVF Homes certifies 100 percent of its homes to the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Zero Energy Ready Home Program. It is a proud winner of DOE’s Housing Innovation Award in 2019 and Honorable Mention in 2020. CVF Homes is a member of Build San Antonio Green and has received multiple sustainability awards from the city.

Fernandez is a member of Energy and Environmental Building Alliance (EEBA) and serves on the city of San Antonio’s planning commission technical advisory committee. He is a past member of the San Antonio Water System Community Conservation Committee (CCC) and past co-chair of the South Texas chapter of the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

He received his Mechanical and Electrical Engineering bachelor’s degree from the Monterrey Institute of Technology (ITESM) in Monterrey, Mexico.

Carol Orona 

Born and raised in New Mexico, Orona is a creative and innovative architectural designer specializing in green high performance and passive solar adobe construction. She holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in architecture from the University of New Mexico, and has a passion for uniting the art of architecture with the science of building.

With more than 30 years’ experience, she has advanced knowledge in building science, resulting in structures which surpass international energy codes, and integrate water conservation and healthy indoor environments.

As an early innovator in testing and certifying custom homes with Build Green New Mexico and the National Green Building Standard, Orona has led her company to national recognition as a Home Innovation Research Labs LEGACY Green Partner of Excellence.

Steve Byers

Byers is the CEO of EnergyLogic, an applied building science company based in Colorado, with offices across  Colorado and in Hawaii. He is a graduate of the United States Air Force Academy and has been involved with building science since 1993. 

Byers has two key philosophies involving EnergyLogic. One is to meet the daily challenges of managing and growing a company “without losing our soul in the process.” The other is to work with “the most committed and creative people imaginable, doing good work in the world,” because he is “my best self when I’m with these people.” He is honored to lead the team at EnergyLogic. 

Byers’ wife Wynne is the chief culture officer for EnergyLogic (which explains a great deal of his success). He has two amazing daughters as well.

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