HIRL_capability_statement_(4).docx

Home Innovation Research Labs (HIRL) – Capability statement

Home Innovation Research Labs (HIRL) was formerly known as the NAHB Research Center. HIRL is the only source of annually-collected nationwide data related to builder construction practices. National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) is the only association of home builders in the United States that conducts annually a survey regarding construction practices and the sole source of data unique to homes-built radon-resistant nationally and in the three EPA radon potential zones. Additionally, to any particular home builder, NAHB is the most widely known, well-respected and hence credible organization with ties to the home building industry. This credibility with builders strengthens the statistical confidence of the information gathered while increasing the likelihood of large numbers or actual participants/respondents (thereby also strengthening statistical validity). HIRL still has a relationship with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) as its independent subsidiary; with unparalleled access to industry segments because of that relationship and has unique research, testing, and third-party certification expertise. The Home Innovation Research Labs collects, stores and analyzes the data from the NAHB annual survey. For more than 25 consecutive years, Home Innovation has conducted the ABPS, which now includes about 1,400 home builders who complete a detailed survey on the materials and systems they employ in the construction of new homes. These unique capabilities are essential for contract performance because they provide EPA important data needed to estimate annual lives saved, and reporting progress to OMB (e.g., PART). The Housing Innovation data is also important in persuading competing home builders to adopt radon-resistant new construction, by showing trends and its cost-effectiveness. Home Innovation Research Labs (Home Innovation) conducts an annual study on building materials installations used in new residential construction through its Annual Builder Practices Survey (ABPS) reports. Home Innovation uses a robust tabulation methodology to convert the raw survey data into annual purchase volumes for more than 45 ABPS reports.

ABPS coefficients for single-family detached homes are calculated for 32 separate U.S. geographic areas, called “State-Market-Areas” (SMAs). These SMAs typically run along state lines, although smaller states may be combined to create a single SMA, while larger states may be divided into two SMAs. Additionally, the ABPS product usage tables show the total estimated volume or amount of material used for both SFD and MF dwellings tabulated by State, Census Division, and the U.S. as a whole. These data are estimated using the SFD and MF coefficients previously described, along with the housing start data for each state, which is provided by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Economics Department.

Home Innovation’s ABPS and ACPS reports are unique in that no other entity produces or provides coefficients for single-family detached, multifamily, owner-occupied, and renter-occupied with the same degree of accuracy and at the level we do. Additionally, Home Innovation has decades of experience producing annual reports using ABPS and ACPS data for organizations to track residential products and building practices. For example, we produce regular tracking reports for the APA-Engineered Wood Association, the American Chemistry Council (ACC), Portland Cement Association (PCA), Propane Education & Research Council (PERC), and the U.S. EPA.