Steven Winter Associates Awarded U.S. EPA's 2012 Indoor airPLUS Leader Award

NORWALK, Conn., Sept. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire-iReach/ -- Steven Winter Associates, Inc. (www.swinter.com) has been recognized by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a 2012 Indoor airPLUS Leader for advancing indoor air quality in residential construction and being at the forefront of the healthy homes movement.

A total of four organizations received this award, out of more than 300 Indoor airPLUS Rater partners, for qualifying and reporting the most homes earning the Indoor airPLUS label in 2011. 

Indoor airPLUS is a partnership between EPA, builders, Raters and other allies to improve indoor air quality in new homes. Homes with the Indoor airPLUS label are built with home design and construction features that can help protect families from a host of health problems associated with poor indoor air quality, including allergies, eye irritation, headaches, and asthma, as well as other respiratory problems.  Raters are building industry professionals accredited under standards developed by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) to provide independent third party verification of energy-related standards and codes as well as the requirements of the Indoor airPLUS program.

"These Raters truly are leaders in their industry. They are committed to the construction of healthier homes and improving indoor air quality and quality of life for their occupants. Not only are homeowners seeing a difference in the quality and comfort of their homes, but the Raters are also able to set themselves apart from their competition – which is a huge benefit for their businesses," said Dave Rowson, Director of EPA's Indoor Environments Division, Office of Air and Radiation.

Steven Winter Associates Senior Sustainability Consultant, Karla Donnelly, states, "We have found that it is easy to convey the importance of the specifications to the builders that we work with by leveraging the design review process as an opportunity to explain the program and encourage builders to add Indoor airPLUS to their best practices. In our experience, builders appreciate the simplicity of the checklist and construction specifications, and like the added confidence that callbacks will be reduced with the inclusion of the Indoor airPLUS label."

Indoor airPLUS qualified homes offer homebuyers all the features they want in a new home, plus moisture control, radon control, pest barriers, improved heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC) systems, combustion pollutant control, low emission materials and third party verification. All Indoor airPLUS qualified homes also meet guidelines for energy efficiency set by ENERGY STAR®, the nationally recognized label for energy efficiency.

About Steven Winter Associates
Steven Winter Associates, Inc. provides research, consulting and advisory services to improve commercial, residential and multifamily built environments for private and public sector clients. Specializing in energy, sustainability and accessibility consulting as well as certification, research & development and compliance services – the engineers and architects at Steven Winter Associates have led the way since 1972 in the development of best practices to achieve high performance buildings. Steven Winter Associates has offices in New York, NY, Washington, DC, and Norwalk, CT. For more information, visit www.swinter.com.

For more information about Indoor airPLUS, visit www.epa.gov/indoorairplus.

Media Contact: Heather Breslin Steven Winter Associates, Inc., 203-857-0200, [email protected]

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SOURCE Steven Winter Associates, Inc.