BuildingEnergy Pro Tour
Berkshire County Jail Pro Tour
During this Pro Tour of the Berkshire County Jail, a group of architects, engineers, and municipal planners, among others, toured the site of one of the deepest reductions of energy use by a state facility in Massachusetts.The project is projected to result in a 52% reduction in energy use through operational improvements, electrical and mechanical systems optimization and onsite renewable production. The tour of this 148,000 square foot facility was led by Bart Bales, PE, MSME of Bales Energy Associates, the energy engineer for the project, and concluded with a reception, presentation and Q&A session.
First Rhode Island Passive House Pro Tour
Over 50 builders, students, architects, engineers, contractors and real estate professionals joined NESEA on a Pro Tour of the first Passive House in Rhode Island on Friday, April 17. The tour was hosted by builder Steve DeMetrick, and led by Steve DeMetrick, the architect Steve Baczek, the Passive House rater John Rodenhizer and the Passive House consultant Dan Roy. The event concluded with a reception and workshop led by homeowners and commercial real estate appraisers Brad and Jordan Hevenor on the topic of appraising high performance buildings.
2015 Zero Net Energy Building Award Winner Pro Tour
Thirty-five people gathered on a sunny spring afternoon for a Pro Tour of the home that won the 2015 Zero Net Energy Building Award, located in Greenfield, MA. The tour was led by builder and homeowner Spartan Giordano and lead carpenter Adam Heintz, and concluded with a reception, presentation and Q&A session.
Placetailor Pro Tour
Join NESEA for a Boston-area Pro Tour hosted by Placetailor. This Pro Tour will showcase two different projects, including the Hawthorne Youth Community Center and the Lamartine Lofts, located on the cusp of Jamaica Plain and Roxbury, MA. Placetailor tour guides will talk about high performance structures, community engagement and education, and the realities of working in tight urban spaces.
Martha's Vineyard Pro Tour
On a warm (ish) day in April, NESEA organized a Pro Tour of two sites designed and built by South Mountain Company and Island Housing Trust, located on Martha's Vineyard MA. The tour showcased healthy, durable, comfortable homes that offer valuable lessons for building high-performance and affordable structures in the 21st century. The tour will concluded with an educational workshop with Matt Coffey, John Abrams and Marc Rosenbaum of South Mountain Company, and Philippe Jordi of Island Housing Trust.
Noble Home Pro Tour
Over thirty people braved a chilly yet sunny afternoon to attend the Noble Home Pro Tour. We visited two sites constructed by Noble Home - maker of high-quality, custom-built passive solar kit homes - in Colrain and Shelburne, MA. In Colrain we toured a demonstration kit home that promotes sustainability through an affordable, super-insulated shell, and in Shelburne we visited a passive solar expansion of a family home designed for hands-on homeowners.
Bensonwood Pro Tour
On a crisp, sunny day in December, NESEA took a Pro Tour of two sites, one in Putney, VT and one in Walpole, NH. In Putney we got a tour of a home that feature accelerated site construction of a high performance shell, and in Walpole we toured the Bensonwood shop and discussed the virtual carpentry and fabrication process.
Yestermorrow Pro Tour in Vermont
NESEA and Yestermorrow Design/Build School partnered up to host an intensive (and intensely awesome) 2.5 day learning experience and high performance buildings tour in Vermont. Led by Andy Shapiro of Energy Balance, Inc, participants were able to interact with some of the region’s leading high performance building practitioners, delving deeply into the details of outstanding projects, asked questions and got feedback on pressing building questions.
Deep Energy Retrofit in Springfield, MA
In 2010, a dilapidated 100-year old brick warehouse sat at the corner Warwick St. in Springfield, MA. After a deep energy retrofit, the building is now home to EcoBuilding 
Bargains, New England’s largest used and surplus building materials store, and uses 75% less energy.
MacLeish Field Station Pro Tour
Supported by a grant from the S.D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, Smith College completed the construction of a 2300-square-foot environmental classroom at the Ada & Archibald MacLeish Field Station in 2012. At the time of the Pro Tour, CEEDS anticipated that the building would be certified as a “Living Building” in late 2013 or early 2014, a process which was realized in early 2014, making it the fifth Living Building Challenge certified building in the world.
Deep Energy Retrofit Tour in Northampton, MA
During this Pro Tour, members looked at two Deep Energy Retrofit projects in Northampton, MA. Members were also able to meet with other sustainability professionals, ask questions about DER, and network. The afternoon capped off with a workshop event where the building teams were able to share their successes and mistakes, address specific questions, and show pictures of the project under construction.
North Shore Pro Tour
Thirty-five building professionals enjoyed the warmth and beauty of Massachusetts' North Shore while touring these two homes - one designed to be net zero and the other designed to comply with stringent coastal siting requirements - and concluded with an informative workshop at the Joppa Education Center.
Rhode Island Net Zero Pro Tour
On Friday, November 7, 2014 NESEA hosted a BuildingEnergy Pro Tour in Rhode Island. 46 professionals joined NESEA on tours of two homes in Jamestown and Tiverton, one a single family home designed to achieve zero energy status with a 12kW solar array that powers the geothermal heating system and the plug loads for the house, and another in Tiverton built on spec and designed to be net zero yet priced competitively with non net zero homes built on spec in the area.