BrightBuilt Home Earns 2026 Maine Climate Catalyst Award for Pioneering Scalable, High-Performance Modular Home Design

When it comes to designing a home, it’s easy to focus on the big picture—overall layout, rooflines, or how the home will sit on the site. But what often brings a home to life are the finer details: finishes, fixtures, textures, and tones. And while these elements may seem small individually, together, they form a visual and tactile language that defines the home’s character.

High-performance homes operate as integrated systems. Each component, from your heat pump to your ERV, works in concert with the others to create an exceptionally comfortable, efficient living environment. Regular maintenance isn't just about preventing breakdowns, it's about preserving the carefully calibrated performance that has been designed into your home.

The holidays are upon us, and next week’s centers around food. And family! (But mostly food.) If you are living in a BrightBuilt Home chances are everyone thinks it is super beautiful and so began dropping very subtle hints months ago about how “It would be so lovely to have Thanksgiving in the extra warm and sunny house this year” and “I suppose if we do it at my house again, I’ll have to make everyone sit in the cellar since our dining room isn’t open concept…” Fast forward to Thanksgiving week and you’re starting to figure out how the heck to graciously host 15 people in your home. To help you out, we’ve compiled a list of BrightBuilt Home features that ensures last-minute horrors won't happen. (We all remember the disaster of ’04 when Aunt Helen’s cocker spaniels ate the turkey right out of the oven…)

Designing a new home is one of the most exciting, and often, most financially significant, decisions you’ll ever make. But what happens when your vision is larger than your current budget?

With autumn all around us and winter soon approaching, many of us are looking to feel the burn… from a fire, that is! One of the questions we are most often asked is: Can I put a fireplace in my high-performance home? If careful conditions are met, the answer is yes.

As the days grow shorter and the evenings get cozier, it’s only natural to reach for the light switch a little more often. But just because the lights are on longer doesn’t mean your energy bills have to spike like a vampire at sunrise.

As housing needs shift across New England—whether due to aging parents, adult children moving home, or a desire to generate rental income—Accessory Dwelling Units (ADUs) have emerged as a smart, flexible solution. They allow homeowners to expand how they live on their land—often with minimal new footprint and long-term payoff in comfort, care, or cash flow.

At BrightBuilt Home, we design homes that are beautiful and resilient, where comfort and performance go hand in hand. Behind every clean line and cozy room, though, is something you’ll never see—but you’ll absolutely feel: airtightness.

Building a new home is a big deal, and when you make such a major investment, you want to feel confident that the people performing the work are doing it right. As with any other types of products or services, builder quality can vary significantly, especially if you are building a high-performance home.

How do you know if you’re choosing the right builder for your new home? Ask these important questions.

Have you ever walked into a house that just feels uncomfortable, no matter what the thermostat says? Maybe the floors are cold, the air feels stagnant, or there's a persistent dampness that never quite goes away. These aren't just quirks of old homes, they're symptoms of fundamental design decisions made long before you see the finished product.

At BrightBuilt Home, we believe that designing and building a new home should feel inspiring—not overwhelming. While the traditional process can be complex and opaque, our mission is to guide homeowners through a simpler, more sustainable, and more efficient process. From the first moment you connect with us to the day your home is craned onto its foundation, we've designed every step to bring clarity, collaboration, and confidence to your journey.

Your first question may well be, "Well, what are ASHPs?!?" For that, we've got you covered. ASHP is short-hand for Air Source Heat Pump. It's the technology we use and love, because it's such an efficient way to heat and cool a home (particularly those great homes that have well-built exterior shells and thoughtful, pre-filtered air exchange!).

Under clear skies and with a backdrop of stunning coastal views, our client’s team came together to bring a Winslow design to life. This moment marked a major milestone in a journey that began long before the crane arrived: a journey shaped by thoughtful planning, intentional design, and close collaboration between clients, designers, manufacturers, and builders.

Your chance to save significantly on solar and battery installations ends December 31st, 2025—here's what you need to know. (Important: Tax laws can change. Please consult with a qualified tax professional for advice specific to your situation.)‍

The path to energy independence shouldn't feel like navigating a maze of missed opportunities. Yet for many homeowners, that's exactly what happens when valuable incentives quietly expire while they're still weighing their options.

Why air quality matters and how your home can help you stay healthy and comfortable, no matter what's outside.

In recent weeks, much of New England has been blanketed in wildfire smoke drifting in from afar. As unsettling as it is to see our skies dimmed and our outdoor time limited, it's also a stark reminder of something we often take for granted: the air we breathe.

While we can't always control what's happening in the atmosphere, we can make smart, proactive choices about the environments we live in. That's where high-quality HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air Conditioning) systems and ERVs (Energy Recovery Ventilators) become essential allies in protecting our health and comfort.

For homeowners considering a new build or renovation, energy modeling might sound like a complex, technical term, but it’s actually an incredibly valuable tool that ensures your home is designed to perform optimally, both in energy efficiency and comfort. By leveraging advanced software, energy modeling allows us to predict how a home will function under various conditions, offering insights that guide design choices and prioritize performance. Let’s dive into how this process works and why it’s such an essential step in creating a high-performance home.

In this short interview from the 2025 Green Home + Energy Show, BrightBuilt Home’s Managing Principal, Parlin Meyer, shares how our approach to high-performance modular design is changing the way people think about building sustainably. Representing BrightBuilt at both the speaker series and exhibitor booth, Parlin outlines how our net-zero ready home designs deliver elevated energy efficiency, simplified processes, and beautiful, lasting results.

Building vs. Buying: A BrightBuilt Perspective on Coastal Living (As Featured in Dwell)

When Laura Bayne began her search for a home on the shores of St. George, Maine, she faced a common challenge: finding a home on a property that matched her goals for quality, sustainability, and long-term value. Not finding anything she liked in the existing housing stock, then experiencing the frustrations of a traditional design and build approach, she reached out to us to help her create not just a house, but a thoughtfully crafted home.

This week's question was fielded by our founder, principal, and architect extraordinaire, Phil Kaplan...

"I sell new construction, and am seeing homes that are steeply increasing in price due to rising costs in materials. Since BrightBuilt is made in a controlled environment, does this help offset some of these increases?"
                                                                   -B. Morrison, New Hampshire