Championship Home Performance Playbook for Alabama and Auburn Fans

In 2006, Home Depot painted the home of Eric and Jen Harrell of Alabaster, Ala., half Auburn orange and blue, and half Alabama crimson and white for the House Divided contest. Alabama families have a tradition of pride in their homes and their football teams. Sometimes demonstrating pride right from the curb. And, when we can’t make the game in person families cheer our home team champions from our home armchairs.

The tradition of success at Auburn and Alabama is built high performance teamwork. These premier college football programs attract outstanding individual athletes, but they are highly successful programs because they optimize team performance with a balance across all aspects of the game to maximize efficiency and achieve program goals.

We have high expectations for our teams and we sing the praises to high heaven when they exceed our expectations. But there’s hell to pay when the team falls short. Nearly everyone in the state is emotionally invested in some team’s success and quite a few probably have substantial investments in side bets, team swag, and school support. How does that compare to your largest financial investment, your home? Is your home a champion too?A champion home, like a champion team, meets or exceeds your expectations and is way easier to achieve. Expectations of a quality home include:

• Durable with minimum maintenance
• Affordable to purchase and operate
• Sheltering from the external environment
• Comfortable, healthy, and safe indoor environment
• Reflective of occupant’s values and personality

Like a sports team, your home is a system of individual players (components), each with a designated position. The overall team performance is the outcome of the system and will directly impact every expectation listed above.

For example, the UPS Team Performance Index comprehensively measures overall efficiency on offense, defense and special teams for all 125 NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) teams. It measures efficiency and teamwork to highlight teams that are well-balanced across all aspects of football by the following categories:

• OFFENSIVE – Yards/Play
• DEFENSIVE – Yards Allowed/Play
• SPECIAL TEAMS – Combination of 6 Categories
• MISCUES – Combination of 4 Categories
• QUALITY OF OPPONENT – Based on opponent’s TPI rating

“The key elements that often determine success on the field-smart planning, great preparation and precise execution-are the same as they are in business logistics,” says Ron Rogowski, UPS vice president, the TPI corporate sponsor.

Both the TPI and the statement from UPS reflect the growing interest in the systems approach to achieve better performance in sports and business. This is a growing trend in residential home improvement too, through the AlabamaWISE Home Performance with Energy Star program. We can use the TPI to demonstrate how individual home components impact system performance with our exclusive AlabamaWISE Home Performance Playbook:

• OFFENSE = HVAC and APPLIANCES (Active Comfort and Environmental Systems Heating, Air Conditioning, Ventilation, Ducts, Control Systems, Hot Water and Appliances)
• DEFENSE = BUILDING ENCLOSURE (Walls, Windows, Floor, Ceiling, Air Barrier, Insulation, Roof and Water Management)
• SPECIAL TEAMS = TRANSITIONAL FEATURES (Basement or Crawlspace, Attic or Finished Attic, Attached Garage and Bonus Room)
• MISCUES = THE HUMAN ELEMENT (Home Operation and Maintenance)
• QUALITY OF OPPONENT = CLIMATE ZONE (Alabama is a Mixed-Humid Climate and has Radon and Ground-water threats)

Research in building science over the past 30 years had demonstrated the linkages between HVAC systems, the building enclosure, transitional features, operation, maintenance, and climate zone. AlabamaWISE contractors are certified building science experts through the Building Performance Institute or RESNET in addition to trade specific expertise.

AlabamaWISE home performance contractors are also coaches to help homeowners understand how to operate and optimize their homes. They understand the systems approach to home improvement and understand the impact of individual improvements to overall home performance. Championship home performance requires careful planning and quality execution and the AlabamaWISE home performance contractors work with homeowners to help achieve winning home performance outcomes so you can cheer your team in a home that is comfortable, healthy and affordable.