Partner Spotlight: Shawn Jessup, Award Winning Builder from North Carolina

By Craig Maierhofer, Alpen Vice President of Business Development

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Each year, the Department of Energy (DOE) hosts a competition called the Housing Innovation Awards (HIA), which recognizes the best innovations and innovators related to building Zero Energy Ready Homes. According to the DOE, Housing Innovation Award winners are chosen by an esteemed panel of judges who are hand selected by the Zero Energy Ready Home Program, and award winners are chosen from each award category. One of Alpen’s long time homebuilding partners and someone I consider a friend, Shawn Jessup, recently collected his 7th HIA!

Jessup is the owner of S.D. Jessup Construction, which is based in North Carolina. According to Shawn, his company specializes in “building comfortable, durable, healthy and energy efficient homes.” Jessup won his first DOE HIA in 2017, and since then it has been an almost yearly stream of DOE accolades for his work.

His award winning project in 2024, a home located in Yadkinville, NC known as Shacktown (as seen in the image above) is a 3,147 square foot, all electric, ‘zero-energy’ house featuring the following upgrades:

●     All-electric

●     Compact (core) plumbing design

●     Heat pump water heater

●     High-efficiency variable-speed heat pump

●     Alpen Zenith high–performance triple-pane windows

●     High-performance wall with continuous insulation

●     Sensor controls for better indoor air quality

●     ACH50 < 2.5 or CFM50/SF of enclosure ≤ 0.25, HERS 37

The result? An annual energy cost savings of$1,600. The current monthly energy bill is just $75 for a 3k+ square foot home! The homeowner said, “our main driver was [the low] operating costs but the comfort level is a great benefit!”

Featured below is a virtual ‘hall of fame’ displaying Shawn’s DOE HIA zero-energy home wins over the last 8 years.

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2017: Rolling View Drive

4,215 square feet

Annual energy cost savings: $600

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2019: Piper’s Creek

3,310 square feet

Annual energy cost savings: $1,550

2020: Old Winston Road

3,620 square feet

Annual energy cost savings: $1,500

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2021: Deepwell Property

5,396 square feet

Annual energy cost savings: $3,300

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2022: Modern Farmhouse

3,630 square feet

Annual energy cost savings: $1,100

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2023: Rockwell Farmhouse

6,143 square feet

Annual energy cost savings: $1,660

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‍2024: Shacktown, as listed and described above

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Each year the DOE’s Housing Innovation Award puts a spotlight on the high quality of work being done by builders like Shawn Jessup, who I think deserves the consistent recognition. He has been a solid Alpen partner in the residential homebuilding business and is committed to pleasing his customers. It is an honor to be able to work with good people like Shawn.

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