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Manage builders

The Builders section lists the builders associated with your company. Each row shows the builder's name, address, notes, whether they're approved for Single Family ENERGY STAR, Multifamily ENERGY STAR, EPA Indoor airPLUS, and DOE Efficient New Homes, the print type, and the association's expiration date.

The four program columns are read-only. They describe the builder organization's partnership status with each program and are shared across every rating company associated with that builder, so one change by EEHM staff shows up for all of them. You can't edit them directly — to change a status, use the proposal flow below.

Note: a No in these columns means the builder is not currently marked approved for that program in EEHM's records. It is not proof that the external partnership was checked and found inactive, especially early on as EEHM populates and verifies these statuses.

Find a builder

When your list is long, use the controls above the table:

  • Search all columns — type in the search box to match across every column at once, including the Yes/No and date values.
  • Per-column filters — filter Builder Name, Address, Notes, and Expiration by text, and both ENERGY STAR programs, EPA Indoor airPLUS, DOE Efficient New Homes, and Print Type by dropdown. The Print Type filter lists PDF and Self only, because every association has one.
  • Sort — select any column header to sort A–Z, and again to reverse it.

Searching and sorting cover your whole list, not just the page you're looking at. If the filters match nothing, the page tells you your builders are still there and offers a Clear filters link — a filter never deletes data.

Change a builder's print type

The Print Type column is an editable dropdown. Change it on one or more rows, then select Save Changes at the bottom to save them all at once. This is the only builder field you can change directly; everything else (including the four program statuses) goes through a proposal.

Every builder association has a print type — either PDF or Self — and it can't be left blank. There's no "not set" option in the dropdown or the filter, and when you associate a new builder you have to pick one.

Export your builders

Select Export CSV to download your full builder list — name, address, all four program statuses (as Yes/No), print type, and expiration date — as a spreadsheet. The export always contains your complete list, regardless of any search, filter, or page you have open. The button is disabled until your company has at least one builder.

Associate an existing builder

If the builder is already in EEHM's system, link them to your company directly:

  1. Select Associate Existing (on the Builders page or the dashboard).
  2. Search by builder name (at least 2 characters).
  3. In the results, pick the print type (required — PDF or Self) and select Associate.

The builder appears in your list right away.

Propose a new builder

If the builder isn't in the system yet, propose them for EEHM to add:

  1. Select Propose New (on the Builders page or the dashboard).
  2. Fill in the builder's details, including the required address. The address helps EEHM tell apart different divisions of the same builder when the names match. Use the name the builder filed with their Secretary of State or business registry — the page links to a free lookup guide if you need it.
  3. Select Submit Proposal.

When you submit, the portal checks for builders with similar names already in EEHM's system and shows them in a warning table so you don't create a duplicate. Each match lists the existing builder's address, a Name match score, and an Address match score so you can tell whether it's really the same builder:

  • High Name match and high Address match — it's very likely already in the system. Cancel and use Associate Existing instead for faster self-service.
  • High Name match but low Address match — likely a different division of the same regional or national builder. Select Submit Anyway, and check with the builder whether they want the division name shown in their builder name.

(When a historical existing builder has no address on file, the Address match column says so instead of showing a score.)

After you submit, the proposal goes to EEHM staff and appears under Builder Proposals. The builder shows up in your live list once it's approved.

Import builders from a spreadsheet

To add many builders at once, click Import CSV on the Builders page.

  1. Save your spreadsheet as CSV UTF-8. The first row is a header with the columns name, address and print_type (PDF or SELF), plus an optional notes column. Capitalization and column order don't matter.
  2. Upload the file. It can have up to 500 builder rows and be at most 1 MB.
  3. Check the summary. Rows with errors (a missing name or address, a print type other than PDF or SELF, a cell that starts with =, +, - or @, or formatting markup) are listed and will not be added. Rows that match a builder already on your list are not added again, and possible duplicates of other builders are flagged for EEHM.
  4. Click Submit for EEHM review.

EEHM reviews every row: it creates the builder, links your company to a builder EEHM already has, or says why the row was not added. The notes of a newly created builder are saved on the shared builder record, so other companies that later work with that builder see them too. Follow the review under Proposals → Builder Imports. Your company can have one import waiting for review at a time and submit up to five a day.

Propose a change to a builder

To change a builder you already have:

  1. On the Builders page, select Propose change in that builder's row.
  2. Edit the name, address, notes, the four program statuses (Single Family ENERGY STAR, Multifamily ENERGY STAR, EPA Indoor airPLUS, and DOE Efficient New Homes), or print type. Each program status is a required Yes / No select, pre-filled from the builder's current values. These statuses are shared across all rating companies associated with the builder and are verified by EEHM staff before approval. The builder's address is also required and can't be cleared. Each program status field links to that program's official partner lookup (ENERGY STAR, Indoor airPLUS, or DOE Efficient New Homes) so you can confirm the builder's status there before proposing a change.
  3. Select Submit Change Proposal.

A few rules:

  • You can't submit a change with no actual edits.
  • If a change is already pending for that builder, the row shows a Pending edit badge instead of the link until staff act on it.

After you submit, that builder's row keeps the Pending edit badge while EEHM reviews the change, and the change is applied to the row once it's approved. Unlike new-builder proposals, a builder edit is tracked by this badge — it does not appear in the Builder Proposals list. See Submit and track proposals for how the other proposal types work.

Renaming a builder

If your change renames a builder, EEHM keeps the old name on file as an alternate name for the same builder. Energy models already filed under the previous name still match the right builder, so a rename never disconnects work you've already submitted. There's nothing extra for you to do.

The same is true in reverse: if you propose a "new" builder under a name that is really a builder's former name, approving it links you to that existing builder instead of creating a duplicate.