The total housing stock in the United States has risen from 64 million to 121 million. And the homeownership rate has climbed more than 5% and now stands at a record 69%.
Innovations Make Life Easier
Builders and suppliers have seen marked changes in building techniques and distribution channels over the past four decades. Many of the nation’s high production builders today buy materials nationally or regionally and some have established their own warehouses. And the prevalence of factory-built materials is streamlining the construction process and improving quality.
Over the past 40 years, new products in the home have changed the lives of the nation’s households — making life easier, more comfortable and more organized.
Today’s NCHI members produce such innovative products as multi-head showers, tankless hot water heaters, zoned air conditioning, kitchen sinks that double as dish washers, ovens that can turn into refrigerators and washers and dryers that talk via computer. Over the past 40 years, they have followed changing American lifestyles every step of the way.
Back when the Mod Squad heated up the small screen and long side burns were all the rage, NCHI members were doing their fair share to keep America warm. In July 1964, the American Gas Association projected that 28 million households would use gas to heat their homes that year, up from 24 million the year before. Today, 61 million Americans heat their homes with gas.
‘R’ Values Unveiled
In the mid-1960s, the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association spearheaded the All Weather Comfort Standard, which was conceived to create the industry’s first-ever guidelines for residential insulation standards and to develop a manufacturing standard for the overall insulating effectiveness of a product. The “R-Factors” that the project used to rate products provided the basis for the Federal Trade Commission's R-Value Rule published almost 17 years later.
In 1964, CertainTeed Corporation made its first foray into the fiberglass insulation market with a new subsidiary, the CertainTeed Fiber Glass Corporation. Forty years after its inception, CertainTeed Insulation has made cameo appearances on the CBS drama “CSI: Miami” and in the film “Lethal Weapon 4.”
The Transformation of HVAC Systems
During the same period, Empire Comfort Systems pioneered the innovative Empire “Classic-Aire,” which incorporated baseboard heating using direct vent technology. The Classic-Aire furnace could be hidden in a closet or, thanks to its wooden veneer, mimic a piece of furniture when placed against an outside wall, providing a perfect place to showcase a family’s collection of GI Joe figures, a must in 1964.
Forty years ago, home owners just wanted their homes heated and cooled to a comfortable temperature. But today, indoor air quality (IAQ) — including humidity control and air purification, as well as temperature control — is capturing consumer attention. More than 80% of home owners surveyed today believe that the air quality in their homes is very important; in 1964, most consumers could not even have imagined that those advances were possible. Once a luxury, air conditioning has become a mainstay of everyday life and today’s sophisticated climate control systems offer more than simple temperature regulation.
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