How to Get Involved in the Green Building Program

By: Jess Traver, P.E., and Director of Government Affairs

In 2007, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) partnered to establish a much-needed and nationally-recognizable standard definition of green building.

The resulting ICC 700 National Green Building Standard™ is the first and only residential green building rating system to undergo the full consensus process and receive approval from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). The Standard defines green building for single and multifamily homes, residential remodeling projects, and site development projects while still allowing for the flexibility required for regionally-appropriate best green practices.

How can builders get involved in green building?    

For builders who want to become more involved in the Green Building program, we recommend taking Green Professional classes.  The Certified Green Professional designation recognizes builders, remodelers and other industry professionals who incorporate green building principles into homes.  Class work leading to the designation provides a solid background in green building methods, as well as the tools to reach consumers.

Certification is provided by the NAHB. Copies of the Standard, a companion commentary, and other publications related to the Standard can be purchased online. A free Green Scoring Tool compatible with the standard is available on the certification side of the NAHB Green website.

For residential buildings, four threshold levels - Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Emerald - allow builders to quantify and qualify green building at all levels. At the Emerald level, the highest rating for a residential green building, a building must incorporate energy savings of 60% or more.

To comply with the Standard, a builder or remodeler must incorporate a minimum number of features in the following areas:

• ·         Lot and site development
• ·         Energy, water, and resource efficiency
• ·         Indoor environmental quality
• ·         Home owner education

In order to attain a higher level of green certification by the NAHB Research Center, a home must accrue successively higher levels of minimum points in every category – the highest level of certification is dictated by the lowest category score level.

In my next blog, I’ll share with you detailed tables that highlight the point values required in each area for green buildings.

Have you participated in Green Professional classes? What did you think?

Over $1.8 million in weatherization projects will begin July 1st

Starting July 1st, more than $1.8 million in funds will be available for the Low Income Weatherization Program in Washoe County. This program will upgrade and retrofit qualified homes to save money and energy. According to the State of Nevada Housing Division, more than 300 homes in Washoe County will receive the improvements saving 270,326 kilowatt hours of electricity and 25,207 therms of natural gas annually.

Hopefully this program, and others like it, will not only help us become a ‘greener’ planet but will create jobs and get our economy back on the road to recovery!

More information on the weatherization is available on the State of Nevada website.

What are your thoughts? We’d love your comments or stories about other programs like these!

Green Home Inside the International Builders Show

I was mighty impressed that someone was going to build an entire house inside the Las Vegas Convention Center for the 4 day long International Builders Show. I was even more impressed that it was a green home.

This 2,426 square foot, two story, 3 bedroom, 2 ½ bath home is a combination of modular and panel construction. It took about 10 weeks to build off site and 3.5 days to assemble on the convention floor. No small feat, I’m sure!

The goal was to create a high performance home with high-end finishes and a zero carbon footprint.

Steve Glenn, CEO of Livinghomes, said that this one of a kind house is for sale for about $600,000. He said they could produce a home with out some of the super high-end finishes in quantity (not sure how many he meant) for about $150 per square foot.

The actual construction took place at the
Profile Structures plant in
Santa Fe Springs California. I don’t know too much about these companies but I do know that our friends at Forma Homes (a BANN member) do similar things right here in northern Nevada. I took a tour of their Fernley plant about a year ago and I was amazed. They take your design, build it in their factory with very low worker’s comp risks, less than 3% waste and no weather worries then ship it off on a truck (or trucks) to your site to be assembled. It’s a pretty cool process.

So, I’m not so sure my 90 minute wait for a tour of this house
was really worth it but, was awesome to see a full house inside
of the convention center!

View all of my IBS photos on Flickr

Missy Hinton

Missy's day at the International Builders Show

I cautiously entered the exhibit hall and was immediately drawn to the Sears Commercial booth. I found Susie, from Dacor kitchen appliances, joyfully preparing grilled chicken salad with what she called “the best dressing ever”. She noted that it can be used as a marinade too. Susie’s amazing kitchen display was surrounded by big screen TVs, exercise equipment, Kenmore appliances and even water filtration systems.

I saw the Pink Panther at the Owens Corning Booth and put my feet up by the fire at the Heatilator booth. Our friends at Fireplace Distributors of Nevada are a local distributor of these super cool fireplaces.

As I wandered on, feeling warm and sleepy from the fire, I thought about hoping into a jetted tub at the front of the Kohler booth. Probably not a good idea!

Sounds of hammering, sawing and power tools I cannot identify, filled the air as thousands of building professionals made their way through the maze of enticing displays.

Windows and doors and flooring...oh my! For those of us that get overwhelmed in the aisles of Home Depot or Lowes, it was building supply overload!

Tomorrow, I plan to take a tour of the 'green' home that is built inside the convention center!

View all of my IBS photos on Flickr.

Missy Hinton

Forecast 2009 and Beyond

Begin 2009 with a new perspective on the construction and real estate industry in northern Nevada. The Builders Association of Northern Nevada Sales and Marketing Council Presents
Forecast 2009 and Beyond January 14, 2009.

Featuring a panel of experts in their area of expertise:
Mark Krueger of Grubb & Ellis - Residential Land and Regional Overview
Tim Ruffin of Colliers international - Commercial Development
Kris Layman of REMAX Realty - Resale Overview
Steve Schiller of Ticor Title - Resale Overview
Elliot Eisenberg Economist for the National Association of Home Builders - Financial outlook

What will the new home and resale market do in 2009 compared to 2008?
What is the outlook for new job and population growth in 2009?
What are the issues facing our area and how will they effect growth?
What will the interest rate and stock market do in 2009?

Get the expert opinions an all this and more at Forecast 2009 and Beyond!

January 14, 2009 at Atlantis Hotel/Casino Convention Center from 7:15 am - 10:00am. Tickets are $40 per person before December 31, 2008 and $50 after January 1, 2009.

Building Green in Northern Nevada

One of the hottest marketing buzzwords these days is “green”. What does it really mean? Well it means different things to different people. To most homebuyers it means energy efficient homes. To some it goes beyond that and includes a home built with sustainable materials, maybe a source of clean or renewable energy like solar.

To the Builders Association of Northern Nevada it means Sierra Green. Sierra Green is voluntary green building program specific to northern Nevada. The Sierra Green Guidelines are built key areas of green building including:

• Lot design, preparation and development
• Resource efficiency
• Water efficiency
• Energy efficiency
• Indoor environmental quality
• Operations, maintenance and building owner education


These ensure that each Sierra Green home will benefit the environment, save the homeowners money on energy bills, provide healthy and comfortable living and have reduced maintenance costs.

Builders are looking for a competitive edge in today’s market. Sierra Green provides that by identifying the number one need of homebuyers today - energy efficiency.

Learn more about Sierra Green at http://www.thebuilders.com/sierragreen.php