As most builders know, it’s no longer a matter of “if” you will become a green builder, it is a matter of “when.” All of a sudden, however, there are multiple green-building programs out there that could lead to some confusion among builders.
Builders can sift through the commotion, but if that confusion carries over to homeowners, watch out. The two primary competing programs are the National Association of Home Builders’ (NAHB) National Green Building Program and the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED for Homes program.
The NAHB program is based on the association’s Model Green Home Building Guidelines and was recently unveiled at the International Builders’ Show in February. It has two big advantages: 1) It is less expensive to abide by (important in today’s climate) and 2) it is voluntary.
There are numerous ways that a home can earn green points. Builders can choose from a menu of green features, choosing whatever makes sense for them and for their homebuyers. The green scoring and certification technology was developed by the NAHB Research Center along with collaboration with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Energy Star rating system. By earning green points on a home, builders can achieve three levels of green certification — Gold (395 points), Silver (311 points) or Bronze (237 points) — in any of seven areas, including lot design, preparation and development.
The the green building program is not yet approved as a national standard, but about 100,000 U.S. homes would currently meet the requirements, according to the NAHB.
Builders who are association members will be able to pay as little as $150 to get individual homes a Green Building certificate. Non-members can get their homes certified at an elevated cost. A third-party verification by a local party is also required and the price of that will be dictated by market demand, and it will range from $200 to $700.
Meanwhile, the nonprofit U.S. Green Building Council unveiled its final LEED for Homes program in January, right before IBS. This program works in conjunction with the REGREEN best practices program from the American Society of Interior Designers. This national, third-party certification system for green homes requires a rigorous on-site inspection to verify performance in energy efficiency, water conservation, non-toxic materials and other features.
To date, more than 540 homes have been recognized at LEED certification levels of Certified, Silver, Gold or Platinum. An additional 12,940 have registered under the program and are currently under development. Its primary advantage is that it is already up and running.
USGBC members can register for as little as $150 ($250 for non-members) and certify each house for $250 ($350 for non-members).
Do we need two programs? No. Is it detrimental to have two green-building programs? In the short term, no; in the long term, yes. For now, the existence of two programs adds increased exposure to green building. It gives the media, builders, homeowners and manufacturers something to debate, all the while adding awareness to green building. And if one of these programs ends up gaining more traction than the other, however, then we might see a VHS vs. Betamax or Blu-ray vs. HD DVD situation arise.
The danger will be in the long term, if both programs stick around, confusing homebuyers (who will ultimately decide the winner). No builder wants to be in the unenviable position of losing a custom home contract just because you opted to select one certification over the other. That would be sad and tragic. What do you think?