Pilot Testing Begun for National Green Building Program

	NAHB testing of cerfication and verification protocols for the NAHB National Green Building Program is now underway.

Home builders associations and individual builders from around the country last week began pilot programs that will allow NAHB’s green building certification tool to be tested to determine the certification and verification protocol that makes the most sense for builders enrolled in the program.

NAHB will officially launch the NAHB National Green Building Program on Feb. 14 during the 2008 International Builders’ Show in Orlando.

The program is based upon NAHB’s Model Green Home Building Guidelines, which debuted in 2005 and helped systematize the green design and construction process and assist builders in incorporating more green building features into homes.

“Fortunately, we don’t have to test the guidelines themselves ― we already know they work very well,” said Ray Tonjes, NAHB Green Building Subcommittee chairman. “The pilots are intended to test the administration of the program and the online certification tool.”

“It’s an excellent tool that I think builders and verifiers will find easy to use,” Tonjes continued, “but we need some validation in the field.”

The pilot programs began Oct. 15 and are expected to be completed by the end of the year.

NAHB will use the feedback from the pilot programs to ensure that the new national program is easy to understand, eases administrative burdens for local associations, is simple to navigate and integrates well into existing green building programs.

Pilot program volunteers will test the verification process using at least two different types of verification ― for example, either independent consultants or utility representatives ― and different certification tools. The volunteers will also make suggestions for improving the process.

In addition, volunteers will be testing the newly designed HBA operations manual for green building programs during the pilot period.

The NAHB Research Center is administering the pilot programs and will assist local associations and builders as they work through the process, conducting field visits in some instances.

The Research Center recruited builders and HBAs from different regions and distinct climate areas from across the country as well as participants in a variety of existing regional green building programs to ensure that the NAHB program is widely adaptible.

The pilot program volunteers include:

HBAs Following an Existing Guidelines-Based Program

These associations will assess the NAHB program: 

• Home Builders Association of St. Louis and Eastern Missouri
• Home Builders Association of Durham, Orange and Chatham Counties in North Carolina
• Home Builders Association of Bucks and Montgomery Counties in suburban Philadelphia

HBAs Following Other Existing Programs

These associations will compare their current programs with NAHB’s national program scoring tool and verification process:

• Florida Home Builders Association working in concert with the Florida Green Building Coalition
• Master Builders Association of Kings and Snohomish Counties in Washington and its Built Green Washington chapter, a cooperative of local programs that has been certifying green homes since the 1990s
• Pennsylvania Home Builders Association, which is expanding its Comfort Home energy program

HBAs With No Existing Programs

These associations will use the draft certification and verification tools to see how they work in programs that are just being launched:

• Home Builders Association of Greater New Orleans
• Northern Virginia Building Industry Association

Builder Volunteers

These builders will test and assess the NAHB program:

• Veridian Homes in Madison, Wis.
• Barratt American Homes in Carlsbad, Calif.
• Mitchell & Best  in Rockville, Md.
• A division of K Hovnanian based in Red Bank, N.J.

Because of the limited pilot period, builders will be able to use a combination of data from different houses in different stages of construction to test the scoring tool. This will expedite the evaluation of scoring a design and completing pre- and post- drywall inspections.

The volunteer participants also will be the first to be considered for application status once the National Green Building Program’s evaluation tool and process are finalized, although all existing green building programs can apply next year as well.

Similarly, successful pilot verifiers will be in a position to be approved as a part of the February 2008 launch.

For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.

Take the Lead on Green Building

Register now for The 2008 National Green Building Conference, held May 11-13 in New Orleans. Get contacts, tools and ideas that are good for both the environment and your bottom line.

The National Green Building Conference is the only national conference targeted to green building for the mainstream residential building industry. Network with designers and suppliers, attend exceptional education sessions and develop the skills you need for profitable green building. 

For information and to register, visit www.nahb.org/greenbuildingconference, call 800-368-5242 x8338, or e-mail registrar@nahb.com.

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