At a time when the remodeling industry is beginning to recover from its downturn and veer in some new directions, the National Green Building Conference & Expo in Salt Lake City on May 1-3 provides a great opportunity for remodelers to explore the potential of greening their business.

With energy costs on the rise and consumers becoming increasingly aware of the need to conserve resources, green remodeling can provide business opportunities for enterprising remodelers ranging from insulation upgrades to whole-house remodeling projects.

Many remodelers are already taking advantage of these opportunities. About 90% of remodelers surveyed by NAHB incorporate low-e windows into their projects, 70% upgrade existing insulation and 86% install Energy Star-rated appliances.

These early adopters have carved out a comfortable niche in green remodeling, but there are still plenty of opportunities for those who are interested in this growing field.

Most of the nation’s 125 million homes were built before today’s high efficiency materials, appliances and construction techniques were routinely incorporated into new homes.

Eventually most of these owners will want to upgrade the materials, systems and appliances in their homes. When they do, they will expect the remodeler they hire to be knowledgeable about insulation and energy conservation, high efficiency windows and doors, high efficiency appliances, recycled and recyclable materials and low-flow water fixtures.

Among the many educational sessions of interest to remodelers:

• “Real World Case Studies: Money Spent, Money Saved” will present an in-depth look at a remodel, a custom home and a commercial building from a veteran green builder and educator. Details of the design and construction strategies and the resulting energy impact will be discussed for each of these projects.
  
  
• In a session on “High-Performance Renovations,” two builders will describe their different approaches to green renovation and tell how they each achieved very high performance while keeping the project affordable.

For more information on the conference and to register, go to www.nahb.org/greenbuildingconference.