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NAHB Housing Center Gets Third Energy Star Designation
 NAHB has earned its third Energy Star designation for the National Housing Center, its headquarters building in downtown Washington, D.C.
The designation recognizes buildings that conserve natural resources while providing a comfortable and healthy environment for employees and visitors.
Since a major expansion and renovation of the building in 2001, the Housing Center’s property manager, Transwestern, has continued to fine-tune the details of the original energy-efficient construction project. This year, the improvements included at least two measures that consumers can try at home, said NAHB Executive Vice President Jerry Howard.
“We replaced a number of traditional incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent light bulbs, which use two-thirds of the energy and last 10 times longer,” Howard said. “We also installed motion detectors in the rest rooms rather than leave the lights on when they aren’t in use.”
The property manager also installed frequency drives on the cooling tower fans to coordinate the speed of the fans with the building’s air conditioning needs, rather than cycling on and off at 100% power. “Not only does that reduce energy consumption, but it’s also better for the equipment,” Howard noted.
The Housing Center’s continued Energy Star designations save money and energy while they also send a strong signal of the housing industry’s support for voluntary energy guidelines, he added.
“Many of our members build homes with appliances and heating and cooling systems that meet the Energy Star guidelines. These home builders’ business practices show how NAHB members are leading green building practices into the mainstream — and they certainly have an effect on how we want to run our national office,” Howard said.
A plaque recognizing the Energy Star achievement has been posted near the building's entrance.
For more information, e-mail Calli Schmidt at NAHB, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8132.
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