Builder Magazine - July 2008 - (Page 60)

BEAT calls and e-mails from members asking Green home building will compose about how the NAHB National Green Building Program certiﬁcation works. between 12 percent and 20 percent And our state and local HBAs are forming of the market in the next ﬁ ve years. affi liated green councils and programs so fast that it’s hard to keep track of them. in mind is practical—and it’s proﬁtable. Before we ever heard about carbon trading sysOur developer members continue to design comtems and alternative energy investments, home build- munities that incorporate walkable neighborhoods ers were devising ways to construct a more efficient and shared open space. Our engineer members building envelope for a tighter house and a lower util- continue to discover innovative methods to direct ity bill. And our suppliers and manufacturers were stormwater runoff and reduce pollution in rivers and creating more efficient, easier-to-use insulation prod- streams. And professionals throughout the home ucts and appliances that use very little electricity. building industry have stepped up to help mitigate Homes today are signiﬁcantly more resource- the causes of global warming. efficient than in the past, as reﬂected in engiFor years, we haven’t called these efforts green neered-wood products, low-E windows, panelized building. We’ve called them responding to market demand; as an industry and as an association, that’s construction techniques, and other innovations. About 30 percent of the nation’s energy is con- what we will continue to do. sumed by homes for heating, cooling, and electric The U.S. population is not going to stop growing, appliances. The NAHB has long recognized that and Americans will continue to need places to live energy efficiency is crucial to our nation’s continued that are comfortable and resource-efficient. It’s up to security and to our economy. Additionally, build- us to continue to innovate to meet demand, just like ers know that building with energy conservation we have for years. B THE NAHB RESEARCH CENTER CORNER NATIONAL NAHB BRIEFS and land development has tightened this year compared to the second half of 2007; 69 percent of respondents said that credit has become more constricted over that time for single-family construction loans; and 29 percent responded that loan availability remained about the same. A Bigger is Better lthough no big builder has gone green nationwide to date beyond levels close to those provided under the Energy Star program, large builders are the most likely to bring down the costs of building green, deﬁne A Greener Standard The National Green Building Standard is working toward ANSI approval. I n a continuing effort to advance the use of environmentally responsible techniques and technologies in residential construction, the NAHB, the International Code Council (ICC), and the NAHB Research Center are close to attaining ﬁnal approval for an American National Standards Institute (ANSI) standard for green home building construction practices. After completion of the ANSI process, the National Green Building Standard will be promulgated as a joint publication between the NAHB and ICC. The standard deﬁnes the way that land can be developed as an integral part of a total green community and provides a scoring mechanism for having developments certiﬁed green. Builders and developers will be able to get their existing or new developments certiﬁed green while choosing from a wide array of options such as natural features, topography, and landscaping to accomplish a green development. Land development techniques that cluster homes in proximity to each other and preserve trees, wetlands, and other natural amenities can be very attractive to potential home buyers, can limit the environmental impact of residential projects, and can score points in the green certiﬁcation process. With a green development, developers can expect to see an increased ability to sell land to their builder customers; builders will enjoy the beneﬁts of an increased customer base; and the community at large will beneﬁt from the decreased impact on the environment. Once the standard is available publicly, many types of projects including multifamily buildings, remodeling, and subdivisions will be able to be certiﬁed green under the National Green Building Certiﬁcation Program. Currently, only singlefamily homes can be certiﬁed under the national program. The Online Green Scoring Tool— located at www.nahbgreen.org/ ScoringTool.aspx—is the ﬁrst step builders and developers can take to evaluate their existing or proposed projects. The scoring tool provides information about the why and how of green building at every step. For a draft of the National Green Building Standard, visit www.nahbrc.org. For more information on the National Green Building Certiﬁcation Program, call 877-NAHBGRN (877-624-2476). opportunities, and identify problems for the industry at large, David Cohen, division president for K. Hovnanian Homes, told the NAHB National Green Building Conference in New Orleans on May 12. Green can be proﬁtable, Cohen said, and “large builders will be able to help generate the profits everyone can beneﬁt from.” Certain products that seem expensive today can become more inexpensive once large builders generate a higher volume of them, he said, with costs coming down as much as 30 percent to 50 percent. 60 ■ B U I LD E R j u ly 2008 W W W.BUILDERONLINE.COM http://www.nahbgreen.org/ScoringTool.aspx http://www.nahbgreen.org/ScoringTool.aspx http://www.nahbrc.org http://WWW.BUILDERONLINE.COM

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Builder Magazine - July 2008

Builder Magazine - July 2008 Contents Editor's Notes B-Mail Book It Green House Business Update Products National Beat Seider's Economy The Greener Good Commentary Land Planning Design Construction Marketing Ad Index Further Considerations Environmental Concerns Commentary Road to Perdition? Editor's Notes Flip Contents

Builder Magazine - July 2008

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