Extreme (Green Home) Makeover

by Joel Barkman

Who says Green's not catching on? Thanks in large part to raised consumer awareness and the efforts of Green building advocates such as the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) - Green may be here to stay.

On the soon to be aired Extreme Makeover, Home Edition television show, a deserving Central Illinois family will have a new green roof over their heads thanks to the efforts of NAHB member and Bloomington-based Brady Homes - as well as the NAHB National Green Building Program.

The home builder is working with an NAHB Research Center-accredited verifier, to ensure that the home meets the requirements of the National Green Building Standard. The Research Center administers the certification program for NAHBGreen, the program that includes the Standard rating tool.

To comply with National Green Building Standard requirements, homes must meet benchmarks in energy efficiency, water efficiency, resource efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and lot and site development. In addition, the builder must provide education and a homeowner's manual to help ensure the home is operated and maintained to retain its green advantages.

The Extreme Makeover home will include a geothermal heat pump as a renewable energy source, Energy Star-rated appliances to conserve water as well as energy, native and drought-resistant landscaping, a sealed duct system, advanced framing techniques that use fewer raw materials and ventilation features that help create better indoor environmental quality.

The home is also designed to achieve a 5-starEnergy Star New Home Certification, the highest available. Energy Diagnostics forecasts the annual energy savings for this home will be more than $2,700 over one built to prevailing building codes.

NAHB Green Building Subcommittee Chair Eric Borsting congratulated Brady Homes and principals Ed and Bob Brady for their generous gift - and the foresight to include green features in the new home. "Thanks to Ed and Bob, the [homeowner] will have a warmer, safer, more comfortable home - with the additional advantages of homes built to this green standard," he said.

Ed Brady thanked the hundreds of volunteers working on the job site this week as well as the suppliers who have donated appliances, building materials and fixtures for the Extreme Makeover project. "I am very proud to build a new, green home for a family that has given so much to its community," he said.

The new home is the sixth in Illinois to be certified by the NAHB National Green Building Program. There are more than 350 certified homes nationwide, with more than 4,000 in the certification pipeline.

Green Certification is based on the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines and the ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard. There are three green certification levels available in the Guidelines - Bronze, Silver, and Gold. The National Green Building Standard includes an additional level for residential buildings, Emerald.

I had the pleasure of recently congratulating my team for completing construction on a Green certified home just over the county line in Gainesville. The project achieved a Silver certification level and is the first do so in Prince William County!

Although homeowners John and Joann Para hardly consider themselves to be "Extreme," they are very pleased with having their own Green project - especially when Golden Rule's Project Designer and Certified Green Professional explained to them the annual utility cost savings they would enjoy each month.

As a way to give back to the community we are certifying homes, when we can, at no additional costs to the homeowner - but certification can add up in a hurry.

The project I just mentioned was not only certified Green by NAHB, but also was certified under the EPA Energy Star and DOE Building America programs. In the future I would like to see the utilities providers take a more active role in supporting these programs instead of leaving the builder to fit the bill - but that's a topic for another article.

In the meantime, if Green is the way to go for your next project, remember, just "Ask a Builder."

For more information about Green building programs or building techniques e-mail joel@goldenrulebuilders.com or write to "Ask a Builder" at P.O. box 294, Catlett, VA 20119

Barkman is president of the Fauquier Chapter of The Northern Virginia Building Industry Association.

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