A few weeks ago, we posted the exciting news that we had been honored by the US Department of Energy with our second Housing Innovation Award for a Ridgeline F project recently completed with a builder partner in Wilmington, NC. Housing Innovation Award winners are chosen from among homes certified to the DOE’s Zero Energy Ready Home program, and were recognized at the annual Energy and Environmental Builder’s Alliance (EEBA) conference in Denver.

During the awards ceremony we just learned that not only were we one of four Housing Innovation Award recipients in the category of custom for buyer under 2500 square feet–our project was selected as the Grand Winner in that category! We are so honored, as there were many exciting projects on display.

Some other interesting tidbits from this year’s EEBA Conference and Housing Innovation Awards ceremony:

• North Carolina was once again well represented among award winners, with three separate winners from North Carolina, and two of us from Asheville!

• Collectively, the Housing Innovation Award winning homes will save over $2 million in energy costs over their first 30 years of life.

• Research presented showed that that high performance builders think the next major innovation to revolutionize building will be automation and off-site building.

US Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm spoke during the award ceremony, reiterating the importance of the built environment in solving our emergent energy issues in society at large. Homes that are built to use dramatically less energy, through electric sources that are “ready for zero” with the continued growth of solar and battery storage options, and homes that are built with materials and construction methods that reduce greenhouse gas emissions, have a key role to play in a de-carbonized future. We are thrilled to be recognized as leaders helping move the industry forward!

View the press release from the US Department of Energy.

View the DOE case study on the award-winning Ridgeline project.

View a list of all of the 2021 Housing Innovation Award winners.

View Secretary Granholm’s remarks from the awards ceremony.

The post Deltec Project Wins Grand Award in US Department of Energy Housing Innovation Awards appeared first on Deltec Homes.

However, Ridgelines are also flexible enough to meet individual lifestyle choices, and can offer low energy and healthy living in different types of climates. Let’s look at two examples that help demonstrate how two homeowners in NC built two Ridgelines in very different climatic areas.

An Energy Star Mountain Getaway

Jim and Deb were building a mountain retreat. Located near Boone, NC, their home sits high up in the mountains in a climate zone that is more Northeast than South. They wanted to use the best building science practices to guide them, and had done the research (complete with spreadsheets) to back it up. They had looked into high performance heat pumps for cold climates, passive solar design principles, and ultra efficient appliances. Having seen what was achievable with our recent DOE Zero Energy Ready Home award winner, they felt the design worked well for their goals. With a few design modifications up front (such as stairs to a basement for a drive-under garage), they were off.

Throughout the design process, Jim and Deb worked closely with our green building department, bouncing questions about insulation and air sealing strategies, fresh air ventilation systems, pre-wiring for future solar, and the best way to have a wood stove while preserving air quality, off of our in-house building science consultant. We helped specify the right type of Low-E glass for their south-facing windows to make the most of the inherently passive solar layout of our Ridgeline design–and made sure they had the right amount of thermal mass on the floor to justify that extra heat gain. Minus the wood stove, the home used all-electric appliances, including a combination ducted and ductless mini-split heat pump, a heat pump water heater, and even a heat pump dryer. (If you’re noticing a trend with so many uses of the word “heat pump”, you’re on to something.)

Jim and Deb also understood the importance of the right building process for ensuring a home is built in a high performance way. They used a third-party verification program (In their case, Energy Star for Homes), which offers a list of above-code practices that must be followed, and requires performance testing once the home is complete. This helps ensure that small but critical building science details are not missed. As part of this process, their home was given an energy score through the HERS Index, a way to compare its energy efficiency to standard new construction. A basic new home with no special attention to energy performance might have a HERS score of a 100, while a lower score would indicate a home that is much more energy efficient. Their final HERS score was a 48, indicating a home that is 62% more energy efficient than any old new home on the block.

Now that our homeowners are settled into their home, not only are they excited for their energy savings, but love that they can get it while having a fantastic view towards the distant mountains.

A Coastal Ridgeline Built for Performance

Rich and Janis put the finishing touches on their modified Ridgeline F plan at the start of this year in Wilmington, NC. With the help of their local builder, Old School Rebuilders, they also sought to build a Deltec Home certified to the DOE’s Zero Energy Ready Home Program. Homes built to this challenging program must have only the most effective, practical, and forward thinking building science strategies, such as insulation levels that go beyond current energy codes, high performing comfort systems, fresh air ventilation, efficient water fixtures, and materials design for durability. While many of our homeowners incorporate these elements into their homes, this certification ensures that all elements function well together, and as designed, because they are inspected by a third party, and at the end of the project the home is tested.

They faced a common fundamental challenge when planning their home: what energy sources should they use? Would it be best to incorporate natural gas into the home, or go all-electric? Using a preliminary energy model, we helped them investigate the difference in ongoing energy and fuel service costs between specific natural gas vs electric alternatives for heating, water heating, and cooking. We found, as many customers do, that there are all-electric alternatives to all appliances in the home that come out on top for energy efficiency and for health. All-electric homes can also come out on top in a broader sustainability context, since electricity can be generated from renewable sources, while burning fossil fuels cannot. Sustainability advocates are calling for the rapid electrification of buildings as a critical step in fighting climate change. You can check out this op-ed from EEBA President, Aaron Smith. Using a single fuel source also allows the customers to avoid paying multiple monthly utility service fees. Rich and Janis eventually went with a multi-stage heat pump and ac system, a heat pump water heater, and an induction range. T(Sidebar: induction ranges are gaining converts among professional chefs as a better alternative to gas and are becoming much more popular among those who take cooking seriously.) They even up-sized their solar array to allow for an EV charging station, further electrifying all of their energy use.

Other neat home features include: a “3-season” porch allowing cozy, naturally conditioned extra space (with the help of a wood burning fireplace, kept completely outdoors to avoid introducing combustion pollutants inside the building envelope); a smart thermostat that offers motion sensing control to their hot water re-circulation pump and water leak detection and shutoff capability; a rain garden designed to minimize storm-water and maximize habitat for local pollinators and wildlife (earning the home a second designation as Certified Wildlife Habitat through the World Wildlife Fund); and a smart drip irrigation system integrated with local weather info.

The Bottom Line

Ridgelines, with their ability to harvest passive solar gain in certain climates, are a great pre-designed template upon which to build a high performance home. Yet many of the core strategies to get there–excellent insulation and air-tightness, well-considered heating and cooling systems, total electrification, and following a robust building process that includes a HERS score and a green certification–can be achieved in any home style, round our square. Stay tuned for our next update on two recently-completed, highly sustainable homes from our 360 Collection.

The post High Performance Homes: A Tale of Two Ridgelines appeared first on Deltec Homes.

Single Focus Area Programs

These programs take one or two areas of green building that are of most concern to the most consumers, and focus on key best practices to achieving those goals practically.

#1: Energy Star for Homes (version 3.0 or 3.1)

• Style: Checklist, with a target HERS Score as one of the requirements.
• Created and Administered By: US Environmental Protection Agency and US Department of Energy
  

  Green program guide. Click to enlarge

• Availability: Nationwide, but, easier to find participating builders and HVAC contractors in cities than in rural areas. As of 2017, over 80,500 new homes have been Energy Star certified nationwide. Only available on new home construction.
• Green Focus Areas: Energy efficiency, with a few requirements that also touch on indoor air quality and durability.
• Program Website: https://www.energystar.gov/newhomes
• Difficulty Level: Moderate

In a Nutshell: Must use a builder who is signed up as an Energy Star Partner (your builder can sign up without much trouble after watching a 1 hour webinar), AND an HVAC contractor that is

ACCA certified. The HVAC contractor credentialing requirement can be a little tricky, but one handy tip is that if mini-split heat pumps are used, the HVAC contractor is exempt from the credentialing requirement. The program has four checklists that must be followed: one for insulation and air sealing, one for HVAC design, one for HVAC installation, and one for building performance testing. In addition, the home must get a HERS score that is at or below a target, that target HERS score is calculated based on home size. Must hire a certified Energy Star

Rater to inspect home during framing, insulation, and final, and to do the HERS Rating. Fresh air ventilation is required.

Resources and Helpful Links:

• Energy Star Market Share Map (see how many Energy Star Homes are in your state)
• Energy Star Partner Locator
• Energy Star Requirements, Nationwide
• Partner Registration Page

#2: IndoorAirPlus

Style: Checklist

• Created and Administered By: US Environmental Protection Agency
• Availability: Nationwide, but, easier to find participating builders in cities than in rural areas. 14,053 certified homes nationwide as of May 2018. Only available on new home construction.
• Green Focus Areas: Indoor air quality. Some requirements overlap with Energy Star.
• Program Website: https://www.epa.gov/indoorairplus
• Difficulty Level: Moderate

In a Nutshell: Builder must register as an IndoorAirPlus Partner, process is similar as for registering as an Energy Star Partner. Requirements for indoor air quality include durability and water management provisions, radon mitigation provisions, ventilation provisions, and low-VOC and low-formaldehyde requirements for composite wood, paint, stain, carpet, cabinetry, countertop, and wood shelving/trim selections. Many requirements overlap with Energy Star when it comes to water management and HVAC system design. Must watch nearly all interior product selections carefully to make sure they comply with Low-VOC requirements. Must hire a third party IndoorAirPlus Rater to inspect. (Can be the same Rater as Energy Star if Rater is also qualified to do IndoorAirPlus.)

Resources and Helpful Links:

• Energy Star Rater Finder (Raters who are also Indoor Air Plus Raters are specially marked)
• Low Emissions Product Compliance Guide
• Partner Registration page (same as Energy Star)

Broad Green Focus Programs

These programs look at green building through a wide variety of lenses, considering the environmental impact of many aspects of construction and the built environment. Homes certified to these programs offer a reduced environmental impact in a number of different ways, while still delivering science-backed, common sense energy efficiency and indoor air quality performance.

#3: Leadership in Energy Efficiency and Design (LEED) for Homes

• Style: Points system, with levels Certified through Platinum available depending on total # of points earned.
• Created and Administered By: The US Green Building Council, a non-profit.
• Availability: Nationwide, but easier to find participating Raters in cities than in rural areas. According to the USGBC, as of 2017 there are more than 1.6 million residential projects registered or certified with LEED, though this does not separate how many are registered but never finish certification, nor does it separate new construction from renovation. More common on large, architecturally designed homes than on smaller single-family home projects, due to complexity of requirements. Commercial, multi-family, renovation and retrofit LEED programs also exist.
• Focus Areas: Points available in the categories of sustainable sites, energy efficiency, indoor air quality, material selection, water efficiency, waste reduction. Points awarded for Low HERS scores. Some credits are required, others are optional.
• Program Website: https://new.usgbc.org/cert-guide/homes
• Difficulty Level: Moderate to Difficult

In a Nutshell: There is no one path to a LEED certified home; however, having a builder and architect familiar with the program is a big help. A Rater certified through the USGBC to administer LEED is required. Points awarded for professionals on the project team who are accredited through LEED. Because the requirements are all-encompassing, it is best to get started very early—in fact, LEED offers points for having early, regular meetings with the builder, owner, architect, LEED Rater, and other interested parties such as structural or mechanical engineers. Some of the requirements are targeted at high end, architecturally designed custom homes and are impractical to implement on more common sized residential new construction. Since throughout the US, many small or mid-sized single family residential projects do not involve an architect, LEED for Homes is more common in markets or geographic regions where an architect is typically used. Projects without an architect might consider alternate programs.

Resources and Helpful Links:

• LEED Green Rater Directory
• LEED Credit Library

Note: Checklist and detailed information on credits must typically be purchased from USGBC.

#4: National Green Building Standard

• Style: Points system, with levels Bronze, Silver, Gold or Emerald available depending on # of points earned.
• Created and Administered By: Created by The National Association of Homebuilders, now administered by Home Innovation Research Labs.
• Availability: Nationwide, but easier to find participating Raters in cities than in rural areas. According to the program website, over 153,600 homes have been certified nationwide as of this writing. Certification is available for new homes, multi-family construction, remodeling, or developments.
• Focus Areas: Points available in the categories of lot development, resource efficiency, energy efficiency, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and homeowner education.
• Program Website: http://www.homeinnovation.com/green
• Difficulty Level: Varies

In a Nutshell: The NGBS is the only green building program that is ANSI certified, which means that the process for creation and revision is reviewed and developed through a public comment process. Project must be inspected by an NGBS certified Rater. Like LEED, the pathway to certification varies based on the points chosen. There are mandatory requirements in the realm of energy efficiency, air quality, and moisture durability that are relatively similar to the Energy Star program. Points are available for a wide variety of additional practices. Points awarded for low HERS scores. Choosing products pre-certified to comply with NGBS makes the selection process for earning points easier.

Resources and Helpful Links:

• NAHB Green Certified Products

#5: Green Built Homes NC

• Style: Points system, with levels Certified, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum available based on # of points earned.
• Created and Administered By: The Green Built Alliance (formerly the Western North Carolina Building Council), a green building non-profit serving Deltec’s home Asheville and Western North Carolina community. Deltec Homes is a supporting member of the Green Built Alliance.
• Availability: North Carolina specific program. Available throughout North Carolina, but concentrated here in WNC. As of this writing there are 1563 Green Built Homes in North Carolina.
• Green Focus Areas: Points available in the categories of site opportunities, water efficiency, building envelope, heating and cooling systems, appliances lighting and renewables, indoor air quality, material sustainability, and homeowner/community education. Net Zero Certification also available for Green Built Homes that achieve a HERS score of 10 or less.
• Program Website: https://www.greenbuilt.org/programs/green-built-homes/
• Difficulty Level (on a Deltec): Varies

In a Nutshell: Requires either Energy Star for Homes or the NC 2012 HERO Code as a baseline. Requires fresh air ventilation, carbon monoxide detectors, erosion control planning, appropriate ventilation for combustion appliances. Offers additional points for many other green building practices. Developed by a team of builders, homeowners, and HERS Raters in NC to reflect green building practices common to the area and most beneficial in our particular climate. A good choice for an all-around green certification program as an alternative to LEED, for smaller and less complex projects that don’t necessarily have an architect.

There are many other regional programs developed by state-specific green building organizations, typically with similar program structures, such as EarthCraft Homes available in Georgia and Virginia, or the Florida Green Building Standard available in Florida. Regional programs are often good alternatives, as they have more contractors in the area familiar with the requirements and may be more tuned to the intricacies of the best practices in that specific climate zone.

Advanced Programs

These programs push projects toward the current cutting edge of difficulty, innovation, and greatly reduced environmental impact. Success with these programs requires commitment to lofty environmental or energy goals, and have the potential to make the most difference on the built environment by requiring innovative practices that may be well above the construction norm in most areas. Due to their difficulty level, they are less common, and do tend to incur higher costs over standard construction practices.

#6: Zero Energy Ready Home Program

• Style: Checklist, with a target HERS score requirement
• Created and Administered By: The US Department of Energy
• Availability: Nationwide, but, easier to find participating raters in cities than in rural areas. Released in 2014, there are several thousand homes currently certified, with 10 thousand currently in the pipeline through builder and developer plans, according to program staff. Available on new home construction only.
• Focus Areas: Though the main focus is on homes built in preparation for solar energy use, this program requires the most advanced green building practices in many areas. Energy Efficiency, Indoor Air Quality, Efficient Hot Water Design, and design for solar are required.
• Program Website: https://www.energy.gov/eere/buildings/zero-energy-ready-home
• Difficulty Level: Difficult

In a Nutshell: ZERH is designed to require—and showcase–the most advanced building sciences practices commonly possible in new construction, throughout the home. It is meant to be the next step up from Energy Star certification. The program consists of one checklist, but this checklist requires getting other Energy Star for Homes AND Indoor Air Plus certification while you’re at it. In addition, above code insulation, duct systems located within conditioned space, efficient hot water distribution systems, high efficiency lights and appliances, and a PV-ready checklist must be completed.

My company, Deltec Building Company, is working right now on our first Zero Energy Ready Home project, which will be the first home to achieve such certification in Western North Carolina. Stay tuned here for more updates as I write about our progress and learning opportunities as we embark on this challenging and exciting new step in green building!

Resources and Helpful Links:

• Tour of Zero (List of Award-Winning Zero Enegy Ready Homes)
• Zero Energy Ready Home Partner Locator
• ZERH Resource Center

#7: Passive House/PHIUS+

• Style: Performance standard. Specific energy use metrics must be met when the home is finished, it is up to builder/designer what to do to achieve those. However, the metrics are very challenging. Passive House (the original German standard) uses one set of metrics for any location, while PHIUS+ (the US version) uses regionally-adjusted metrics based on your US climate zone.
• Created/Administered By: The Passive House standard was created by the Passive House Institute, a for-profit in Darmstadt, Germany. The PHIUS+ standard belongs to Passive House Institute US, a non-profit.
• Availability: Both are available worldwide. Rare overall, and more common in colder regions. According to the Passive House Institute US, there are least 1,200 registered or certified PHIUS+ projects in North America as of this writing.
• Focus Areas: Greatly reduced energy usage through passive means: reduced thermal bridging, super-insulated and exceptionally air-tight construction, high performance windows, passive solar heat gain, and heat recovery ventilation.
• Program Website: http://www.phius.org/phius-certification-for-buildings-products/phius-2015-project-certification/phius-certification-overview
• Difficulty Level: Very Difficult

In a nutshell: PHUIS+ and Passive House both originated out of the study of passive home design, and arguably represent the most stringent energy performance standards for homes. The two programs are similar to each other in structure and philosophy, but are separate programs run by separate institutes. PHIUS+ is more adapted to the particular climate zones of the United States, which can have vastly different considerations than the climate of Germany where the original Passive House (Passive Haus) standard was developed, and thus I recommend PHIUS+ over Passive House for projects in North America. A PHUIS+ certified Rater must be used to certify the home. PHUIS+2015 Certification includes following all requirements for Energy Star, Indoor Air Plus, and DOE Zero Energy Ready Home Certification—not a bad collection! And it adds in a few climate-specific performance metrics that must be met: an air-tightness score, an upper limit on total source energy use, an upper limit on heating and cooling loads, and an upper limit on heating and cooling actual energy use. These limits are very challenging: typically double-stud walls or other high R-value walls, triple pane windows, and other super-insulation strategies, along with south-facing passive solar design, will be necessary to qualify. Because actual energy use is one of the metrics, certification cannot be guaranteed until after the home has been built and lived in for a period of time and can demonstrate energy bills that meet the requirements.

Resources and Helpful Links:

• Passive House Institute (Germany)
• Passive House+2015 North American Building Standard
• Passive Building Principles

#8: The Living Building Challenge

• Style: Checklist, with all requirements mandatory in all categories (called “Petals”) to earn Living Building Certification. However, individual “Petal” certifications which reward following all requirements of just one of the categories are also available, as are sub-certifications in other specific focus-area certifications such as Net Zero or Zero Carbon.
• Created and Administered By: The Living Future Institute, a non-profit.
• Availability: Worldwide, but extremely rare. As of this writng there are only 22 buildings in the world certified under the full Living Building Challenge, only two of which are single family residences. However, a handful of homes have achieved individual “Petal” certifications, or Net-Zero certification.
• Green Focus Areas: Requirements in the categories (“petals”) of Place, Water, Energy, Health + Happiness, Materials, Equity, and Beauty.
• Program Website: https://living-future.org/lbc/certification/#certification-pathways
• Difficulty Level: Extremely Difficult
  

In a Nutshell: What if every possible green building practice were followed to the very highest fulfilment? That is the challenge within the Living Building Challenge. Every single requirement is the most advanced possible (or sometimes, surpasses what is currently possible) by human engineering and architecture. Living Building homes must be net-zero in source energy without using combustion, contain not a single toxic chemical, be architecturally beautiful and connected to the local environment, have net-positive water use…among many other things. As such, it is an aspirational, rather than practical certification. But the idea is to push the built environment to and past the very limit of what’s possible, to expand how we think about buildings and their interaction with the environment and demand that what we do only bring about positive change.

Resources and Helpful Links:

• Living Building Challenge Program Overview
• Living Building Case Studies

The Bottom Line

What programs are right for you? With so many programs to choose from, it’s hard to avoid getting overwhelmed.

My advice is to consider your goals. If you just want a house that’s notably energy efficient and like the idea of green certification primarily for the quality assurance of your build, Energy Star is a great, science-based program that gives you a solid house, plus it’s a program that has wide national recognition. If indoor air quality is a big concern to you, add in Indoor Air Plus.

If green building on a broader level motivates you: not just energy efficiency and air quality but reduced environmental impact in all aspects of the home, consider the National Green Building Standard, or a regional program if there’s one in your area. These programs can help you really reduce the environmental impact of your home on so many fronts.

And if you want to build a very challenging, super energy efficient house that goes well above and beyond the norm, DOE ZERH or Passive House US offer high bars to set yourself against, giving you the opportunity to use your home project to advance the entire green building industry.

-Leigha Dickens, Green Building and Sustainability Manager, Deltec Homes – also posted on Greenbuilt.org

This blog is the last in a four-part series, answering common customer questions and helping untangle common customer confusions around green building programs.  For more information, check out the other posts in this series:

• Part 1: Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: Flawed Reasons People Don’t Use Green Building Certifications
• Part 2: Five Mistakes Green Building Certifications Can Catch
• Part 3:  How to Build to a Green Building Certification

The post Residential Green Certification Program Guide appeared first on Deltec Homes.

It’s true: the various green building programs out there can be confusing, and the steps to participate in one even more so. This confusion remains the most common reason that people make the mistake of not certifying their home. Don’t make that mistake! Let’s take some time now to talk about how it works. Even though there are various programs out there that each contain their own nuances (more on those in the next blog), the process for using them still follows the same general pattern.

A Word about Program Design: Points vs. Checklists

Green building programs are generally structured in one of two ways (though some can be a mix of both):

• Checklist-based programs use one, or often a handful, of checklists, in which every item on the list that is applicable to your project must be checked off in order for you to earn the certification. You won’t qualify if you miss even one. Your builder and the necessary sub-contractors follow the checklist, and the Rater (more on Raters below) inspects each item. If all the checkboxes are followed, the certification is issued. Energy Star for Homes, IndoorAirPlus, and the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home are examples of checklist- based systems.

• Points-based programs are a little more complicated. These programs tend to be more all-encompassing than checklist-based programs, covering green building topics from energy efficiency and air quality to durability, material sustainability, renewable energy use, and even landscaping and water use reduction—a very wide array of green building practices may be recognized. However, instead of every single practice being required, a project receives points in varying amounts for the different practices chosen by the project team. A certain minimum number of points must be obtained, and often these programs do still have a few items that are absolute requirements as a baseline, but after that it is the up to the build team to decide which points will be chosen and which will not. As long as enough different practices are selected so that the total number of points required for certification are achieved, the house earns the certification. Often, a greater number of points results in a deeper level of certification; this is where distinctions like Silver, Bronze, Gold, and Platinum come in to play. Examples of points systems include LEED for Homes, Green Built Homes, the National Green Building Standard, and Earthcraft Homes.

Checklist-based programs are often more limited in scope (for example, focusing on just one aspect of green building, such as energy efficiency with Energy Star and indoor air quality with IndoorAirPlus), are less flexible, but are also a bit simpler to plan for at front. Points-based programs, by contrast, are often much more complicated, but also offer greater flexibility for the project team to pursue the green building practices that are most important to the building owner and their personal vision of what constitutes a green building.

Step 1: Pick a Builder Who’s On Board

Regardless of the program you choose, many of the requirements will fall upon your builder, and some upon the sub-contractors they might use. Thus, if your builder is not on board, the certification is not likely to succeed. It is fairly common for the program to require that the general contractor for the project is registered with the program as a partner—Energy Star for Homes requires builders to sign up and watch a 1 hour webinar, while LEED for Homes offers a point if a LEED AP is part of the project team. But even if your program doesn’t require registration, the builder does need to understand what they’re getting into. Critically, it’s important to get the builder on board before the home starts to be built, so they can make sure their scope of work, and the scope of work of all of their relevant sub-contractors, includes following the green practices required by the certification. During the design process is best.

In some cases, such as LEED or Green Built Homes, you will need to register your project ahead of time with the program and pay a registration fee. This fee goes to supporting the ongoing operating expenses of the organization that has created the program (usually a non-profit), so think of it like a donation to the cause of green building.

Step 2: Hire a 3rd Party Rater

Someone has to be the referee who confirms the certification—generally programs do not allow homeowners or builders to manage their own checklists and submit for certification according to the “honor system.” That person needs to have been conferred authority by the green program to do so, and have training and knowledge in the green building practices required. Often there are required inspections at key stages of construction, and specific home performance testing, requiring specific tools.

That person is your certification Rater, often called an Energy Rater, or Program Rater. Usually the Rater must be a third party—not somebody directly involved in the construction of the home. This person is someone you will have to hire, who will ask to be paid for his or her services. He or she should live close enough to your jobsite to be able to travel there to do the key inspections, and should be certified through the specific program you’re trying to achieve.

This person is also your ally: he or she can walk you through the process, will do multiple on-site inspections, and should be willing and able to help you even in the design phase. He or she is happy to remind you or your builder of the process any time you forget what you should be doing, make you aware of areas where you may be in danger of missing a requirement, and help you understand what you must do to get things corrected before it is too late. If there are rebates in your area for green certification or energy efficiency, the Rater is often your go-to expert on this as well, and can often handle paperwork required to get those rebates as part of their services.

Where do you find your Rater? Usually, the website for the certification program is a good place to start. Often these folks are independent contractors who have their own green building consulting company, or they may specialize in items related to energy efficiency or design engineering. Energy Star for Homes lists companies that provide Energy Star Rating services by state. LEED has a list of certified Green Raters through their website.

Step 2.A: Understand the Basics of the HERS Index

There exists a handy tool called the HERS Index, and a group of specifically trained people called HERS Raters, that have a strong relationship to green building certification. For this reason, some people confuse the HERS Index with a green building certification, or else are, in general, just confused by all the acronyms.

The HERS Index stands for Home Energy Rating System, and is a scale designed to rate how energy efficient a home is, based on detailed data inputs from the home design and a computer energy model. The HERS Index is used by the lending and appraisal industry, as well as the home energy industry, to create a meaningful comparison between the energy efficiency of different homes. A certified HERS Rater is someone who has been trained and certified to collect the data on a home and issue that home an official HERS score. The lower a home’s HERS score, the more energy efficient it is.

A HERS score is just that, a score–not a certification itself. (If the home is really inefficient, it could have a very bad HERS score!) However, many green building programs use the HERS Index. Checklist-based programs, such as Energy Star for Homes and the Zero Energy Ready Homes program, include a low enough HERS score as one of their requirements. Points-based programs, like LEED for Homes, give an increasing number of points for increasingly lower HERS scores.

Certified HERS Raters have to go through a series of training around building energy efficiency. A common business model for them is have a green building consulting company and offer HERS Rating services as well as green building certification services. As long as they’re otherwise a third party, your green program Rater can also be your HERS Rater, and can typically offer HERS Rating and green certification services together all in one bundle.

Step 3: When Designing Your Home and Making Product Selections

How much you need to factor your green building program into the design process depends on the program you choose, but it is helpful to know this up front, and even factor your Rater into your design process, to avoid issues down the road. You’ll certainly want to read the program checklists and documents—and make sure your builder reads them too—and confer with your Rater on the items that you have questions about.

Many of your selections and specifications will matter toward your eligibility to certify your home. For example, your insulation R-values, HVAC system, appliances, light fixtures, water heater, and flow rates of your plumbing fixtures all factor directly in to your HERS score, with more energy efficient or lower water use items helping you achieve a better HERS score and higher points within your green program. If you’re doing IndoorAirPlus, care must be taken when selecting caulks and sealants, carpet, engineered and composite wood products, and paints and stains to make sure low-VOC requirements are adhered to. If you’re doing a comprehensive points program like LEED, there are potential points to be earned in nearly every product selection, for example: products that are locally manufactured, contain low VOCs, sustainably harvested wood, high recycled content, or low embodied carbon. Remember, your Rater and the program documents are there to help.

Step 4: During Construction

Most programs require inspections of the home at key stages of construction, where certain construction practices can be directly observed by the Rater–practices that might not be visible after the home is finished.

Insulation and HVAC often receive special attention, as these two items are often most central to energy efficiency, and have lots of facets to them that can be gotten wrong. Expect your Rater to make a trip to your site at least once after insulation goes in, but before drywall, in order to inspect framing, insulation, and potentially your HVAC system. Give everyone enough time in the construction schedule to correct any issues the Rater notices during the inspection. Depending on your certification, the Rater may want to inspect at other key points during construction as well.

Programs that offer points for other practices will require proof of those practices. For example, if you’re trying for points for using recycled materials, you’ll need to get proof from the manufacturer or supplier and provide your Rater with that documentation. In general, it’s wise to save all estimates, receipts, and specification documents, so you have a record of what you’re trying to do and can prove it if necessary.

Step 5: Just Before Moving In

In additional to visually inspecting the work of your contractors, nearly all green certification programs will require particular performance tests be done on your house: a blower door test, and duct leakage tests. A blower door test will test how airtight your home is, while duct leakage tests will test the airtightness of any ductwork. Both are useful indicators of ongoing energy efficiency, as airtight homes require heating energy less frequently, and airtight ducts likewise leak away less of the air you’ve already spent energy heating up or cooling off. In many programs, the airflow of your bath fans, kitchen range hood, and fresh air ventilation system will be tested as well.

If there are combustion appliances, there may be further tests to make sure there are not air pressure issues that will bring harmful fumes back into the space. Any last minute questions on specifications will be inspected at this time as well.

Some programs require, or else give points, for doing a pre-occupant flush prior to moving in, where windows are left open and your fresh air ventilation system is set on high for a period of several days before move in to allow any final VOCs extra time to dissipate.

If you miss something, and it’s still within your power to fix, the final inspection will call this out, and typically you’ll get a chance to make the correction and submit proof to the Rater that was done.

Step 6: Post Move-In

When you complete your certification, you should get a copy of the HERS Certificate and the certificate with the individual program. Keep it with your notebook of important house documentation (or frame it, and put it on display!) as this is your proof that you’ve done all that hard work to add that value to your home.

By LEIGHA DICKENS, GREEN BUILDING AND SUSTAINABILITY MANAGER AT DELTEC HOMES

This blog is part 3 of a 4-part blog series on green building.  Check out the other posts in this series:

Part 1: Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: (Flawed) Reasons Homeowners Don’t Use Green Building Certifications

Part 2: Five Mistakes Green Building Certifications Can Catch

Part 3: The Process of Getting a Green Building Certification

Part 4: Residential Green Building Certification Program Guide

Series is also posted on GreenBuilt.org

The post The Process of Getting a Green Building Certification appeared first on Deltec Homes.

Last month, I listed common reasons I hear from those who build homes but don’t get them certified through a third party green building certification program—arguing that with certification you end up getting a better house out of the deal.  Often this is because of important details that are easily missed and may seem trivial, but can affect energy efficiency, durability, or indoor air quality quite profoundly over the home’s life.

If you’d like to know what I mean by a “better” home, and just what kind of mistakes a green certification program can help you avoid, here are 5 real life problems I’ve seen in new construction. Problems that a green certification program—which requires a third party inspector specifically trained in green building—would have caught.

#1: Poorly Installed Insulation

As Green Building Manager at Deltec, clients often ask me about insulation.  What kind should I put in?  Have you heard about that spray foam stuff?  How much should I install?  And while those are all important questions, one thing that constantly amazes me is how poorly insulation can be installed, no matter what type or how much of it you choose.  Quality of the installation is perhaps more important than type, or quantity.  If insulation does not evenly fill a space and has gaps and compressions all around it, or if it doesn’t have the right kind of air barrier (more on those later), it doesn’t actually function at the R-value it’s advertised. That means when insulation is installed poorly, you are not getting what you paid for.  Just look at this example from a recent job:

Before: The insulation was installed unevenly. It bugled out in the center with a huge gap behind the bulge, and it is compressed at the corners, without filling the space evenly. This house was being Energy Star Certified, and I knew this would be rejected by the Rater. So I called the installers back and asked them to try again.

After: Insulation fills the cavity completely without gaps or compressions. It is cut to fit snugly around every single outlet, piece of framing, wiring, or other obstacle. When drywall is installed, all six sides of each piece of insulation will be covered with an air barrier.

Unfortunately, insulation installation (try saying that five times fast) quality is something a homeowner has little ability to predict ahead of time, and must rely on their contractor to ensure.  But contractors, and often county building inspectors, might not be experts in how to inspect this.

A green certification program wouldn’t let poor insulation installation fly.  Energy Star for Homes requires the Rater to inspect all insulation, as do the NGBS, LEED, and NC Green Built Homes.  If the installation doesn’t meet the requirements, it has to be done over if you still want to earn the green certification, as was the case in the project above.

#2: Holes in Your House

“Air barriers” are one of those things that building energy nerds love to harp on, but homeowners and even builders don’t always understand what we’re talking about.  And if they don’t even know what an air barrier is, it’s easy to see why they might miss installing one altogether in places where an air barrier really needs to be there.

Air barriers are locations within framing where something rigid needs to be installed to keep air from escaping the heated part of the home.  When air you’ve already spent energy to heat up has the freedom to simply leave the house, you have to spend more energy heating up more air to replace it. Air leaking out of your house is a significant issue for heating and cooling bills (about 25%-40% of heating and cooling bills come from air leakage, according to the DOE), and installing air barriers is about understanding where, in typical building framing situations, you’re likely to end up with an unintended pathway for air to get out, and putting in something to block it. .

A commonly missed air barrier is in the floor joists above a wall in a basement that separates a deliberately unheated space—perhaps a garage—from heated space, such as your extra bedroom and your pool table den.  The dividing wall between the heated and unheated rooms gets built and insulated, but it often stops at the floor joist itself.

Yes, this picture has fiberglass batts stuffed into the ceiling, but fiberglass does nothing to stop air movement.  Cold air can move right through these open floor joists and into the heated living space from the unheated garage.  The solution, to make this house appropriately air-tight, is to install something rigid, air-tight, and sealed in these openings in the floor joists, like in this example where foam board is fitted into the floor space and the corners are sealed with canned spray foam:

While holes like this would undoubtedly show on a blower door test as big sources of air leakage, if all you do is test at the end, it may be too late. That’s why Energy Star for Homes has an entire air barrier checklist that must be followed—and inspected by an Energy Rater, so that a detail like this could not be missed.  Green Built Homes in NC follows the same Energy Star checklist, while LEED awards points for air barrier detailing.  Critically, this inspection must occur before drywall is installed to better see such locations that might otherwise be left invisible to the homeowner forever, making them wonder later on why their basement is so cold.

#3: Problematic Pairings of Technology

Today’s homes are being sold with more upgrades, new technologies, and higher end features than ever before.  Many of these features are even advertised as being quite green, such as high-performing spray foam insulation, or a charming wood stove.  But sometimes seemingly unrelated features can have unintended consequences when used together in the same project without care.

One example:  combining spray foam insulation, a large commercial-kitchen style gas range, and a wood stove in the same home.  Individually each of these items have their benefits and considerations.  Spray foam insulation is an exceptionally air-tight insulation that can be easier to install in funky spaces without those unfortunate gaps and compressions (and it makes a good air barrier!), so is often an energy efficiency upgrade that makes sense.  Commercial style gas ranges are something I might talk you out of, but are a popular feature for folks who love to cook.  And wood stoves can be a romantic source of ambiance and backup heat.

Yet putting these three upgrades together in one home can create a serious indoor air quality problem.  Spray foam insulation tends to make a house extraordinarily air-tight.  This is a good thing, encouraged and rewarded by green building certification programs, as it reduces the aforementioned issue of conditioned air leaking out of your home.  But, an air-tight home can be put under suction more easily by an exhaust fan.  Commercial kitchen style gas ranges, for their part, produce considerable heat, fumes, and moisture.  A very powerful range hood is typically required to effectively vent all that moisture and fumes out of the house.  Yet in air-tight homes, these powerful range hoods can put a dramatic amount of suction on a home.  Add in a wood stove, which relies on the buoyancy of hot air to vent its own smoke, and you can have a situation where the suction from the range hood overcomes the wood stove’s ability to vent and pulls smoke and ash particulates straight into your living room.  This is a serious indoor air quality problem.

These problems can be avoided when thinking about the whole house as a system, which green certifications require you to do.  Many green programs require that wood stoves be suitably air-tight and use a separate outside air intake, increasing their resistance to the high suction created by a powerful range hood.  A green program might also require make-up air for your commercial range hood, so that fresh air is brought inside whenever it turns on, reducing some of the pressure.  Or better yet, offer points toward higher levels of certification if you switch from a gas range to an induction range, which offers high energy efficiency while also eliminating an open flame and the associated pollutants from your indoor air.

Steam’s path through a common improperly vented kitchen exhaust. If the system is not actually vented to the outside—as would have been required with a green building certification—then trying to vent the steam really just means depositing the moisture on the kitchen ceiling.

#4: Indoor Air Quality Nuisance Issues

Kitchen range hoods that just recirculate steam and grease around the kitchen, or bath fans that don’t really do much to de-steam your bathroom after a shower, are just two indoor air quality problems that Energy Star for Homes happens to solve.  For the former, ventilation to the outside is required in the kitchen of an Energy Star home, and for the latter, the air flow on your bath fan has to be tested, and it has to actually work.  Otherwise, steam can build up over time, leading to the potential for mold growth.

If indoor air quality is a concern of yours, programs such as LEED for Homes or IndoorAirPlus can make a difference to low-level invisible sources of pollutants as well, requiring or rewarding the use of low-VOC and/or formaldehyde free caulks, sealants, paints, stains, and even interior doors, cabinets, carpeting, and composite wood products.

#5: Indoor Air Quality Serious Issues

Remember that wood stove and powerful range hood example?  The problem is wood smoke sucked back into your home.  That is a serious problem if you have asthma or allergies, but is not inconsequential for your health even if you don’t.

Other serious indoor air quality issues that might arise if you’re not paying attention include a new home without any kind of mechanical fresh air ventilation system at all.  Energy Star for Homes, LEED for Homes, Passive House, and the DOE Zero Energy Ready Program all require whole house ventilation be sized and field-tested to meet ASHRAE62.2, the residential standard for fresh air ventilation.

Or what about mold building behind your walls, due to a window flashing detail that was missed and allows rainwater to sneak into places it shouldn’t?  Energy Star for Homes has a water management checklist, and critical flashing details to direct water away from vulnerable joints in a building are mandatory in most other programs as well.

Are you concerned about carbon monoxide—a deadly, odorless and invisible gas that can be a byproduct of combustion and which kills over 400 Americans each year?  Green building programs have you covered, typically prohibiting the use of equipment such as ventless gas fireplaces or open wood fireplaces that produce dangerous levels of carbon monoxide, and requiring proper venting protocols for any combustion appliances in your home.

The Bottom Line

Green building programs were created out of need.  Someone, somewhere, saw that homes were being built in ways that had adverse impacts on the environment, used more energy than needed, or created unhealthy indoor air or moisture problems that reared themselves far too early in a building’s life.  Contractors were missing details, while building codes and standards weren’t keeping up.  As the industry has matured—developing more varied building products, systems, and features—code and common construction knowledge hasn’t always caught up to the implications on health, energy, and environment of applying these things together in a home.  Voluntary, third party green building programs became a way to inject better knowledge into the industry, and add recognition to those who apply that knowledge to make homes the best they can be.  Many reference engineering standards and are based on extensive industry research, are developed or recognized by universally accepted standard-setting protocols, and change as needed based on improved knowledge.

They aren’t perfect, of course.  The quest to build homes that have reduced—or perhaps no—impact on the environment, while using as little (non-renewable) energy and keeping the occupant as healthy and happy as possible—is never ending.

But green programs do rely on knowledge we have to date that is better than chaos. At the end of the day, they’re really about applying what has been learned before to make not just the environment, but all of our lives, better.

This blog is part 2 of a 4-part blog series on green building.  Check out the other posts in this series:

Part 1: Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: (Flawed) Reasons Homeowners Don’t Use Green Building Certifications

Part 2: Five Mistakes Green Building Certifications Can Catch

Part 3: The Process of Getting a Green Building Certification

Part 4: Residential Green Building Certification Program Guide

Series is also posted on greenbuilt.org

The post Five Mistakes that Green Building Certifications Can Catch appeared first on Deltec Homes.

By Leigha Dickens, Green Building and Sustainability Manager for Deltec Homes

If I had a dollar for every time a client chose not to certify their new Deltec through a third party green building program (e.g. Energy Star for Homes, LEED, Green Built Homes)…then I’d have more dollars than you might think. Even among clients who express ambitious energy efficiency goals or have great concern for material sustainability, indoor air quality, or waste reduction, I have found that when given the choice of whether or not to pursue a green building certification, clients all too often choose not to.

Many of their reasons are understandable on the surface, and I empathize with everything a homeowner has to consider in the course of bringing their dream to life.  But, the decision not to certify is still a short-sighted one, which I have seen homeowners come to regret later.

Let’s look at the common reasons people decide not to get a green certification, and why those reasons are flawed.

#1: I’m overwhelmed

Most green building programs require you to enroll before you start to build.  It’s even preferable to do it early in the planning stage.  Therefore, you and your builder need to understand what you’re getting into, and your builder may need to undergo training or certification to fulfill the program requirements.  The terms and acronyms involved in green building programs can be confusing (RESNET, HERS, ACH50, Ahhh!) and the requirements can sometimes require some technical knowledge about how things work in homes.  Dealing with the process of realizing a custom home:  designing the dream, finding a builder for the dream, getting estimates for construction of the dream, figuring out all the fun and sexy stuff like what windows best frame your view, how to lay out your kitchen, and specifying the HVAC system (ok maybe that last one is just me) can take enough of a homeowner’s brain power as it is.

Green certifications require performance testing, such as the iconic blower door test of house air-tightness. Knowing a house is going to be tested—and must pass the test—makes everyone involved in building it likely to be more thorough with the details. Credit: Steve Linton

I get it, I do!  But that is why all of these programs come with a built-in guide, the program Rater.  The Rater is the person you hire who is trained in and certified by the program, who comes to the jobsite to inspect construction, make sure the program requirements are being followed, and oversees paperwork.  The Rater can also provide guidance, help, and training, and is often happy to do so, which is easier and more effective if he or she is hired early in the home design process.

#2: You mean I have to pay for certification?

Yes, you do.  Sometimes multiple fees:  one to the organization that puts the program on, and yes, one to that aforementioned Rater.  I’m not arguing that green certification is free.  What I am arguing is that this cost is worth it, and if you’re like most people building their dream home, you’ll likely be tempted to spend far more than these fees on other (less valuable) things throughout the project.  For most homes, green certification fees are not that expensive in the grand scheme of things, less than 1% of the total cost to build.

But paying for certification is a feature, not a bug.  Firstly, these programs need your support.  They wouldn’t exist otherwise, and they do a good thing for the world—advance green building standards. Think of it like a donation to the goal of green building. And the Raters?  Well, they have to make a living too.  They’ve undergone extensive training on how to make homes healthier and use less energy, and you’re paying to have access to that knowledge.  It’s great knowledge to have!  No different than you are already paying your builder, your electrician, your doctor, to have access to what they know when you need it. Rather than having to know everything yourself, invest in that knowledgeable team member to help you.

#3: There’s no rebate for me

Sure, rebates are nice, and they can be effective motivators for change.  Locations with rebates for green building certification have more certified homes than areas that don’t, and if you’re lucky enough to be building your home in an area that has rebates for green building, that’s great (if you don’t know if there is a rebate or not, you can check with our green building department. Sometimes there may be something from the power company that serves your city), but at the end of the day, not everything worth doing comes with a rebate attached to it.

Additionally, real estate studies have found that green certified homes can sell faster, and at higher prices, than those not certified. Here’s the catch:  banks, appraisers, and home buyers require proof that a home is green, and the best proof is in a third party certification, which uses agreed-upon technical standards and inspections to ensure those standards have been followed.  Unfortunately, just promising that a home has green stuff in it isn’t enough.

#4:  My builder is going to build it green anyway, I don’t need certification to prove it

Our local building company, Deltec Building Company, is a green builder. In the past two years, 100% of the Deltecs we built in Western North Carolina were built to Energy Star, and many to Green Built Homes. And the best part is, getting those certifications has taught us so much more about green building than we would have figured out on our own.

It is the process of certification, on each and every home, that helps us build just a little bit better of a house than we might have otherwise, because every single job is inspected by the third party Rater.  It’s another eye to catch mistakes, and teach us about new concepts, or old ones applied in new ways.  And most green building certifications require performance testing of key systems, giving one more opportunity to uncover something that might have otherwise come back to bite the homeowner later.

Most builders would love to tell be able to tell you they are perfect, and that your building experience will be absolutely perfect as well.  But, most know it won’t be, because most builders employ humans. Humans overcome their foibles by having good systems, and third party certification is an incredibly helpful such system. I have absolutely seen that when humans have clearly defined standards to shoot for (a green building program), a guide to help along the way (the program Rater), and feedback on how they’re doing at it (inspections and tests during various points of construction) the end result is far superior one.

The Bottom Line

The fact of the matter is, green building certification makes a difference: to the quality of the final project and to the community at large.  It can be overwhelming, but resources abound to simplify the chaos.

I’m going to change the original scenario:  if I had a dollar for every client who called me after their home was built to ask how to get their home certified, and I have to tell them that it is too late…that’s where I’d have a lot of dollars.  That’s why I want you, the homeowner, to put your dollars toward getting your green building certification.

-Leigha Dickens, Green Building and Sustainability Manager

This blog is part 1 of a 4-part blog series on green building.  Check out the other posts in this series:

Part 1: Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda: (Flawed) Reasons Homeowners Don’t Use Green Building Certifications

Part 2: Five Mistakes Green Building Certifications Can Catch

Part 3: The Process of Getting a Green Building Certification

Part 4: Residential Green Building Certification Program Guide

 Series is also posted on greenbuilt.org

The post Coulda, Woulda, Shoulda appeared first on Deltec Homes.