On August 1st, Michelle Desiderio, Vice President for Home Innovation Research Labs will be in Raleigh to present 2012-2013 NGBS Green Certification Partner of Excellence awards to several members of the Green Home Builders of the Triangle (GHBT). Awardees include Lynn Nacewicz, Director of GHBT; Jamie Hager, NGBS Green Verifier; Southern Energy Management; Homes by Dickerson; and two local Habitat for Humanity chapters – Habitat for Humanity of Durham and Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. Being among a very select group of Home Innovation’s national group of green certification program partners to receive these awards underscores the commitment that those who build, remodel, verify to, and advocate for the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) in the Triangle-area have made in providing the local community with increased home value, comfort, durability, and efficiency.
“We recognize it takes a lot for a company or an individual to provide a sustained and consistent level of enthusiasm and excellence in a certification program as rigorous as ours,” said Home Innovation Labs president and CEO Michael Luzier. “For this reason, we were compelled to recognize the significant commitment to innovation and leadership in the residential construction industry that these Triangle-area NGBS Green Partners have displayed. We are truly impressed and inspired by what these partners are achieving in the field and the market transformation they are helping to accomplish.”
In the last year, the Green Home Builders of the Triangle has made concerted efforts to educate local builders, architects, and consumers about the value of independent, third-party green home certification, and the rigor of the NGBS. According to Dermot O’Brien, 2013 GHBT Chair, “We encourage our members to use the National Green Building Standard because it allows the designer, builder, and consumer the flexibility to focus on the house features they wish to incorporate in order to satisfy these requirements, while at the same time providing a very credible and rigorous certification protocol. Each of the standard’s six categories must be considered in an NGBS Green Certified Home, so a consumer can be assured they’re not getting just a highly energy-efficient home, but a truly green home in all respects.”
To earn certification to the National Green Building Standard, a home must meet rigorous criteria in six categories – Lot & Site Development; Resource Efficiency; Energy Efficiency; Water Efficiency; Indoor Environmental Quality; and Homeowner Education. There are mandatory practices in each category that every NGBS Green Certified home must meet, and there are a wide range of additional optional practices in each category that a builder can select based on the applicability to buyers in their market. There are also mandatory point minimums in every category in order for a home to attain the next level of certification, which is a more stringent requirement than any other national certification program has.
And the NGBS is applicable for builders and buyers in all markets, including affordable housing, as is evidenced by the participation of several Habitat for Humanity chapters and the award recognition of the two local chapters. "Habitat Wake is very proud to be a NGBS Partner of Excellence,” said Kevin Campbell, President and CEO of Habitat for Humanity of Wake County. “It shows that 'green' building doesn't have to be expensive. Our building standards are driven by our commitment to build safe and healthy homes with low operating costs for families paying a zero-interest mortgage on a modest income. For us, the NGBS helps us fulfill that mission perfectly.”
Blake Strayhorn, Executive Director of Durham Habitat, agrees, and enjoys the benefits the NGBS confers to remodeled homes as well. "We’re proud that Durham Habitat also meets this same green building standard for the older, gut rehab homes we buy, renovate, and sell in Durham." The NGBS is truly a green rating system that can be practical and cost-effective for all kinds of housing, in every type of home building market.
The award celebration will be held at 7009 Carries Reach Way in Raleigh, which is a Homes by Dickerson model and one of many they’ve had NGBS Green Certified by Home Innovation Labs. According to Jon Showalter, Comptroller for the company, “We have chosen to build all of our homes to the Bronze level of Home Innovation’s NGBS Green Certification Program. We feel that the building components and practices required to satisfy the program requirements exemplify the commitment we have with our customers to be the best stewards of their money as possible; both in the initial construction of the home and in the long-term operational costs associated with that home.”
Since the National Green Building Standard became the first and only residential green building rating system to be approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in January 2009, Home Innovation Research Labs has certified nearly 22,000 new and remodeled single-family homes, apartments, and lots within green land developments. For more information on the NGBS or the Home Innovation NGBS Green Certification Program, visit www.HomeInnovation.com/Green. For a complete list of all this year’s NGBS Green Partners of Excellence, visit www.HomeInnovation.com/NGBSGreenPartnersOfExcellence2013. For more information about Green Home Builders of the Triangle, visit www.greenhomebuildersofthetriangle.com.