NAHB (National
Association of Home Builders) is a national program designed to provide a
green certification for those areas of the country that have not designed their own green program.
NAHB currently offers two scoring paths to choose from, the Guidelines or the Standard. The builder will be able to choose either one for an unknown period of time. Eventually the Guidelines will be eliminated.
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NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines can be used for single family homes only. It has 3 levels of green; Bronze (237 points), Silver (311 points) and Gold (395 points) and 7 categories (Lot Design Preparation, and Development; Resource Efficiency; Energy Efficiency; Water Efficiency; Indoor Environmental Quality; Operation, Maintenance, and Homeowner Education; and Global Impact). Achieving an Energy Star certification is not required under the current Guidelines. The Guidelines can be downloaded from the NAHB site, www.NAHBGreen.org. This site is loaded with excellent information and is worth reviewing.
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National Green Building Standard™ is ANSI (American National Standards Institute) approved and can be used for single-family & multi-unit homes, site development, and residential remodeling projects. builder, remodeler or developer must incorporate a minimum number of features in the following areas: energy, water, and resource efficiency, lot and site development, indoor environmental quality, and home owner education.
The Standard, however, is a more challenging certification, includes more mandatory items, and suggests that higher thresholds be met in several categories. In addition to the Bronze, Silver, and Gold levels, a new threshold - "Emerald" - was added to denote the highest achievement in residential green construction. Achieving an Energy Star certification is not a requirement of the Standard. The National Green Building Standard must be purchased from www.BuilderBooks.com.
GETTING STARTED
The builder begins the green certification process by scoring the home via the Green Scoring Tool. An outline and flowchart of the certification procedure for either the Guidelines or Standard is available at NAHB Green Home Certification Process.
The green building certification fee charged by NAHB is $200 per building for NAHB members and $500 for non-members. The multi-unit building fee is the same + $20/unit.
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