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comment ANSI Approves NAHB's Green Building Standard
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) and the International Code Council (ICC) have successfully shepherded a residential green building standard through the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) approval process. Known as both the National Green Building Standard and ICC-700, the standard was approved in January 2009.
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To comply with ANSI requirements, NAHB and ICC assembled a committee comprised mostly of builders, manufacturers’ representatives, and code officials. Using the 2005 NAHB Green Guidelines as a starting point, the committee solicited public comments and conducted four public hearings over two years. They broadened the standard to include site development, multifamily housing projects, and remodeling in addition to single-family homes.
ICC-700 has four compliance levels: bronze, silver, gold, and emerald. The mandatory measures in the standard largely correspond to minimum code requirements. Beyond these measures, builders must accrue points by incorporating features in six areas: site development, water conservation, energy conservation, resource conservation, indoor air quality, and homeowner education. Houses over 4,000 ft2 will need more points for a given certification level than smaller houses.
For bronze certification, a home must be designed to use 15% less energy than a home that minimally complies with the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC). To reach the emerald level, a home must achieve a 65% reduction in projected energy use. In addition, all houses must include a mechanical ventilation system complying with ASHRAE Standard 62.2. Although energy compliance depends strongly on climate zone, most ICC-700 checklist points (including water-saving measures) apply nationwide. A few, however, are regionally specific, such as those related to termites, radon, and annual rainfall.
NAHB will continue to support builders who choose to rate homes using the less stringent 2005 Guidelines. For builders seeking a higher standard, the NAHB Research Center has established a process to certify projects under the new ICC-700. The first step is for builders to use NAHB’s free online scoring tool (www.nahbgreen.org/ScoringTool.aspx). “The scoring tool sets us apart from our competition,” explained NAHB division director Vladimir Kochkin. “It simplifies implementation.” Builders can use the tool to obtain a preliminary score for their design. If they decide to certify, they submit an application to a third-party verifier, who performs both a rough-in and final onsite inspection.
NAHB charges builders $500 per project for certification; the fee drops to $200 for NAHB members. In addition to the certification fee, builders will need to pay for verification by an independent party, including the cost of site visits.
Since the ICC-700 standard is brand new, it will take a while for energy consultants to determine whether the standard is more or less stringent than LEED for Homes. “My opinion right now, subject to confirmation from additional study, is that the basic ICC-700 standard house will be very close to a LEED for Homes certified house,” said Bion Howard, an energy consultant based in California. LEED takes a tougher line on certain divisive issues, however, such as certification of tropical woods. According to Carr, “Compared to LEED for Homes, I think builders will find that NAHB’s green building standard is more flexible and usually less expensive to meet,” both in added construction and certification costs.
When comparing the new standard with the old NAHB Guidelines, NAHB representatives are unequivocal. “The Standard is more stringent than the Guidelines,” said Carr. “The bar has been raised.” Kochkin expanded, saying, “The new bronze corresponds more or less to the silver level in the Guidelines.”
Opinions differ on whether having three rating systems for new single-family homes—the 2005 NAHB Guidelines, the ICC-700 standard, and LEED for Homes—is confusing to builders. Howard argues that the standard could serve to harmonize the various systems. “I think the standard provides an agreed-upon floor upon which guidelines with a higher environmental purpose can be based,” he said.
Brendan Owens, the vice president of LEED technical development at USGBC, sees no urgent need for harmonization between two systems trying to accomplish different things. “We try to create rating systems that are leadership standards. We are working to create a mechanism that recognizes high-performance green building,” he said. Owens did note that USGBC’s work with the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE) on Standard 189, a code-ready commercial green building standard that may become a prerequisite for LEED, could provide a model for a link between NAHB’s new standard and LEED for Homes. No negotiations with NAHB are underway, however.
Although he calls NAHB’s standard “light green,” Howard is encouraged by a shift in NAHB’s approach to standard development. “Five years ago, I was seeing some disturbing patterns,” said Howard. “Whenever there was any talk of developing a new standard, NAHB tended to be the 800-pound gorilla that dragged its feet all the time.” With ICC-700, Howard said, “NAHB appears to have made a decision to put together a reasonable standard and push it through the ANSI process.”
This article originally appeared on BuildingGreen.com
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