The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) launched their National Green Building Program at the Builders show in February 2008. Components of the program include:
NAHB Model Green Home Building Guideline (this is the predecessor to the soon-to-be-released Green Building Standard)
www.nahbgreen.org, the official website for the program, featuring tools and resources
A hotline at 877-NAHB-GRN
A yearly national Green Building Conference. The conference in 2008 will be in New Orleans, May 11-13.
A national Certification Program for builders to assure that their homes are green.*
A national Green Building Program Awards program
A national Education Program
A certified Green Professional Designation program for training of builders.
* In the Certification Program, a scoring tool is available that helps builders identify and document green construction practices and features in the homes that they build. (www.nahbgreen.org) With that score, builders can certify their green homes to a single set of uniform standards. The NAHB Research Center is the sole certifying body for the national certification program.
The NAHB task groups have completed their work on the Commentary documents that will accompany the sections of the new National Green Building Standard. All documentation is now in the hands of ANSI for review. The new standard is expected to launch in 2009. A provision is included for cool roofs in the Energy Efficiency section of the standard, but it only applies to white coated surfaces. ENERGY STAR labeled roofing products are also covered in a provision in the Durability section.
Note that according to the NAHB Research Center, 20 billion pounds of asphalt shingles are dumped into US landfills every year.
Related to these initiatives is the Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing (PATH). They developed a “Guide to Green Building” which outlines five principles of green building practices. These principles target
a) resource and waste management,
b) energy efficient system integration,
c) resource-efficient plumbing,
d) healthy indoor air quality, and
e) low-impact development.
Builders who use the guide, can understand how to meet requirements in LEED for Homes and in the NAHB’s Green Home Building Guidelines.
In the PATH Tech Set 5 – Storm-Resistant Roofing, it suggests installing a light-colored wind and impact resistant roof covering. The language states:
“In warm climates, consider the solar reflectance of the roof cladding and select light colors. The higher the reflectance factor, the less heat absorbed by the roof from the sun. Refer to the ENERGY STAR website for the reflectance rating of roof products… Rated wind and impact resistant asphalt shingles and standing seam metal roofs are good choices for storm resistance. Make sure that they meet the standards for wind resistance (ASTM D3161 enhanced or UKL 2390) and impact resistance (UL 2218).”
On January 27, 2009 the reconstituted ASHRAE 189.1 committee met for the first time in Chicago. This new committee has more representatives from owners, the steel sector and the construction industry. The USGBC remains committed to working with ASHRAE to develop this commercial green building standard.
In other news, ASHRAE announced their intention of developing an energy labeling program for commercial buildings. The program will be modeled after the EPA’s ENERGY STAR program which applies to products and systems. In contrast, though, the ASHRAE program would apply to buildings within the scope of the ASHRAE 90.1 energy standard. The group hopes to have the program in place by the end of 2009.