I have spent the last 20 years in the home building industry. I have seen many changes in that time, but the biggest and fastest growing change is the increasing demand for

Green Building

. For years many builders, sub contractors, suppliers and manufacturers have said this is a phase that would die out. But I don’t think that is going to happen. The certification of LEED AP and NAHB Certified Green Professionals is growing very rapidly. This increase is showing that more people in the home building industry are taking Green Building more serious. The real estate industry is even moving to Green with their Ecobroker designation.

Well you may ask “What is a Certified Green Professional?”

The description from the National Association of Home Builder, which certifies and administers the designation, states: “The Certified Green professional in an exclusive designation offered by the National Association of Home Builders, designed to teach building industry professionals strategies for incorporating building principles into homes using cost-effective and affordable options. Requirements include: 24 hours of classroom instruction, industry experience and adherence to the CGP Code of Ethics. To maintain CGP status, designees are required to complete 12 hours of continuing education every three years.”

The CGP initial training helps the designee to choose products and practices for greater energy efficiency, a better understanding of indoor and outdoor water conservation practices and preserving indoor environmental quality. This training also helps the designee to understand sustainable building practices and products, along with a full understanding the certification process and benchmarks of the Green Building Program. A CGP is dedicated to the practices of green building and trained to deliver it in a way that best suits your needs. The CGP will be able to explain the hows and whys of green building and help educate you on which features are appropriate for your project.

I have always had an interest in green building and have studied for years on different products and practices. I work in the supply side of the home building industry, so I had more interest in the products and have tried to educate myself on which products are best and how they fit into a green project. This lead to creating this blog called Green Building Ideas.

So recently I decided to become a CGP. I was impressed with the CGP course and did learn some great things. I am also a member of the local home builders association and have been amazed at the interest that these home builders have in Green Building.

I see LEED becoming the standard Green Certification for commercial construction and the NAHB’s Green Building Program becoming the standard for residential construction.

Original article: What is a Certified Green Professional? – written by Steve Feller on Factoidz

The Green Building process is becoming more talked about everyday, whether new construction or remodeling, home owners want to have a more efficient and environmentally friendly home. But Green Building is much more than just following a checklist. Green Building or sustainable building is composed of certain elements like design, energy savings, water savings, health and managing resources used in the home. The check lists are the guidelines to help determine what areas need to be addressed in the process and what steps have to be taken. But these check lists and the points often fuel the factor of Green Washing.

Green Washing is when a manufacturer, supplier or builder intentionally or unintentionally makes false, misleading or exaggerated claims about their products and the environmental benefits they may have.

A great example of Green Washing is when a builder puts a few energy efficient products in a home and claims it is a green home. Another example may be when a manufacturer uses recycled products and makes a green claim. Check the percentage of recycled material in the product before believing every green claim. Also check to see if a company is truly watching out for the environment in their everyday practices and not harming the environment with some other product they may produce.

A couple easy phrases may just be the tip to help with determining whether a product is green.

First don’t fall for the phrase, “My product is LEED or NAHB Green Certified”, USGBC’s LEED or NAHB Green Build Programs do not certify products, they only provide guidelines on what a product have to achieve to fit within the guidelines.

Also watch for generic phrases like “This product uses the newest Eco-friendly or environmentally save technology”, but has no documentation to back it up.

Beware of the maintenance free claims. Just because a product may be maintenance free does not make it green.

Always asks for documentation to substantiate the green claim. If a company can not provide you proper information you are asking for, it is an immediate red flag that they probably don’t really understand what makes a product green.

Labels and certification documents are always the best way to determine whether a company or a product can back up the Green claim. Energy Star, FSC, SFI or WaterSense are just a few of labels you can look for. These are considered third party certification that has already determined that a product fits within proper criteria. You can find a more extensive list of these third party certifications at Green Building Ideas/resources.

Some products may be very green and may not hold a third party certification. Consider these labels as a filter to help but don’t always disregard a green claim just because it does not have a third party label on it. Do your research and look into the company or product before making a decision.

Finding products and substantiating claims may be the longest and most time consuming process in any project, unless you find a builder that has a strong background in the green building process. Ask your builder if he or she is a NAHB Certified Green Professional or AP LEED certified. Then ask to provide you with examples of a green project they have completed. This will make your, new construction or remodeling, green project a more satisfying experience.

The Park City Area Home Builders Association is leading the way with Green Building, within the State of Utah, with a new group called Build Green Utah.

Build Green Utah is leading the state in building homes for the future. As an active program of a Home Builders Association, Build Green Utah is a member-driven organization comprised of proactive builders, architects, and associates that are investing in an environmentally sound, socially supportive, and economically healthy future through a conscientious building industry.

Build Green Utah :

• Provides a standard, recognized third party certification process for green homes in Utah.
• Communicates the ease of integration and the aesthetic value of green building practices.
• Promotes green building and its benefits through builder and consumer education, as well as through collaboration with local governments.
• Ensures the future welfare of our environment, economy and community through a conscious, ethical approach to building.
• Raises awareness and educates the general public about the advantages of green building.
• Strengthens the green building community as a whole, by building a dynamic network of members working toward common goals.

Many more local home builder associations plan on follow a similar program.

In the tough economy, today more people are going back to school because they can’t find a job without the degree. In the construction industry more project superintendents and project managers’ positions require a construction management degree. Construction management professionals need a variety of skills to succeed in this dynamic field. Professionals coordinate projects varying from road and bridge construction to residential projects and the construction of buildings like schools and hospitals.

Knowledge of construction science, construction management, and business are crucial for successful individuals in the field of construction management. These are the three main fields of study in the Construction Management degree program at Westwood College. Attending a construction management school can help you prepare for this dynamic career, and Westwood College will help you get the experience and training you need.

So with the down turn in housing and overall construction many might asks why go into this field of study. With the direction of President Obama the road and bridge construction is going to become one of the hot job needs over the next several years. The housing and commercial construction will start to pick up in 2010. It may be slow at the present time but the construction industry will increase over the next 10 years.

With the emphasis on Green building, renewable energy and energy efficient remodeling, it would be a great plus to add a LEED or NAHB Green Program certification to any Construction Management degree. This may just be the edge you may need to land that great Construction Management position. Many of the new government and local city projects are going LEED certified, so have this certification on your resume would enhance your ability to get into this field.

For more information about Westwood College’s Construction Management degree follow this link:

http://www.westwood.edu/degree-programs/business/construction-management/degree.asp

For more information on LEED certification follow this link:

Everblue LEED Certification

Yes, the size of your home does make a difference when building a green home or a green project. There are many factors play into the square footage and design of your home.

1. The amount of materials used in the construction of a home makes a difference in the point system. The idea is to minimize the amount of materials to construct the walls of the home. Expanding the on center spacing for studs in walls, using single top plates with interior walls and expanding the on center spacing for floor joist are just a few of the items that can help. But remember that it is important to follow current building codes and manufacturer specs.
2. The size of the home will also affect the HVAC system. Running more duct runs lowers the efficiency of the system resulting in more energy to heat and cool a home.
3. Designing the home to minimize what is called wet walls. These are walls that have plumbing in them. Design the home so bathrooms and the kitchen are as close as possible. This saves on material to run water lines and drain lines.

The National Association of Home Builders Green Program has done extensive research to determine what the appropriate square footage based on amount of bedrooms should be. In the NAHB Green Program they have devised a chart which helps with determining the proper square footage. They have also assigned a point system to encourage new home construction to minimize the size of green homes. The chart below explains how the point system works.

Guidelines for Efficient Floor Plan Design

# of Bedrooms

Sq Ft — 2 –/– 3 –/– 4 –/– 5 –/- Points

Sq Ft — 1382 – 1890 - 2648 - 3424 – 0

Sq Ft — 1332 – 1825 - 2555 - 3296 - 1

Sq Ft — 1282 - 1756 - 2459 - 3172 - 2

Sq Ft — 1232 -1688 - 2363 - 3048 – 3

Sq Ft — 1182 - 1619 - 2267 - 2925 - 4

Sq Ft – 1132 - 1551 - 2171 - 2801 – 5

Sq Ft – 1082 - 1482 - 2075 - 2677 - 6

Sq Ft — 1032 - 1414 - 1979 - 2553 - 7

Sq Ft — 982 - 1345 - 1883 - 2430 - 8

Sq Ft — 932 - 1277 - 1788 - 2306 - 9

The LEED certification also has points based on the size of the home. It is not described as well as the NAHB Green Program. If you use the actual work sheet it takes into count the square footage of the home but does not provide an easy read chart like above.

So yes the size of the project does matter. So if you are planning on building a new home and want to Go Green, you need to start in the designing phase before you begin the project.

In February 2008 the U.S. Department of Energy unveiled the Builders Challenge. This program is designed to give the consumer a rating scale similar to the MPG on a vehicle. This new scale is called the Energy Smart Home Scale or E-Scale and is designed to compare the energy efficiency of a home. The scale ranges from 150 – 0 with 100 being the average of a new home today based on the normal building codes. A home 10 years ago would fall 130 – 150 so a home with a 70 rating would be 30% more efficient than an average new home. A net zero home would produce as much energy as it uses from such sources as wind or solar power.
Homes today account for nearly 21% of all energy consumed and are on the rise with the construction of larger homes. By providing the consumer with an easy method of rating takes the guess work out of whether they are getting the energy efficient they planned. This will be very similar to the yellow energy guide found on appliances.
The Department of Energy has challenged the home building industry to build 220,000 high efficient homes by 2012. This is a good move to try and create measurable standards in home efficiency. This does not mean the home is green or certified but it will help with consumer confidence. The LEED certification process has steps to ensure a green certified home but many builders have found ways to get a home certified at the lower level so they can market them as green. This process does not ensure an efficient home. Now the consumer can compare homes and see the difference. But this is not a requirement so not all homes will have this rating. The Department of Energy’s goal is to provide affordable net zero housing by 2030. To read more about the Energy Smart Home Scale visit the Department of Energy – Builder challenge

http://www1.eere.energy.gov/buildings/challenge/

Since March of 2004 the National Association of Home Builders has been working towards having their own NAHB National Green Building Program for certification. Different groups have debated, why should the NAHB devise their own program and not just use the well known U.S. Green Building Council LEED program. To some the LEEDs program is to stringent and expensive. One of the big factors that have builders frustrated is the fact that LEEDs only will allow Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) lumber. This limits the recourses available in many areas because not all lumber yards carry or are certified to supply FSC.

The certification process with FSC is getting more expensive. An article posted December 8, 2008, written by Craig Web, in the ProSales Magazine states “The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC), the key wood certification standard-setter in green construction, is doubling its accreditation administration fees for chain of custody (COC) certification as well as retaliating against certifying bodies that suggest other standard-setters’ rules are as good as FSC’s.”

How is this productive in getting more suppliers and builders embracing the whole “Green Building” concept. The FSC does not want to see Sustainable Forestry Initiative (SFI) lumber get included in the LEEDs program. FSC dislikes this SFI option because it sees its standard as being better than the others. The Green Building Council plans to decide whether SFI can be included this spring.

By allowing more options and availability to the builders would help promote the use of certified lumber products into everyday projects.

This week I had a comment on this blog that I want to address. This comment came from Mark. “While there’s a lot of agreement that green building is a good idea, there’s not so much info on how to actually do it. Especially interesting to have perspective from the builder’s side. Perhaps you can provide insight for builders and clients on how to make that relationship work more profitably.”

Making products more available and having healthy competition between suppliers gets the cost of certified lumber more inline. Today many lumbers yards charge a high premium for certified lumber because of the added expense and the hassle to control the certification process. But by doubling the  accreditation administration fees is not helping answer Mark’s question. The builder needs to maintain a profit and in many surveys many end home owners are not willing to pay more than a 5% increase for a certified green home. So how can a builder provide a green home and still be able to get buyers if the home has a high premium?

The industry needs to allow more options to get leveled pricing and added support.

Allowing only one main entity to certify and dictate what can be a certified  green home limits the grow with in Green Building.

It is December 7 2008. This is my first post on Green Building Ideas. I am a sales manager in the building material industry. I also have been doing some blogging over the past year on a different topic. You can see one of my other blogs here Diabetic Help.
Over the past several years I have become more involved with the practices of green building and I finally decided to create a blog on green building. The phrase “Going Green” means something different to many people. Going green may mean recycling or conserving natural resources. But to someone else it may mean not cutting down trees. Even more don’t even understand the concept at all. As I have learned more about the LEED standards in the building industry and worked with people doing green building projects it is even more aparent that many just don’t get what “Going Green” is all about. When I see home owners driving their Hummer and building their multi million dollar vacation home, say “I want our building products to be green”, don’t understand what going green is about.
This site will be mostly under construction (Green of Course) most of December. I hope you will vistit often and see the new posts. My goal is to provide many resources to help with any kind of building project while offering green options. I will be providing many links to the green building industry. I will also provide some resources to find green building products and how they may compare.
Thanks for stopping by and I hope you come back often.