Green Homes - How do you know?
David Casaletto
You have decided you are ready to own a home. You have a lot of decisions to make. Where do you want to live, what size lot do you need, how many square feet does your family want, and for those of you who have traveled this path, the needed decisions keep on coming and coming. The first choice is, will you build a new home or buy an existing one? Let's start with building a new home. Probably the most important decision you can make is the choice of a professional contractor or builder. Not only will he be instrumental in building you a well constructed and long lasting home, he is the person that can make your home environmentally friendly and energy efficient or "green". It seems everyone is using the "green" word but how do you know your new builder actually has the training needed to deliver on the "green" promise?
The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has 
developed the Certified Green Professional™ designation which recognizes builders, remodelers and other industry professionals who incorporate green building principles into homes- without driving up the cost of construction. Classwork leading to the designation provides a solid background in green building methods, as well as the tools to reach consumers, from the organization leading the charge to provide market-driven green building solutions to the home building industry. Professionals who complete this training can use the Certified Green Professional™ designation or CGP. I did a search of the local home builders association's web sites. The Home Builders Association of Greater Springfield search brought up 18 professionals listed as "CGP" while the Northwest Arkansas Home Builders Association's web search listed 17 professionals with "CGP" after their name. These resources might provide a good place to start your search for your "green" builder.
But what if you are looking for an existing home? You can see the siding, the roofing, the interior walls, but how do you determine what is inside? How much insulation is there? Is the crawl space insulated? Are the heating and cooling system and the appliances energy efficient? A trained home inspector can answer some of these questions but additional help may be on the way with the National Green Building Standard™, recently approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI). A collaborative effort between the ICC and NAHB, the Standard provides the "green" practices that can be incorporated into new homes, home remodeling and additions, and the site upon which the green homes are located. The green practices include:
- lot design, preparation and development
- resource, energy, and water efficiency
- indoor environmental quality
- operation, maintenance, and building owner education
The four threshold levels, Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Emerald provide builders with a means to achieve basic, entry-level green building, or achieve the highest level of sustainable "green" building that incorporates energy savings of 60 percent or higher. The Standard can be used by any builder for their individual projects, or be the basis for a local community or state green building program. When a home has been certified with the Green Building Standard, it stays with the home and lets future owners know it is a green home. Even existing homes can be inspected and upgraded to achieve this designation.
The Ozark area's first officially certified green home (below) built east of Springfield, achieved gold, the second-highest level from the National Association of Home Builders Green Building Program.
The home incorporated environmental considerations and resource efficiency into every step of the construction process to minimize environmental impact. Features of this home include thick, insulated walls, a ground-source HVAC system, carpet made from a natural corn fiber and low-flow toilets. Plus everything that was not used at the building site was recycled.
In January 2011, the HBA of Greater Springfield announced it would partner with Habitat for Humanity of Springfield (HFHS) to build the first two homes in the Habitat's new Builders' Circle development,
which is also the name of the new, on-going community partnership with local home building professionals that will double the impact of Habitat's mission in the community. The homes will be certified to the National Green Building Standard and their construction will serve as a demonstration of flexible and affordable methods by which construction professionals can build
green in a residential setting. Volunteer HBA members will donate materials and professional services to build the first two of what will eventually be six green certified houses in a small cul-de-sac in northwest Springfield. With donated building products and volunteer labor and services, HFHS and its partners can build twice as many homes and by applying affordable green building methods, homeowners' utility savings can be twice that of standard building practices.
Just as the LEED certification can indicate how environmentally friendly a commercial building is, we will soon be able to make our home buying decisions based on the level of the National Green Building Standard™ that a home has achieved. Green decisions are no longer just a "cool" thing to do, but should be a lifestyle change that when implemented by a majority of the public can have a very positive noticeable impact on our Ozark's environment.
