Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Untangling the Green Building Certification Web

NAHB, LEED, Energy Star…. Where do you start? What certification is best? Is it all worth it? These are topics that we will be covering. Currently, we are certifying a Built Green 3-Star, and working through the process of NAHB National Green Building Certification and Builder’s Challenge Certification for the Hare House Phase 2, our first Design Build project, currently under construction.

I will admit, it’s tedious. I don’t love doing envelope analysis and having to hunt down U-values and Solar Heat Gain Coefficients from garage door manufacturers who have no clue what I am talking about.

But, the point is, it will get easier. The criteria in the checklists will not have to be as detailed, because our way of building will change. The local distributor for that garage door company said that many people have asked those same questions, but he has not yet been able to find the answers. The important thing is that people are asking. The answers will become standard, and we won’t have to spend as much time thinking about the U-value of a garage door. Which, by the way, I still don’t know.

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