This facility will contain a set of test beds for building systems integration designed to address key technical challenges for net-zero energy buildings. The Department of Energy solicited research applications from eligible national laboratories nationwide, which then underwent a thorough technical review process.

Buildings account for more than 40 percent of carbon emissions in the United States. Net-zero energy buildings (N-ZEB) generate as much energy as they use on an annual basis through highly aggressive energy efficiency and on-site renewable energy generation, making them a key pathway to address and reduce these climate-altering emissions. The new laboratory facilities will help researchers develop, test and validate the technologies, systems and design approaches that will allow N-ZEB to be built and operated at an affordable cost.

 ”This facility will serve a national audience-and need-in an aggressive pursuit of DOE’s energy efficiency goals for widespread implementation of affordable net-zero energy buildings by 2030, ” says Stephen Selkowitz, head of the Building Technologies Department of Berkeley Lab’s Environmental Energy Technologies Division.

Berkeley Lab researchers will work with a broad base of users in the building design and construction communities, as well as manufacturers, building owners and operators and the academic community.

In proposing for the N-ZEB award, Berkeley Lab teamed with numerous organizations, including 21 industry partners, three utilities, eight universities, a non-profit and three public agencies, all of whom indicated their support and interest in using the facility. Major partners include the University of California, Berkeley, MIT, Carnegie Mellon, HOK, Flack + Kurtz, Philips Research, Johnson Controls, Lutron, Siemens, the California Energy Commission and the U.S. General Services Administration.

Several Testbeds Planned

The new N-ZEB facility will consist of a series of unique energy-efficient building systems testbeds to be located in new and existing buildings on the Lab. Researchers will be able to change out prototype building systems such as windows, lights, heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC), energy control systems, roofs and skylights. The basic idea is to conduct initial measurements of energy use and environmental conditions to understand how the systems perform, and then to redesign and optimize their capabilities and performance.

The building systems integration testbed will consist of several large side-by-side research areas. Each area can employ a range of diverse and changeable HVAC systems, lighting, on-site power and process-load solutions, as well as the building’s “envelope” of windows, walls, floors and related fixtures, for real time performance comparisons under dynamic climate conditions.

Other separate testbeds will be constructed for specific buildings subsystems such as lighting systems and controls, and window and façade systems. One testbed will be devoted to the topic of advanced sensor networks and building energy controls, and the communications protocols that link optimized building performance to smart grid initiatives. Final details of the new facilities will be worked out with Department of Energy staff to meet cost targets and schedule deadlines.

Hardware and Software R&D To Be Conducted

The N-ZEB User Facility will be used by scientists to combine a new generation of innovative building materials with components to create high-performance HVAC, controls, lighting, windows and building envelope sub-systems and systems, as well as on-site power systems.

The research teams then will work to integrate these separate building systems into N-ZEB optimized whole-building solutions with the goal of achieving very aggressive energy, demand, carbon and operating cost savings, as well as improved occupant comfort and health. Measured results from physical testing will be enhanced and extended with the use of powerful building simulation tools.

 ”The User Facility will help building industry component and system suppliers to create cost-effective, integrated building systems that deliver the performance required by net-zero energy buildings,” says Mary Ann Piette, deputy head of the Building Technologies Department. “For the owner-designer-specifier community, it will demonstrate and verify that these systems deliver the required energy performance.”

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Concrete Footer

As with all sound structures, a home needs a good foundation. We start our homes by digging trenches that will be constructed into footers. These trenches are strategically dug in configuration of the homes.

These trenches are then lined with wire and rebar to ensure the proper depth and strength of the concrete, which will soon be the homes base.

The concrete is poured into the trenches at precisely the right depth, using the rebar as a guide. This method has been tried and proven to promote strength and consistency for the footers, which will enable the entire home to be even, level and sound.

Arguably, the footers or base of a home is the most critical in the building process. Done properly, the footer or base will keep the home level for life. Footers constructed incorrectly will allow the home to sink, or sag in areas, thus causing structural damage and loosing the integrity of the building.

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Throughout the country, green home building has become more common and more mainstream in recent years. The number of home builders using green building technologies and techniques has been steadily increasing as they see its market advantages. While building green isn’t for everyone, the need to make sure that green building programs remain voluntary, market driven, and based on sound technical information is a key issue for NAHB. In fact, NAHB Green is the result of years of builders’ and local associations’ efforts throughout the NAHB federation. These efforts have led to the construction of thousands of green homes all over the country, as well as the development of dozens of local green building programs coordinated by or associated with state and local home builder associations.

Local programs are a home builder’s primary source for information, education, and networking on all topics-and green building techniques are no different. Green home building, however, also has led to the development of additional needs, like establishing a locally credible green rating criteria and certifying homes to those criteria. Working these services into a local program, and bringing in education and networking activities can be tremendous opportunities for an association to expand its scope and revenue.

This tool kit is designed for state and local associations seeking resources for their members; associations that are interested in starting local programs; and existing programs that want to take advantage of national resources. In all cases, there are instructions here about affiliating with NAHB Green, as well as descriptions of various resources that will help as you get a local program underway.

Read More: http://www.nchba.org/images/stories/councils/hba_green_toolkit_aug08.pdf

Source: www.nchba.org

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Green Footstep also shows designers how to comply with specific design goals such as LEED’s energy credits and the 2030 Challenge, the organization that has challenged designers to make all new buildings carbon neutral by 2030. Edward Mazria, founder and executive director of Architecture 2030, says, “Rocky Mountain Institute’s Green Footstep is an extremely valuable goal-setting and evaluation tool that will help building designers assess a project’s carbon emission impacts with regard to site, construction and operations. Because the 2030 Challenge is integrated into the program, this tool can also help designers in their efforts to meet or exceed the 2030 Challenge targets.”

Michael Bendewald, an analyst with RMI who developed the online version, called Green Footstep a “designer’s tool” that designers can use to make specific design decisions that reduce carbon emissions on residential and commercial new and retrofit building construction projects, from pre-design through occupancy.

It’s also an educational tool that helps users understand a building’s life cycle carbon footprint. “Since we all have bank accounts, allow me to use an accounting metaphor to explain Green Footstep’s way of showing a project’s carbon emissions,” Bendewald explains. “The native-state carbon storage of a site, including such things as standing timber and other vegetation that existed before development, is the amount of carbon the owner of the facility ‘owns.’ Any carbon emissions send the owner into a ‘carbon debt.’ In order for a project to be ‘carbon neutral,’ this debt must be paid off and the original amount of carbon – equal in magnitude to the native-state carbon storage – must be restored. Green Footstep allows designers to adjust design targets, such as building energy use intensity and incorporating more renewables that will get the building out of the carbon debt edging the building closer to carbon neutrality.”

Green Footstep’s web site provides case studies so users can explore how Green Footstep has allowed past projects to reach their carbon reduction goals. Users can also create a login that allows them to save and reload their own projects as they work on them.

Source: www.oikos.com

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The designation requires 24 hours of NAHB-approved training, and additional continuing education every three years. Subjects covered in training discuss how green homes provide buyers with lower energy costs and higher value, and will include strategies for incorporating green-building principles into homes without driving up the cost of construction.

The designation curriculum requires completion of the Green Building for Building Professionals two-day course and either the Business Management for Building Professionals one-day course or having another current NAHB professional designation. Class schedules and course descriptions are available from NAHB.

Upon successful completion of course work, submission of a graduation application and signed Code of Ethics is required to graduate. The CGP designation recognizes a high degree of professional competence, and is awarded to individuals only.

Courses are offered at local home builders association and at NAHB national events. For a complete list of course offering and dates, visit www.nahb.org/courses.

For more information about the Certified Green Professional designation, visit www.nahb.org/cgpinfo or call the NAHB at 800-368-5242.

Source: www.nahbgreen.org

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The HOI showed that 70.1 percent of all new and existing homes sold in the third quarter of 2009 were affordable to families earning the national median income of $64,000, down slightly from a near-record 72.3 percent during the previous quarter and up from 56.1 percent during the third quarter of 2008.

“At a time when housing is at its most affordable, we applaud the recent actions taken by Congress and President Obama to stimulate housing by extending the federal tax credit beyond its Nov. 30 deadline and expanding it to a wider group of eligible home buyers,” said NAHB Chairman Joe Robson, a home builder from Tulsa, Okla. “With interest rates now lower than last quarter, the tax credit will encourage even more home buyers to enter the market and help stabilize housing and the economy by creating new jobs, stimulating home sales, reducing foreclosures, cutting excess inventories and stabilizing home prices.”

Indianapolis was the most affordable major housing market in the country during the third quarter, a position the metro area now has held for 17 consecutive quarters. Almost 95 percent of all homes sold were affordable to households earning the area’s median family income of $68,100.

Also near the top of the list of the most affordable major metro housing markets were Youngstown-Warren-Boardman, Ohio-Pa., and three Michigan metropolitan areas, Detroit-Livonia-Dearborn; Warren-Troy-Farmington Hills; and Grand Rapids-Wyoming.

Five smaller housing markets posted even higher affordability scores than Indianapolis, with Kokomo, Ind. outscoring all others. There, 96.7 percent of homes sold during the third quarter of 2009 were affordable to median-income earners. Other smaller housing markets near the top of the index included Springfield, Ohio; Bay City, Mich.; Mansfield, Ohio; and Elkhart-Goshen, Ind.

New York-White Plains-Wayne, N.Y.-N.J., was the nation’s least affordable major housing market during the third quarter of 2009, the New York metro area’s sixth consecutive appearance at the bottom of the list. Slightly more than 19 percent of all homes sold during the third quarter were affordable to those earning the New York area’s median income of $64,800.

The other major metro areas near the bottom of the affordability scale included San Francisco; Honolulu; Santa Ana-Anaheim-Irvine, Calif.; and Nassau-Suffolk, N.Y.

San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, Calif. was the least affordable of the smaller metro housing markets in the country during the third quarter. Others near the bottom of the chart included Ocean City, N.J.; Santa Cruz-Watsonville, Calif.; Santa Barbara-Santa Maria-Goleta, Calif.; and Brownsville-Harlingen, Texas.

Source: www.nahb.org

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Most people spend at least half their lives inside their homes. The air inside can be more harmful to your family’s health than the air outdoors. Is the air in your home safe to breathe?

Children can spend 90% of their time indoors. For their size, children breathe up to twice as much air as adults. That means children are at greater risk for health problems that come from indoor air pollution.

It is not always easy to tell if you have poor air quality. You may notice bad smells and see smoke, but you cannot see or smell other dangers, like carbon monixice or radon. This chapter and those on asthma and allergies, mold and carbon monoxide will help you ask the right questions to find out if the air inside your home is safe and healthy. They will also give you ideas about how to fix any problems you might find.

Source: http://www.pueblo.gsa.gov

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CGPs must successfully complete two classes – the two-day Green Building for Building Professionals sessions and the one-day Business Management for Building Professionals  – to earn the designation.

Not all of the CGPs are listed in the NAHB Designations Directory, where home owners and home buyers can locate industry professionals in their markets. NAHB members must pay a $50 annual fee ($75 for non-members), according to the NAHB University of Housing.

In addition, CGPs commit to 12 hours of continuing education every three years and sign a code of ethics.

Because green building is always one of the top search terms on the site, it’s important for CGPs to make sure their listings are current – and available to consumers.

Source: www.nahb.org

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The Green Lending Specialist designation is designed to be compatible with the NAHB Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation and similar programs for real estate agents and others in the building industry.

The subject matter includes green building techniques and practices as well as additional information on rating systems, including the National Green Building Standard; appraising; green lending and energy-efficient mortgages; greening Multiple Listing Service providers; and marketing and educational tools.

Lenders can find course dates and locations at www.porterworks.com and can also contact PorterWorks, Inc. at 360-631-5631 to schedule training.

Source: http://www.nchba.org/

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Source: NHBA/Green Builders Info

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