Green Building

Introduction to Green Building

Save the date! 

Green is coming to {Town}

MBIA and (local association) will be hosting a green building introductory session on (insert date). This session should last about 1 hour and give you an overview of The Montana Green Building Program, the scoring system, available tools and resources, upcoming events, and the basics of getting a house certified.  MBIA will also be providing in-depth builder training, provided by NAHB Accredited Verifiers, for builders to learn more about the process of scoring, verification and certification for their next home.  Come see what everyone is talking about!

 

Montana homebuilders unveiled the new Montana Green Building Program at the MBIA state convention in June.   With over 180 members in attendance along with government officials and National Association of Homebuilder’s leadership, MBIA marked the beginning of the “green building” era in Montana with a tour of 4 pilot project homes, a luncheon, and a graduate builder class on green building.

The Montana Green Building Program was created to provide education and guidance to builders and other industry professionals, and help establish a voluntary market driven approach towards building greener houses.  The emphasis of the program is finding green solutions that work for builders and customers.  The program is completely voluntary and could save customers a substantial sum of money in the long run, especially if energy prices continue to rise.  

“We’re bringing green building into mainstream home construction,” said Richard Smith, MBIA President and Gallatin County homebuilder.”  Builders can do a tremendous amount to make homes more environmentally friendly, without pricing them out of the reach of the average homebuyer.” The Montana Green Building Program’s aim is to educate builders and consumers about building green.”

Although homes built today are 100 percent more energy-efficient than those built during the 1970’s, green building historically has been reserved for high-end, niche builders who cater to a wealthy clientele. The Model Green Home Building Guidelines, which the new program is based on, is a consensus document developed by a committee of industry stakeholders in conjunction with NAHB  in 2005 “Through a pilot program, builders have demonstrated that the Model Green Building Guidelines are flexible, so joining the new national program is right for Montana, one that considers our climate and other factors that affect home construction and energy consumption,” added Richard Smith.

The NAHB National Green Building Program offers market-driven green solutions for:

There is no one-size-fits-all application of building techniques, which is why the model guidelines are based upon a point system that allows the builder to select the appropriate “above code” upgrades.  Each upgrade has a corresponding number of points attached to it, and the final green certification is awarded based upon the total amount of points tallied.
The guidelines and points system were developed by the NAHB Research Center in a process involving more than 60 stakeholders, including architects, manufacturers, home builders, environmentalists, government agencies, suppliers and trade associations. 

Getting Started:

Getting started is easy.  The program is open to any builder, anywhere, and no membership or certification is required. Simply log on to www.nahbgreen.org, register for free, and using the online scoring tool you can rate your home and choose your pathway to green.  Accredited NAHB Green Home verifiers are listed on the site as well, and are required to review your documents and perform the two site inspections necessary for certification. After your home is completed and verified your verification report and certification fee ($200 for NAHB Members) is sent to the NAHB Research Center for final review and issuance of your Green Home Certificate.

The on line scoring tool walks you through the process of planning and certifying a green built house. The NAHB Research Center is currently in the process of training certified verifiers that can, for a fee, inspect your home and certify that it has met the appropriate designation for green building. MBIA will be hosting this verification training in August . This training will provide an certification opportunity for individuals interested in becoming NAHB Green Home Verifiers.  The training is also available online for prequalified applicants, for more information on becoming a verifier see www.nahbgreen.org.

The first round of verifiers have already completed their training requirements are already certifying houses.  The guidelines contain all of the information needed to build to green specifications and the corresponding points awarded for each upgrade.  

Resources