Building a Certified High Performance (CHiP) Home - Part 2

In Part 1 of this article we covered some basics of building/remodeling a home to a green certification program. We looked at making the commitment to build green, why certification is important and things to consider when choosing a green program.

Once you've done all of this, you need to know what it takes to actually build/remodel in a program. Well, here you go:

4. So how do you build/remodel in a program? When you build or remodel to a program, there’s a couple of things you have to do:

a. Hire a rater to work on each home – You have to have a third party rater to model the home before it is built and to test your home using the blower door test and other scientific calculations during and after construction. The rater will also work with your HVAC Contractor to get the system matched with the higher performance features you are installing. This is the same no matter which program you build to. Again, there are plenty of raters around. Find one that you like, and that can give you the best price and/or service.

b. Have the house verified to that program – When you build to a program, the certifying body need to be sure that you’re doing what the program says or they can’t certify the home. In many cases, the rater you hired to test your house is also the program verifier. However, the rater and verifier can be different people. When you’re shopping for a rater, ask if they can also verify in the program you want to build to… it will save you time and money if they can. In the CHiP Home Program, any verifier approved by NAHB or the USGBC LEED for Homes program is qualifed to be your verifier.

c. Build the home to the program – Your rater has worked with you to site the home properly, get the glazing correct and all of the other groundwork has been laid out. You’ve gone through the program and you know how to get the points needed for certification. Now…go build that house. Make sure your trade partners know that they’re building to a green program and what that means to them and their job. If the trade partner has never worked on such a house, make sure you or your rater/verifier explains anything they have to do differently to keep this house on track for certification. If one trade misses the mark, it could lose the certification for the whole house. The learning curve here is steep for your first green house or two, but you and your trade partners will get the hang of it.

d. Testing and verification – During construction, your rater/verifier will have to visit the home to do their thing. The verifier will visually inspect the home during the rough-in stage (before everything gets covered up), and keep an eye on the products/materials you’re using. You will have to keep records of all this stuff so you can get the certification, too. Again, the learning curve is steep on your first home or two, but you’ll get it. The verifier throughout construction will check everything the program deems mandatory, and items that you opt to do. Your rater will come in at the end and test the home with the blower door and other tests. This is where you find out the all-important HERS Rating of the home… the lower, the better.

e. Certification – Once all of the data is compiled and the house and accompanying paperwork is complete, you (the builder/remodeler) will send the required paperwork and fees to the certifier (USGBC, NAHB or the HBA of Greater Columbia in this case). They will review this information, deposit the check, and issue the certification for that home. Certification of a house in the CHiP Home Program is only $50. It is at least $150 per house for LEED-H and $200 per house in the NAHB Green program. Plus, we offer discounts to volume builders with a 12-month commitment.

Now you can market this home as being Certified Green in the program you chose (Check any guidelines or restrictions the program may have). Under our program, each home will be listed at www.columbiagreenbuilders.com and be searchable on an interactive map. LEED for Homes and NAHB Green do not offer this with their certifications.

Make sure the MLS Listing for the home shows that the home is certified. There are checkboxes for this in the bottom, right of the Columbia (SC) MLS form.

There you have it. We hope to have taken some of the mystery out of what you as a builder or remodeler has to do in order to build a certified green home. If you're in the Midlands of South Carolina, please contact us to start building to the CHiP Home Program today!