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!

H.R. 2454 Cap and Trade Energy Bill explained

We had a question come in from a real estate agent about H.R. 2454 and how it requires a home seller to get their home up to the latest energy and water regulations before it can be sold. It seems that this information has been circulating the internet and e-mail lists for a couple of years now, and we wanted to set the record straight.

H.R. 2454 DOES NOT mandate the retrofiting of older homes to the latest energy or water standards. The Bill, which has not yet passed both houses yet, does have language about providing incentives to homeowners who choose to make these repairs.

See this Snopes.com page to learn more about this Bill and what it really says.


The second part of the question asked of us was whether or not we had HERS raters in the Columbia area that could help homeowners make these repairs. The answer is YES.

It is the suggestion of the HBA Green Building Council that, if a homeowner wishes to reduce their energy bill through home repairs or remodeling, they contact one of these professionals to find the best and most cost effective ways of doing so. Taking a "shotgun approach" to fixing these problems my result in spending remodeling dollars on the wrong items and not reducing energy costs whatsoever. A simple home energy audit performed by SCE&G (or other power company/co-op) or using an independant HERS rater can pinpoint the exact cause(s) of energy leakage in a particular home thus making repairs more effective in reducing energy loss.

Learn more at www.columbiagreenbuilders.com or contact us to find a HERS rater in our area.

SCE&G 2012 ENERGY STAR® New Homes Program

SCE&G has announced its 2012 ENERGY STAR New Homes Program. SCE&G will be offering financial, marketing, and training incentives to participating home builders that construct ENERGY STAR qualified homes in its electric service area.

If you are interested in learning more about this program, a Program Information meeting will be held on Wednesday, November 16 from 9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. at the SCE&G Lake Murray Training Center. Please e-mail Brad McCoy at BMccoy@icfi.com by Nov. 11 to secure seating for this session.

The Actual Value of Green Retrofits and Remodels

This article was submitted by GBCGC member David Watkins. The article is by By Steve Hargreaves, staff writer for Yahoo! Finance, on Thursday February 4, 2010, 12:39 pm EST

This is a problem that the green-home movement faces on the whole... despite being the right thing to do for personal and environmental reasons, spending money to make a home more energy efficient does not make financial sense in the short-term. Home appraisals and the value they assign to energy-efficiency (or lack thereof) is the main offender.

Click here to read this article

When a home energy audit pays - Jan. 7, 2010

When a home energy audit pays - Jan. 7, 2010


This article appeared on CNN Money on January 7, 2010. Green Building Council Member Larry Newton forwarded it to our attention. Larry is an instructor of the Building Performance Institute (BPI) classes offered locally at Midlands Technical College. For more information on this story and BPI certification, please contact Larry Newton by e-mail at lnewton@sc.rr.com.


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Set it to 78 degrees?? I think not!

I was reading the "10 Energy Efficency Tips" on our power company's website untill I got to number two:

"The best setting for your thermostat is 78. Each degree lower than that can significantly increase your cooling costs, especially in older homes with less thermal efficiency."

Had to stop right there. Geez what's wrong with this country anyway? Set my thermostat to 78 degrees? Why even have one? I don't know about you guys but if I set my thermostat to 78 degrees it would last until my wife got home then I'd be DEAD! This is Columbia not Texas! We don't have anything that even resembles dry heat. We've got the wet sticky kind...

They need to switch that tip to "crawl up in your attic and have a look at your ductwork, better yet have it tested." Do you know that 80% of homes have leaky ductwork? If it's over 10 years old it's not even sealed with mastic, just some old duct tape. Go feel around the joints and see if you can feel some leaks. I did. Man was that a surprise. Get some sealing mastic and get after it. Or you can call someone at the green council to test it, and fix it for you. Probably lots cheaper than all that money you're spending on your power bill.

That's the cool thing about green. You can build a new green home if you want, or you can green up the one you have. Energy isn't free anymore. It's not even cheap anymore. That said, there's no reason someone should suffer just to be able to pay the power bill. It's such a great feeling to realize that it's not me and my family wasting all that power, it's the house! And guess what guys, the house can be fixed!

- Submitted by Mark Bostic of Square One Design Service - www.squareoneplans.com

Think green for comfort, ecology and savings

Identify the areas in your home that are the major causes of energy loss and expense such as:

- Insulation defects – Missing, wet or insufficient insulation levels.

- Air infiltration – Exterior points that allow outside air to displace effectiveness.

- Exterior doors and windows – Insulation performance and seal effectiveness.

- HVAC duct leakage – Supply and return air leakage to and from the outside can reduce your systems performance and increase energy cost due to lost conditioned air that never enters your home.

Whether you are building, renovating, or considering a home purchase, investing in an energy audit allows you to make an informed decision that can not only save you money, but enhance the value and comfort of your home.

Utilizing state of the art equipment, we analyze the condition of the insulation in the exterior walls, attic and crawlspace of your home. In addition a air tightness test is performed on your home that produces the same effects that external winds generate. All tests are non destructive, do not require special preparations and can be performed with occupants in the home.

Combining the data from thermal imaging with the air tightness test, we generate a full report detailing the type and location of energy leaks. Documentation of this information about the home can make a significant impact in your negotiations, renovation plans or energy conservation plan.

Best of all, "An informed decision is one that you never regret."

- Submitted by Joseph Gilmore of Gilmore Consulting Services, LLC