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Why qualify your new home? As a homebuyer or builder, green building programs offer educational opportunities, marketing and resale value and the peace of mind of third-party inspections. Is there a specific attribute - such as indoor air quality, comfort, energy or water savings- that is most important to you? The green building qualification process offers guidelines and education to help you achieve those goals. Based on local and national market analysis, qualified green homes hold their value better, making purchasing a green home a sound investment. Additionally, investing in energy and water efficiency has a very solid return on investment as energy prices rise on average by 6.33% annually. Homes that are third-party verified through any of the programs listed below meet green construction standards and should result in energy efficiency, healthier indoor air, reduced maintenance and lower operating costs. The most important aspect of any green building program, however, is that it is third-party verified. Each home is inspected and tested to make sure the requirements are met. Review the information below, and then contact us to find out how to get started building your investment!
NC HealthyBuilt Homes
Who: A collaboration between the N.C. State Energy Office and the N.C. Solar Center, the NC HBH of Western NC is locally administered by the WNC Green Building Council. Homes are inspected by locally vetted third-party green raters.
What: A statewide green-building program with standards incorporating the NC Building Code. The NC HealthyBuilt Homes Program provides a certificate for homes meeting "green home guidelines" built by residential builders and developers who practice sustainable, high performance building strategies, making the home a comfortable, healthy and affordable place to live. Every HealthyBuilt home is also required to be qualified as an ENERGY STAR home, but the program goes above and beyond energy efficiency. NC HealthyBuilt homes start with a menu of items, divided into seven sections: Site; Water; Building envelope; Comfort systems; Appliances, Lighting and Renewables; Indoor air quality; and Materials. Each home must attain a certain number of points in each section to qualify. In this way, builders are required to approach and improve all aspects using environmentally friendly construction. The more points accrued, the higher the level achieved: certified, silver, gold or platinum. These homes are inspected to ensure that each goal is actually achieved.
How: Contact the WNCGBC to review your checklist and register the home, then work with a locally approved green rater to inspect the home.
Special features: The program is locally administered and is geared to address the local climate, terrain and needs of the WNC area.
Incentives: Rebates for permit fees Ñ$100 from the City of Asheville and $500 in the town of Black Mountain
More info : NC HealthyBuilt Homes of WNC
LEED for Homes
Who: The U.S. Green Building Council, provided locally by the WNC Green Building Council. Homes are inspected by nationally certified green raters.
What: A national, voluntary rating system promoting the design and construction of high performance green homes. Each home is inspected and performance tested by a third party certified green rater. ENERGY STAR performance is a baseline, with minimum requirements for all aspects of green construction similar to those described in NC HealthyBuilt Homes. There are more prerequisites than for HealthyBuilt, but there aren't as many minimum point requirements per section. The more points accrued, the higher the level achieved: certified, silver, gold or platinum.
How:Contact the WNC Green Building Council for a list of approved LEED for Homes Green Raters and Providers in your area and then register the home with the U.S. Green Building Council.
Special features: A national program with market recognition of the LEED brand. LEED aims to involve the top 25 percent of the nation's builders.
Incentives: Rebates for permit fees Ñ$100 from the City of Asheville and $500 in the town of Black Mountain
More info: LEED for Homes
National Green Building Certification Program
Who: National Association of Home Builders and NAHB Green Verifiers
What: A national program facilitated by the National Association of Home Builders in collaboration with the International Code Council that ensures a code-enforceable standard for green building. The program contains six sections with many mandatory items and is a point system similar to NC HealthyBuilt and LEED for Homes. In order to achieve higher levels (bronze, silver, gold and emerald), the home has to reach higher levels of efficiency. ENERGY STAR is only a requirement at higher levels. Larger houses also require more points.
How : Visit the NAHB Website, review the checklist, and contact a NAHB verifier for inspections.
Special features: American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-approved standard, code driven for ease of local implementation and aims to reach the mainstream
Incentives: None at this time
More info: NAHB Green
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