Further, the environmental benefits for green home remodeling can be notable. Old homes are notoriously leaky, which causes conditioned air to escape and heating and cooling systems to use more energy. This is compounded by the fact that many older homes are equipped with inefficient heating and cooling systems. Older homes also more likely have inefficient faucets, toilets, appliances, and showerheads. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, a family of four can save up to 25,000 gallons of water per year by replacing older model toilets and installing high efficiency toilets that use 1.6 gallons or less per flush.

Faced with the challenge of remodeling older homes to be “greener,” many remodelers were left out of the growing number of green building programs. Even nationally recognized programs did not provide an opportunity for green remodeling projects to be certified as green … until now.

The National Green Building Standard™ provides a credible industry benchmark and scoring process for green remodeling and renovation projects. The Standard was developed through an open, consensus-based process allowing full participation of all interested stakeholders. It is also the first green building rating system to be approved by ANSI, making it the benchmark for green residential construction. The Standard recognizes a wide variety of green practices, which can be incorporated into residential development, construction, and renovation on a national scale, and encourages homeowners to operate and maintain their homes in an environmentally responsible manner.

Green Remodeling Step-By-Step

The National Green Building Standard provides in depth guidance for green remodeling and a basis for scoring green remodeling projects. Remodelers can use the online Green Scoring Tool, a free, easy-to-use software application, to streamline the process of planning and scoring a green remodeling project to the Standard. The software is designed to guide users through the green requirements step-by-step. The Green Scoring Tool includes decision support information such as How to Verify, Intent, How to Implement, and Resources. The tool is also designed to provide links, where appropriate, to Green Approved Products that have been pre-approved for specific points in the Standard.

There are two possible remodeling paths to green certification. Homes built after 1980 follow the same path to green certification as newly constructed homes. For homes built before 1980, a remodeler can choose to follow the certification process for new home construction, or the Green Remodel Path. Both paths allow certification at the Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Emerald levels for either single-family or multi-unit homes. Remodelers should fully explore both paths and evaluate which path best meets their needs from a features, performance, and cost perspective.

Green Remodel Path

The Green Remodel Path has only three required elements:

• Achieving a certain reduction in energy usage
• Achieving a certain reduction in water usage
• Complying with five mandatory indoor environmental quality practices

The reduction in energy and water consumption must range from a minimum of 20 percent for Bronze to at least 50 percent for Emerald level certification. Water and energy usage must be analyzed for the home before and after the remodel. The verification process requires an inspection to verify the indoor air quality practices and a review of the energy and water analyses. The Green Scoring Tool will walk the remodeler through the necessary requirements for this certification path.

Remodelers taking this path may make these recommendations to a home owner for meeting certification to the Standard:

• Conduct an energy audit to determine energy leaks in the house.
• Improve insulation and sealing (such as caulking and flashing) to reduce air and energy leaks.
• Install a more efficient and properly sized heating and air conditioning system while upgrading the ducts in the home (such as sealing and insulating to minimize leaks).
• Upgrade appliances with greater efficiency, such as Energy Star® products (including a refrigerator, dishwasher, and washing machine).
• Replace water fixtures with more efficient products, such as toilets, faucets, and tankless water heater.
• Use low- or no-VOC paints and varnishes.

Green Building Path

This path requires a remodeler to incorporate a number of green practices as part of the remodeling process. Each practice earns points and/or meets certain mandatory requirements toward certification. There are minimum threshold points in each of six green building categories, as well as an overall total for each certification level. There are several hundred practices to choose from, but you need only enough practices to accumulate threshold points for the desired level of green certification. The practices in this path are generally the same as the practices for new construction, but some are modified specifically for renovation with Renovation Notes in the Standard. The Renovation Notes often provide additional points. A Green Building Path renovation requires two inspections by an accredited verifier for certification. This certification path will be automated in the Green Scoring Tool in the next few months.

Remodelers taking this path may make the same recommendations as listed above to a home owner for meeting certification to the Standard, but may also have additional suggestions:

• Deconstruct instead of demolish rooms of the home to be remodeled. Collect and donate (or sell) materials from the deconstruction for reuse or recycling.
• If building an addition to the home that expands the footprint, take action to conserve the natural resources of the land being used. This may also apply to minimizing changes in slope, managing storm water, maintaining a wildlife habitat, and minimizing soil erosion.
• Insulate floors, foundations, and crawlspaces.
• Reduce total hot water pipe length.
• Create a continuous air barrier between the garage and conditioned space in the home.
• Remove carpeting and either finish underlying flooring or install non-carpet materials.
• Vent bathrooms, clothes dryers, and kitchen exhaust or range hoods to outdoors.

Third-party Verification

Visual third-party verification of the green features in every remodeling project that earns the Green Certified mark is a hallmark of the NAHB Research Center’s National Green Building Certification. Verifiers accredited by the Research Center are expected to independently confirm, through a process of document review and on-site inspections, all green certification requirements and points specified by a builder or remodeler are in place for a candidate home. No self-certifications or affidavits are allowed. This is the cornerstone of the certification’s credibility. Accredited verifiers are listed by state on the NAHBGreen website.

Cost to Remodel Green

In general, the additional costs to remodel a home to any green building rating system fall into three categories. First, there may be additional costs for the building products to comply with the green practices. These will vary widely by project; but aren’t necessarily significant. The second category of costs is for the project’s verification. Verifier fees vary by market and are negotiated between the remodeler and the verifier. Finally, to earn national recognition of the project’s green features there is a certification fee. Certification fees for National Green Building Certification were designed to be affordable to a broad range of remodeling projects. For NAHB members, the remodeling project certification fee is $200 per single-family unit, or $200 per building plus $20 per unit for multifamily projects.

The National Green Building Standard is available for purchase at Builder Books. If you have questions about National Green Building Certification, contact (877) NAHB-GRN or use the Contact Us form on www.NAHBGreen.org.  [return to top]