National Association of Home Builders and the National Green Building Program

Home builders are looking to niche segments of the population to continue in business. There are many potential niches that are at least partly viable in some markets. For instance, homes geared for foreign buyers, home geared towards single moms, retirement gated communities, low-income housing and even eco-homes with the latest and greatest energy efficiencies. All these are growing trends, but let us discuss the Eco-Homes and how the home building and residential new home construction is catering to this growing market segment.

Recently, the National Association of Home Builders launched the National Green Building Program, this program is being received very well in the new home construction community, as builders take their expertise and focus on efficient homes, green living and doing it all using the latest cost reduction strategies to stay competitive. Read this PR release from the DOE - Department of Energy, which has partnered up with the National Association of Builders:

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) has launched the NAHB National Green Building Program, an education, verification, and certification program for building green homes. The new program, launched last week, allows green builders to accrue points in seven categories: water, energy, and resource efficiency; lot and site development; indoor environmental quality; global impact; and homeowner education. The program sets point requirements in each category for the bronze, silver and gold levels. Homes are inspected and verified by local green experts, who send their documentation to the NAHB Research Center for review. If the project qualifies, the home can receive national certification from the Research Center.

All of the home's components work together to achieve a home that uses about 62% less energy for heating and cooling and 57% less energy for water heating than a similar home in the same climate. Two building teams from DOE's Building America Program worked closely with the sponsor to achieve a high level of energy efficiency for the home. NAHB also unveiled the 2008 Green Builder Orlando Vision House, which features structural insulated panels, spray foam insulation, and many other green features.

When the Online Think Tank looked at this program we did indeed, believe this to be a positive step towards green homes and green homebuilding by the National Association of Home Builders. In fact, it is wonderful to see them pushing innovation in home building. These are all issues that must be addressed, especially with the US and its growing population base. Think on this.

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