Ratings Proliferate For 'Green' Builders

What makes a "green" home green? It depends on who is using the word. In the next several months, three nationwide certifications for environmentally friendly homes will be available to builders. But buyers may be confused by the array of standards.

This week, the U.S. Green Building Council -- a nonprofit that rates commercial buildings on things like energy use and indoor-air quality -- introduced similar rating systems for people's homes. Builders can score points for things like solar panels and energy-efficient appliances, and earn ratings such as silver, gold or platinum for environmental-friendliness.

The National Association of Homebuilders, a trade group whose members build about 80% of the country's new homes each year, say the Green Building Council's criteria for a "green" label are too impractical and costly. They are developing their own standards, which they say are flexible depending on the region and include easier-to-achieve certification in order to appeal to first-time buyers. A new draft will be available for public comment next month, and the standards should be finalized by February.

Yet another eco-friendly certification is available through the federal government's Energy Star program. Started in 1995, the program focuses on certifying homes that meet a standard on energy use. The current yardstick is at least 15% more efficient than homes built to the 2004 residential code. Homes that meet the standard usually have features such as extra insulation and energy-efficient appliances, and must be verified through independent home energy raters. States and local building associations, too, may have their own green building programs or guidelines.

The rush to focus on green homebuilding comes as the residential real-estate market continues to struggle. Builders are eager to jump on the green marketing bandwagon as a way to differentiate their products. New-home sales were a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000 units in September, up 4.8% from the previous month but down 23% from a year earlier, according to data from the National Association of Homebuilders.

Some builders say many of today's consumers would rather pay extra for luxuries such as granite countertops than for "green" features. But they believe that demand will grow in the future for green homes as energy prices stay high. The building industry also wants to develop a voluntary green standard before the federal government -- increasingly focused on energy concerns -- takes matters into its own hands. Builders recently lobbied Congress against legislation that would allow the federal government to write some energy-efficient building codes for states.


EcoManor
Low VOC paint from AFM SafeCoat Paint and Stain adorns the wall of Laura Seydel's study in EcoManor.
Environmental advocates say coaxing people to make changes to their homes that trim energy consumption is important. The residential sector accounts for about 20% of the nation's greenhouse-gas emissions, according to government figures. Buying a green home, while more costly up front, can save money down the road with lower utility bills. There are also a number of state and federal tax credits for energy-efficient upgrades; the federal government offers a $300 tax credit for installation of energy-efficient air-conditioning and heating systems, for example. Some banks even offer a discount on mortgage closing costs for new homes that meet certain energy-saving requirements.

Some builders acknowledge the various "green" labels can be confusing for consumers. Mark Fischer, a builder with Grupe Co. in Rockland, Calif., built around 70 solar-paneled homes to meet the Green Building Council's standards, through the pilot program that has been testing out the ratings. He has found, however, that potential buyers don't really understand the features, or why they should pay more for them. "With all the different green certifications out there, it kind of gets lost," says Mr. Fischer, who has lowered his prices.

A few consumers, though, do seek out a "green" home to save money on utilities and help the environment. After a fallen oak tree destroyed his Atlanta home, Rutherford Seydel decided to rebuild his home to the specifications of the Green Building Council's rating system. A lawyer with an interest in the environment, Mr. Seydel earned a high rating for his home, a "gold," by putting in things like solar panels, a geothermal heating system, low-flush toilets and low-toxin paint. He says that the rating involved extra inspections, which caught air leaks around some doors and problems with the ducts that would have been missed by the contractor.

"That extra layer of eyes is well worth it," he says.

The cost of the Green Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design -- or LEED -- is between $500 and $2,000, depending on things like how big the house is and if there's a certifier in the area. Generally the builder pays and passes costs on to the home buyer. The cost of certification for the home builders' standards hasn't been determined yet, but the association says it is aiming for it to be lower so more builders will be involved.

Both the Green Building Council and the builders association have vied to emerge with the most widely accepted "green" label for homes. The Green Building Council says its LEED rating system is "the nationally accepted benchmark" for green building. Builders earn points in categories such as water efficiency, indoor air quality and the selection of eco-friendly materials. For example, a home would get four points for a rainwater-collection system and two points for high-efficiency appliances. To achieve the highest "platinum" rating, a home needs between 90 and 128 points.

The council's vice president for policy and public affairs, Michelle Moore, disputes the notion that the council's process is too costly or impractical for builders. She says it has rigorous verification standards, with a range of third-party experts who inspect homes and test materials to guard against so-called greenwash -- where any effort that is even nominally environmentally friendly gets painted with a "green" brush.

"In any marketplace, there's inevitably going to be people who do the minimum that they can and call themselves green," she says.

Builders, meanwhile, say their verification process, which will involve training certifiers through local builders associations, is just as rigorous. They point out their National Green Building Standard is being certified by the American National Standards Institute, a national standards-making body -- and representatives from the Environmental Protection Agency and members of the Green Building Council itself helped develop it.


EcoManor
A Crestron touch panel in the kitchen monitors the geothermal, water and electricity in the house as well as the lighting, security system, weather and sound system.
Apart from the verification process, there are other differences between the two systems. The Green Building Council program is the same for homes across the country, whereas the builders' standards can be flexible from region to region. For example, the builders are developing water-efficiency requirements that are tighter in the Southwest than in the Northeast.

When building or buying a "green" home, consumers should ask what types of improvements they are paying for and how much money they will save over time. Energy-saving advocates advise that if people want energy efficient appliances, they should focus first on refrigerators, because unlike a dishwasher or clothes washer, they run all the time. Air-conditioning units, too, tend to be big energy hogs, so paying for one that's more efficient is a good investment, they say.

Both the builders' certification and that of the Green Building Council penalize larger homes, since they use more resources. For example, the Green Building Council requires more points for four-bedroom homes bigger than 2,600 square feet in order to achieve a certain rating, while the draft builders' standard allows a home to be built to 4,000 square feet before requiring more points.

The higher ratings -- such as "platinum" and "emerald" -- have some similar requirements from both the Green Building Council and the builders, yet the council says theirs are designed for builders at the leading edge of green innovation. In terms of the lower ratings, builders have pushed for a more stripped-down entry-level standard for inexpensive homes: the "bronze" standard. Instead of putting in costly energy-efficient appliances, for example, builders can earn points by protecting existing trees on a lot or using salvaged materials. The group argues that some green elements are better than none at all.

By SARA SCHAEFER MUÑOZ
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