Our offices will be closed for Christmas Day, Friday, December 25, and New Year’s Day, Friday, January 1, 2021. Any verification packets received after noon on Wednesday, December 23, will not be processed until the week of January 4, 2021, due to green staff holiday vacations. We hope all our NGBS Green program partners have a very safe and happy holiday season.

This year, NAHB is presenting IBSx - a virtual experience that will bring the industry together, online. This is still the must-attend industry event of the year. And, with the "geography-busting" benefit of a virtual trade show, it may be an even better data-gathering environment than ever before.

Home Innovation Research Labs is the official market research provider of IBSx. We will be conducting marketing research of all types – focus groups, dyads, triads, one-on-one IDIs, and/or recruiting for your internal research initiatives – among 2021 IBS attendees. If you are interested in insights and feedback from this key group of industry professionals, just tell us the information you want, the type of pros you want to hear from, and we'll help you design the best plan to achieve your research objectives. Trust our decades of expertise to help you analyze the findings, draw implications, and make actionable recommendations for your business.

IBS provides a great opportunity to do research among construction pros that are typically difficult to obtain and expensive to interview. Get in touch with Home Innovation’s Market Research team today to start planning your IBSx research path.

If you know an NGBS Green Partner that deserves recognition, let us know! Architects, builders, developers, verifiers, government officials, lending officers – all are eligible to be recognized for promoting green sustainable design and construction. Email Michelle with the following information:

And don’t be shy – feel free to nominate yourself or your company. We will announce the Partners of Excellence sometime in early 2021.

The following states have or will revise their Qualified Allocation Plans (QAP) for the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit Program (LIHTC). The summaries included indicate if NGBS Green certification is incentivized and provide information on how to submit comments or stay informed. If you know of current QAP activity in your state or locale that is not listed here or included in our online QAP Round-Up, please contact us.

ALABAMA: the 2021 Alabama QAP is now Governor-approved. The QAP does not recognize any green building programs, but awards up to 8 points for specific energy and water conserving features.

CALIFORNIA: the California Tax Credit Allocation Committee (CTCAC) has adopted their final 2020 Regulations. Last month, proposed regulations were released with the green building and energy efficiency criteria removed entirely, and we encouraged NGBS Green Partners to submit comments urging CTCAC to reconsider. We are SO PLEASED to see that the agency brought back their Sustainable Building Methods criteria, and points are available for NGBS, Enterprise Green Communities, Green Point Rated, Living Building Challenge, Passive House, PHIUS, and WELL certifications. Other points are available for renewable energy and existing building improvements.

DELAWARE: the Delaware State Housing Authority has released a draft 2021-2022 QAP. Two points are available for new construction projects certified to Passive House or DOE ZERH and rehabilitation projects with a HERS rating of 75 or less. Three points are available for NGBS, Enterprise, and LEED certifications. In addition, 3 points are available for improved resiliency, with selected practices derived from NGBS, Enterprise Green Communities, and LEED. See Energy Conservation Measures Certification for more details.

GEORGIA: the final 2021 Georgia QAP has been published and is awaiting Governor approval. All properties must be certified to the NGBS, EarthCraft, Enterprise Green Communities, or LEED. Projects must also comply with the Georgia Energy Code and measure duct and building envelope leakage.

MICHIGAN: the 2021 Michigan QAP is now Governor-approved. All projects are required to be in compliance with Michigan State Housing Development Authority (MSHDA) Affordable Green standards, the NGBS, Enterprise Green Communities, or LEED. See the MSHDA Green Policy for more details.

WISCONSIN: the 2021-2022 Wisconsin QAP is now Governor-approved. The QAP awards up to 20 points for energy efficiency and sustainability, but specifics are not yet available.

In each issue of Insider Update, Home Innovation profiles products that can help builders achieve points toward NGBS Green Certification. To browse all NGBS Green Certified products, visit the online directory.

Corzan and Corzan HP Piping systems are made from a non-corrosive durable chlorinated polyvinyl chloride (CPVC) technology that makes them chemically inert to most mineral acids, bases and salts. The piping systems are pre-approved for off-site recycling (605.3), manufacturer’s environmental management (610.1), and product LCA (610.1.2.1).

The Maryland Energy Administration (MEA) recently announced the FY21 Resilient Maryland program, which is aimed at driving growth in the adoption of microgrid and other distributed energy resource (“DER”) systems that provide clean, efficient, reliable energy to key entities across the State of Maryland. The program provides funds for completion of the planning and design of DER systems, and is offered to all types of entities across the State of Maryland seeking clean, efficient, resilient energy solutions, including multifamily housing communities (e.g. senior housing, advanced care facilities, vulnerable populations, etc.).

Funding applications are accepted until 11:50PM EST on Friday, January 29, 2021. To learn more and apply, visit https://energy.maryland.gov/business/pages/ResilientMaryland.aspx

We’ve recently started highlighting and posting more case studies on NGBS Green Certified projects – check out the latest additions below. Have a project that you think would make a great NGBS Green case study? Contact Michelle.

View official 2020 NGBS interpretations on our website, including recent releases on commercial spaces, renovation projects with historic renovation, and ventilation standards.

We often hear speculation that because NGBS Green is the most widely used green building certification for residentially-used buildings, it must be the easiest and least rigorous to attain. In her blog, Michelle explains why NGBS Green is the leading green certification program – spoiler alert: it has nothing to do with being less rigorous. In fact, NGBS compliance may be the most difficult of all the green building certification programs when measuring the expected performance of the buildings being certified.

Over the next few months, Home Innovation Research Labs will deploy a new online portal built upon Pivotal’s AXIS platform that will enable accredited NGBS Green Verifiers and builders participating in the NGBS Green program to register, track the progress of, and complete documentation related to their NGBS Green certification projects. Bob Burns, President & CEO of Pivotal Energy Solutions, describes the major updates and benefits to NGBS Green Partners in this blog.

Our “Voice of the Verifier” series features green building tips from experienced NGBS Green Verifiers. In the first two blogs in this series, we hear from Amy Otley of US-EcoLogic, and Phil LaRocque of LaRocque Business Management Services.

While the markets for new homes and building materials roil with unpredictability, there are some things in the new home construction industry that are a little more stable—such as the types of building lots available. “They’re not making any more land,” the old adage goes, and land for new residential developments is universally reported to be in extremely short supply. Read Ed’s blog to learn more.

Take advantage of all the latest and greatest NGBS Green sales, marketing, and educational resources:

Home Innovation Research Labs is looking for an inspired building scientist/building construction engineer to join our research team responsible for programmatic efforts in the fields of energy efficiency, energy modeling, technology innovation, and green building in residential construction.

See the full position listing on our website.

Home Innovation Research Labs is seeking a recent engineering graduate to join our Building Science Division. This person will be responsible for project work in the areas of energy efficiency, disaster resistance, cost evaluation, technology innovation, and green building in residential construction. For more information.

See the full position listing on our website.

Take a 1 minute survey and let us know what you think of our delivery of NGBS Green certification and our customer service.

As we strive to keep up with events of interest around the country, we welcome your input. If you know of a program that may be of interest to our NGBS Green program partners, please let us know.