MARCH 2023

Practical information and resources for NGBS Green Certification program partners. Find out more about the program, its tools & resources, and available marketing materials online. If you were forwarded this message or do not receive Insider Update regularly and would like to, sign up online.

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NEWS

Mark Your Calendars! Save The Dates!

OFFICE HOURS

The NGBS Green Team hosts office hours from 2-3 PM ET every other Tuesday. Open forum; come ask questions or chat about issues.


The next Office Hours are scheduled for:

  • March 21st
  • April 4th
  • April 18th
  • May 2nd
  • May 16th
  • May 30th


Here is the link to join.

ATLANTIC BUILDER'S CONVENTION

March 28-30 | Atlantic City, NJ

Register now open for the Northeast's largest building industry tradeshow, the Atlantic Builders Convention (ABC), March 28-30, at Harrah's Resort in Atlantic City, NJ. ABC attracts a diverse audience of building industry professionals including developers, remodelers, consultants and more. Connect with thousands of your peers, take advantage of a dozen seminars offering continuing education credits and attend some of the year’s most exciting networking and awards programs. Attendee RegistrationExhibit SpacesDiscounted Room RatesVirtual Marketplace.

SUBMIT YOUR NOMINATIONS!

MAX+ – Maryland's Premiere Building Industry Award Program

Entries accepted until March 31st.

The prestigious Maryland Awards of Excellence (MAX+) celebrates the best and brightest in the home building and remodeling industry. This program recognizes local home builders and remodelers who provide buyers with excellence in design, livability, and value. MAX+ also includes awards for sales and marketing, merchandising, design, architecture, and associate marketing.


Learn more and submit your nominations here.

Protecting the First Side of the Home with Effective Foundation Vapor Barriers Webinar (co-hosted with Stego)

April 6th, 3:00-4:00PM

This webinar will provide an in-depth look at the cause and effects of below-slab moisture and vapor concerns in homes and considerations for incorporating effective, durable protection. With a science-based, educational approach, the presentation will provide a tailored look at the natural movement of water vapor, soil-gas (like radon) and subterranean termites into the first side of a home and the importance of taking the ground permanently out of play regardless of a home's location or foundation type. Even more, the presentation will walk through the material innovations and evolving residential industry standards and guidelines that influence the selection and installation of foundation vapor control systems. This includes new requirements for the vapor retarder beneath concrete floors in the 2021 International Residential Code (IRC). There will be a particular focus on the role that effective vapor protection has on the long-term performance of homes, including energy efficiency, human health, durability, and reduced ownership costs/impacts – and the value it offers to homebuilding professionals and their customers.


AIA CE: 1 LU/HSW Credit (Course #: RESIDENTIALVB1)


ICC CE: 0.1 CEU (Course #: 32560)


Register here.

Fannie Mae Launches 2023 Multifamily Energy and Water Survey

Fannie Mae has launched its 2023 Multifamily Energy and Water Survey, a national effort to collect and analyze whole property energy and water consumption and costs from 2022, together with property-specific characteristics, for a wide range of multifamily properties, and responses will be accepted through June 30th. The U.S. EPA will use anonymized data to update the 1-100 ENERGY STAR® Score and EPA's Water Score for Multifamily Housing, which provide transparency into how a multifamily building's energy or water consumption compares to similar multifamily buildings in the United States.


Learn more and complete the survey.

Order Your NGBS Green Polo Shirt

Get ready for spring weather with our jaunty NGBS Green polo. Our polo is short-sleeved in our distinctive green hue, NGBS Green logo, and with stay-cool wicking technology you'll stay cool on even the hottest verification jobs.


Sizing information is available here (disregard "Sleeve length"). Please note the size and cut of the shirt is different by gender which is why we ask you to specify your preference for the shirt, not the gender you identify with.


Place your order here.

NGBS Green PRO

Calling all industry professionals! Earn your NGBS Green PRO professional designation to validate your expertise in green design, construction, and building certification.

Congratulations to our latest Green PROs

Jonathan Belgrove

Design Associate

505 Design

Susan Rembusch

Interior and Sustainability Design Coordinator

Herman & Kittle Properties

Michelle Olson

Commercial Design Specialist

Energy Diagnostics, Inc.

Bill Sanderson

Principal

Team WS LLC

About Green PRO

Successfully earning the NGBS Green PRO designation demonstrates advanced understanding of the National Green Building Standard ICC-700 and the NGBS Green certification program.


Training for the designation – consisting of four self-paced modules, each with its own mastery check – is live and available 24/7 at the NGBS Green Pro Training site. Completion of a single NGBS Green PRO module earns 1LU Elective from AIA or 0.1 CEU credit from ICC; completion of the entire course earns 4LU Elective from AIA or 0.4 CEU credit from ICC.


Learn more and get started today – download the Overview document and discuss the benefits of this professional development opportunity with your supervisor and colleagues.


NGBS Green PRO Discounts Available!

Student Discount. You Asked; We Delivered

Are you a student interested in green building? Utilize our discount code to reduce the training fee to $100: NGBSStudentEDU. Register with your ".edu" email address.


NGBS Green PRO Directory

All NGBS Green PROs are now featured on our website. See the directory

POLICY

Maryland Says NGBS = 2021 IECC for Code Compliance

The State of Maryland has determined the NGBS - at the Silver certification level - is an equivalent for the 2021 IECC for code compliance. As currently written, it is unclear if the equivalency will be limited to residential buildings under four stories, but we have filed comments asking for clarification. 


This is good news for builders, Verifiers, code officials, and prospective residents. We have often heard that many builders/developers dislike the 2021 IECC for its inflexibility. NGBS Green provides an alternative compliance path that is flexible without compromising the desired energy performance level. Also, it allows projects to use NGBS Green certification for code compliance, marketing, and preferred financing eligibility.


In Maryland, the building industry initiated the request to recognize the NGBS. See our advocacy one-pager here. If you would like to explore this opportunity in your service areas, contact Michelle.

Upcoming Affordable Housing Events

Louisiana Rental Restoration and Development Program Technical Assistance Workshops

Multiple dates throughout March and April | Multiple locations

The Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC), through a partnership with the Office of Community Development, announced a $32 million Community Development Block Grant Disaster Recovery (CDBG-DR) Notice of Funding Availability (NOFA) for the Rental Restoration and Development Program (RRDP). The RRDP program supports the repair, reconstruction, or new construction of residential rental units in qualified areas impacted by Hurricanes Laura, Delta, and Ida and the May 2021 floods.


LHC will host a series of technical assistance workshops to provide a high-level overview of the program and discuss eligibility criteria with interested applicants.


Further details on eligibility and program requirements can be found at www.lhc.la.gov/RRDP. To review the RRDP NOFA, click here. For more information, contact [email protected].

2023 North Dakota Multifamily Housing Forum

April 12-13, 2023 | Bismark, ND

The Multifamily Housing Forum provides North Dakota Housing Finance Agency's (NDHFA) partners with the opportunity to discuss challenges associated with provided affordable rental housing in our rural state and learn about available solutions.


Learn more and register.

2023 Montana Housing Partnership Conference

May 15-17, 2023 | Helena, MT and Livestream

The Montana Housing Partnership is a group of housing professionals from across the state. This conference is a well-established and highly anticipated event for affordable housing organizations, housing developers, government agencies and staff, and other housing stakeholders.


Learn more and register.

QAP Watch

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

NORTH DAKOTA: The North Dakota Housing Finance Agency (NDHFA) published the draft 2024 North Dakota QAP. The QAP would award 7 points for NGBS Green, Enterprise Green Communities, or LEED certification. Home Innovation commented in support of the green building criteria and requested clarification on NDHFA’s required evidence of third-party certification.

WEST VIRGINIA: The West Virginia Housing Development Fund is conducting a public hearing for the 2023 and 2024 Allocation Plan for the LIHTC program. The hearing is being held via toll-free call on March 14, 2023 at 1:00pm EST. Written comments may also be submitted prior to the hearing. More information can be found on this public notice.

PRODUCTS

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.

Product Spotlight

G.S. Harris Company's Harristone

Lightweight, All-Masonry Precast Stone Veneer


Harristone's all-masonry precast stones offer the inherent qualities of natural rock—strength, durability, and an authentic look and feel—but without the excess weight or high price of quarried stone. As the stone does not require any on-site finishes, it is recognized as a prefinished building material that is qualified for points under 601.7.

RESOURCES

NGBS Case Study: The New American Home

Located in the luxury home community of Ascaya in Henderson, Nev., the 2023 exhibit home is the 40th edition of The New American Home (TNAH) showcase. Built and designed by Luxus Design Build/Studio g Architecture, TNAH 2023 earned Emerald-level NGBS Green, as well as the +NET ZERO ENERGY certification. It also earned the ENERGY STAR, Indoor airPLUS, DOE Zero Energy Ready Home labels.

See our Case Study here.

Quick Links to Marketing Materials & Guidance One-Pagers

Recently, we've been posting case studies on some unique and exemplary NGBS Green Certified projects. If you haven't checked them out yet, be sure to visit our Resources page – there are several there already and we're adding more each month. While on the page, be sure to check out the wide range of guidance documents, comparisons, and other helpful resources we've created for our NGBS Green Partners, including:



And you can also find LOTS of great resources by visiting the following pages – #BookmarkWorthy:


Interested in Becoming an NGBS Green PRO, Field Rep, or Accredited Verifier?

Download the latest version of the NGBS Green Verification Candidate's Handbook for training information and accreditation use and capabilities for each designation. Contact Us with any questions.

EVENTS

As we strive to keep up with events of interest around the country, we welcome your input!

Know of a program that may be of interest to our NGBS Green program partners? Let us know.


Upcoming events:

Continuing Education

If you or a client are interested in scheduling virtual or in-person training on the 2020 NGBS, contact us about scheduling a Lunch-n-Learn! We have AIA and ICC-approved programs that we'd be happy to deliver.

WE WELCOME YOUR OPINION

Share Your NGBS Green Program Feedback

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


Give Us Your AXIS Feedback

Complete a 1-minute NGBS Green AXIS Feedback Survey.

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