Our offices will be closed on Monday, July 5 in observance of Independence Day. Any reports submitted after 10:00 a.m. on Friday, July 2, will not be processed until Tuesday, June 6. Have a safe and happy holiday weekend!

In case you missed the whooshing sound our NGBS Green certification counter made as it sped by 300,000 certified homes yesterday, be sure to read our news release all about it. Congrats to Crescent Communities and their NOVEL River Oaks community in Houston that helped us tip the ticker past 300K. (In honor of this momentous milestone, we’ve scheduled some awesome fireworks displays around the country this weekend – we hope you get out to enjoy one. Heck, you can even take the day off on Monday to help us celebrate!)

The concepts of health, efficient energy use, and aging in place are now passion points for many buyers. Built with indoor health in mind as well as the flexibility to age gracefully without remodeling, this month’s featured home blends the latest in modern living designs with contemporary and classic NW architectural styles. Located in the Urban Downs community of Ridgefield, Washington, the Gladstone has earned NGBS Green certification at the Emerald certification level.

Register for the tour here. A live Q&A will take place immediately after the tour.

Location: Ridgefield, Wash.

Details: 3-bedroom, 2-bathroom single-family home

Builder: Urban NW Homes

Verifier: Jacob Hooper, Swiftsure Energy Services LLC

Green Features: Urban NW Homes’ Urban Downs model home showcases sustainable building practices, smart design, and accessibility. The home earned NGBS Green certification under the 2020 version at the Emerald level. The home broke ground as the first to achieve the NGBS Green+ UNIVERSAL DESIGN badge and the first home in Washington state to earn the +WELLNESS badge. The home features many age-in-place design features, including wider doorways, curbless entries, and barrier-free showers. Low-emission products, HVAC system with MERV 13 air filters, and sound barrier insulation contributed toward earning the +WELLNESS badge. The home also earned the DOE Zero Energy Ready Home and EPA Indoor airPLUS labels.

A detailed case study of this home is coming soon! Stay tuned for more!

Fannie Mae is the largest issuer of green bonds in the world, with financing that supports energy and water-efficient single-family and multifamily housing markets. In 2020 alone, Fannie Mae issued approximately $13 billion in Multifamily Green Bonds — and they have issued nearly $88 billion since 2012. The newly-released 2020 Green Bond Impact Report summarizes the reach and impact of Fannie Mae’s programs.

The Clean Energy for America Act introduced by Sen. Ron Wyden (D-OR) cleared the Senate Finance Committee in late May. This bill would create a system of emission-based incentives to spur growth in clean power, clean transportation, and energy efficiency. Among the bill’s highlights are tax credits for energy storage, EV charging infrastructure, and renewable energy for low-income communities. We will continue to update NGBS Green Partners as this bill moves forward.

A new report from Earth Advantage and the Rocky Mountain Institute proposes practical solutions for originating and securitizing single-family green mortgage products to create a new $2+ trillion market within a decade. The report includes a framework and qualification criteria for government-sponsored enterprises, methods for scaling single-family green mortgages, and opportunities for regulators and policymakers to support these goals.

Effective July 1, 2021 homes seeking NGBS Green Certification in the City of Ketchum, ID will have to pre-pay the full certification fee on registration to be processed. Registrations without the certification fee will be immediately rejected.

For previously registered projects where we have not yet received the rough report, the certification fee must be paid before we review and accept the rough verification report. Please convey these processing changes to your builder clients and direct any questions to Michelle.

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.

Louisiana: Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) is hosting a virtual QAP Public Forum on July 1 at 10AM CDT (click here to register). LHC will also host an in-person QAP Public Forum 2415 Quail Drive, Baton Rouge, LA on July 8 at 10AM CDT. These forums offer an opportunity to provide feedback on Louisiana’s Draft 2022 QAP. Written comments are accepted via email to qapcomments@lhc.la.gov through July 8th. The Draft 2022 QAP requires that newly-constructed buildings comply with the NGBS, EarthCraft, Enterprise Green Communities, or LEED. NGBS Green Partners are encouraged to submit letters of support.

New York: New York Homes and Community Renewal published new 9% and 4% QAPs. No changes appear to have been made to their Sustainability Standards, which recognize the NGBS alongside other energy efficiency and green building programs.

Washington: the Washington State Housing Finance Commission approved 2021 9% Competitive Housing Tax Credit Policies. This document recognizes their Evergreen Sustainable Development Standard.

For more information on the latest QAP advocacy efforts, see Cindy’s blog.

Have you recently checked the catalog of NGBS Green Certified products? A wide variety of products, ranging from building materials to energy management systems and high-efficiency toilets, are pre-approved as meeting NGBS mandatory requirements and/or optional practices. Where certified products contribute toward one or more NGBS Green+ badges, those details are shown on our online listings.

When an NGBS Green Certified product is installed, the NGBS Green Verifier is not required to collect and review compliance documentation. He/she can simply identify on the verification report that a certified product was installed and conduct visual inspection to confirm that the appropriate product was installed on-site. This presents a big advantage in terms of time and effort required by the project team and verifier.

Rise was started with a simple premise - how can the average homeowner have a home that is sustainable in every way? 5 years and close to 6 million unique visitors later, Rise is celebrating the launch of a store where carefully vetted, sustainably focused products are available for sale to the millions of users that comprise the Rise community: https://shop.buildwithrise.com/

From inspiration to education and now all the way to purchase, Rise has become North America's number one destination for purchasing products that benefit your Health, Your Wealth, and the Planet.

NGBS Green certification is one of several filtering options for products within the store. This will provide added visibility of the NGBS Green Certified label and an enhanced profile for certified products available within the Rise store.

If you’re interested in having your products available on the store, learn more here.

For builders and remodelers, there will be contractor pricing as well as custom ordering making Rise your one-stop shop.

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.

PatriotBead plywood is perfect for all plywood beadboard applications, including paneling, wainscoting, millwork, ceilings, cabinetry, and crafts. PatriotBead is certified as a biobased product (606.1(1-2)).

In early June, Home Innovation’s Cindy Wasser presented a webinar for members of the National Fenestration Rating Council (NFRC) that included an overview of the 2020 NGBS and the specific practices that apply to window and door products. View a recording here.

As some of our latest Verifier blog takeover-ers, Abe and Sara discuss their tips for hiring and working with an accredited verifier.

NGBS Green MASTER verifier Drew Smith talks about some of the unique challenges and opportunities that he and the project team for the 2021 TNAR experienced. If you like hearing about the project from Drew, we also wrote an in-depth case study on the 2021 TNAR.

Recently, we’ve been posting more and more case studies on some unique and exemplary NGBS Green Certified projects. If you haven’t had a chance to check them out yet, be sure to go to our Resources page – there are several there already and we’re adding more each week. 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:

As of January 6, 2020, the 2020 edition of the ICC -700 National Green Building Standard (NGBS) was approved by ANSI. Because it is under continuous maintenance, proposed changes can be submitted at any time using the online form.

As NGBS Green certification agency, the NGBS Green team frequently sets program policies, provides technical assistance, specifies verification instructions, and offers compliance clarifications.

Infrequently, a practice or section of the NGBS may be unclear where two reasonable people could come to different conclusions regarding compliance. In these cases, there is a process outlined in the VRG and BRG for an NGBS Green interpretation. These are approved by Home Innovation Research Labs’ NGBS Appeals Board through a hearing process. These interpretations are specific to the NGBS Green certification program. A library of interpretations is available in the Resources section on the NGBS Green website.

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.

See the full position listing on our website.

Home Innovation Research Labs, an accredited third-party test lab, is looking for a motivated Engineer who wants to be on the leading edge of building product testing and certification.

Home Innovation Research Labs is seeking a well-organized self-starter to work in our materials and structures lab. This is a technical hands-on position that requires physical labor to set-up and perform tests on a variety of building products and components.

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. And, if you or a client are interested in scheduling virtual (or, eventually, live) training on the 2020 NGBS, contact us – we have an AIA and ICC-approved program that we’d be happy to deliver.

Join these upcoming events: