Plan Ahead! Limited Certification Processing Thanksgiving Week | |
Home Innovation's offices will be closed Thursday, November 23RD for Thanksgiving.
Any submissions after COB on Tuesday (Nov 21ST) will not be processed until Monday (Nov 27TH).
We have been experiencing an unprecedented number of report submissions, both rough and final. The Green Team is doing our best to review them in a timely manner. The work travel, holidays, and PTO through the end of the year may slow certification processing. Please plan accordingly.
As always, our goal is to review final verification reports within one week of submission. If you have a building that is on a particularly short time-frame and/or has a hard deadline for certification (i.e. because the certificate is needed for closing or a C of O), please ask your Verifier to provide advance notice so that we can manage the processing appropriately.
Before the final verification report is submitted by your Verifier, please check AXIS to ensure the client agreement is complete and the certification fee is paid in advance of the report submission. This will greatly help ensure a streamlined certificate processing and no unnecessary delays.
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Nov 14: NGBS Office Hours | 2-3pm (Eastern) | Virtual | Open forum
Nov 15-17: RESNET Conference | San Diego, CA
Let's connect! Contact Katie or Bob Burns (AXIS team) to schedule a time to meet
Nov 23: Home Innovation Research Labs CLOSED for Thanksgiving
Nov 28: NGBS Office Hours | 2-3pm (Eastern) | Virtual | Open forum
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Sustainable Building Engineer
Home Innovation Research Labs is seeking someone to support their NGBS Green certification program based on the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard (NGBS). Areas of responsibility will include - but are not limited to - providing technical assistance to clients related to building code and NGBS compliance, conducting analytical and experimental research in building science and high-performance technologies in residential construction, developing technical and programmatic certification resources for clients, reviewing construction documents to evaluate building compliance with the NGBS, performing building audits of third-party green building professionals, and more. See full listing here.
NGBS Green Building Associate
Home Innovation Research Labs is seeking someone to support their NGBS Green certification program based on the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard (NGBS). NGBS Green is the leading green building certification for the places we live. This role is focused on supporting the NGBS Green certification program and helping drive new green products and services to the residential building industry. See full listing here.
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Thanks, Campers! 2023 NGBS Green Verifier Retreat | |
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In mid-October, Home Innovation hosted our 11th annual Verifier Retreat. We welcomed over 35 campers (NGBS Green Verifiers) to our research campus for "Camp NGBS Green." Over the 3-day meeting, we gained valuable feedback and insight to guide changes to the NGBS Green program and discussed market and technology changes, including build-to-rent development, office-to-residential conversions, decarbonization, and more. Stay tuned for further updates on program changes and improvements suggested at the retreat. We LOVE this opportunity to engage with our in-field agents.
Thank you, Verifiers!
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NOW ACCEPTING NOMINATIONS!
2023 NGBS Green Partners of Excellence
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Each year, we recognize builders, developers, architects, Verifiers, and industry partners that use and/or advocate for advancing green building in their by communities through their commitment to voluntary, market-driven, third-party certification of high-performance homes.
We celebrate our diverse and prolific NGBS Green Partners who are designing, building, and verifying every type of housing imaginable: single-family homes to high-rise apartments; affordable LIHTC projects to luxury homes; student housing to assisted living facilities; and everything in between. Our partners push the envelope of what is possible, with net zero energy and water construction, resilient construction, and special features designed to enhance resident health and well-being. Each home certified is a step toward a more sustainable future.
Award determinations are based on certification volume, leadership and advocacy efforts, and nominations.
Click here to nominate yourself or a client/partner as a 2023 NGBS Green Partner of Excellence.
See 2022 NGBS Green Partners of Excellence.
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See the full directory of all NGBS Green PROs featured on our website. | |
Shout out to our latest NGBS Green PROs! | |
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Challenge Yourself!
Earn your NGBS Green PRO professional designation to validate your expertise in green design, construction, and building certification.
Bringing NGBS Green PRO to the Classroom
This fall, we partnered with an instructor at Texas A&M University's School of Architecture to deliver the NGBS Green PRO course to nearly 45 students. Professor Randy Birdwell, Home Building Industry Director, will present the 4 four learning modules and proctor each module's test during live in-person classes. At the end of the semester, each student with passing a grade will earn the NGBS Green PRO designation.
We have established a streamlined and productive process for University instructors to track student activity via our learning management system.
To learn more or offer NGBS Green PRO to a class or organization that you're involved with, contact Joanne.
Are you a student interested in green building?
Register with your ".edu" email address and use the discount code NGBSStudentEDU to reduce the training fee to $100.
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HUD Green & Resilient Retrofit Program (GRRP) Leading Edge - Required Experience by Development Team | |
The HUD GRRP Program provides direct loans and grants to fund projects that improve building efficiency or address climate resilience of eligible HUD-assisted multifamily properties.
The Leading Edge cohort provides funding to owners with ambitious plans involving carbon reduction, renewable energy generation, and resilience goals. This funding tier requires that a high level of energy efficiency or green building certification, such as NGBS Green Gold or Emerald with +NET ZERO ENERGY, be achieved. Applications must demonstrate that the development team has the appropriate credentials to guide the project's work.
Q: The Leading Edge Application requires that the Owner/Developer/Consultant/GC has achieved certification from any of the certifying organizations in the last 10 years. Does the achieved certification need to be at the required program tier/level planned to be pursued with the HUD GRRP Leading Edge funds?
A: The green capacity requirement is two-pronged. The architect (or member of the architectural team) must have achieved any of the Leading Edge-qualifying certifications at the listed level/tier but not including additional badges (i.e. for NGBS Green, they MUST have certified a project to NGBS Green Gold or Emerald, regardless of whether or not they have certified projects with +NET ZERO ENERGY or +RESILIENCE). Separately, at least one of the owner, developer, consultant, and general contractor needs to have achieved any certification from the organizations represented in the Leading Edge-qualifying certification list, regardless of level/tier.
To build out your team for HUD GRRP application, see the list of NGBS Green Verifiers with Existing Building experience and Architect Firms that have worked on NGBS Green Certification projects.
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Updated Davis-Bacon and Related Regulations | |
Effective October 23, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) implemented is first comprehensive regulatory review and update to Davis-Bacon and Related Acts in nearly 40 years.
Key updates include:
- Updated definition of "prevailing wages" to ensure that prevailing wages reflect actual wages paid to workers in the local community and increasing prevailing wage rates to keep up with actual wages, meaning that workers will receive higher wages over time
- Regulatory changes that codify the DOL's current practices and interpretations of existing regulations
- Expanded authority for state and local wage determinations
- Supplemental rates for key job classifications when no survey data exists
- Strengthened work protections and enforcement
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The federal Low Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) program requires each state agency that allocates tax credits, generally called a housing finance agency, to have a Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP). The QAP sets out the state's eligibility priorities and criteria for awarding federal tax credits to housing properties.
We have no new QAP action to report this month, but if you are aware of any current QAP activity not currently listed in our QAP Round-Up, please Contact Us.
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Product Spotlight: InSinkErator Food Waste Disposers | |
Food waste disposers provide convenience and hygiene in the kitchen, and they also offer an environmentally responsible and economically viable option for diverting food waste from landfills. Instead of going to landfill, food waste can yield valuable biogas and other vital soil nutrients which can be recovered at the wastewater treatment plant. InSinkErator food waste disposers earn 1 point under 607.2 Food Waste Disposers.
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Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs): Everything You Need to Know
Switching to green power or renewable energy is one of the best ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impact. When on-site renewable energy generation is not possible, the purchase of a Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) is a good alternative. Read Pranav's blog to learn more about RECs, key purchasing considerations, and their contribution toward NGBS Green Certification.
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Get Started with NGBS Green How-to... | Contact us to schedule a FREE 15-minute consultation with a member of our Green Team to get started. | |
Know of a program that may be of interest to our NGBS Green partners? Let us know. | |
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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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As an NGBS Green Certification Program participant, you received this email to notify you of important program and service updates, as well as relevant industry news and happenings. Home Innovation Research Labs will send email notifications periodically; we encourage recipients to add this email address (InsiderUpdate-noreply@HomeInnovation.com) to your approved senders list. You may unsubscribe from this notification service at any time using the link below, though please be aware that this will be the primary channel for conveying certification program changes, news, and updates to participants, and opting out of this notification service may result in missing critical developments and changes. Home Innovation Research Labs authorizes use of information contained within this email only by those participating in our NGBS Green Certification Program.
NGBS Green Certification is administered by Home Innovation Research Labs.
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