The Holidays are coming and Verifiers and the NGBS Green Team alike want to finish up as many certification projects as possible AND spend time with their loved ones.

2022 End of Year: Home Innovation is closed Monday, December 26th, and Monday, January 2nd. Admin processing will pause starting COB Thursday, December 22nd, to include issuing certificates. If you need something that week, get it in early. Any questions? Contact Us.

NGBS Green certification requires clients to sign an agreement and provide proof of insurance. We can accommodate the situation where the developer signs the client agreement (CA) and the GC, who holds the liability insurance, names Home Innovation Research Labs (HI) as an additional insured when the Verifier identifies the two companies (developer and GC) in the AXIS registration, EXCEPT…

…in the situation that the COI specifies that Home Innovation is listed as an additional insured as required by a written contract. This is because in the situation described above, the GC has NOT signed any contract with Home Innovation – the developer entity has signed the CA – and thus this clause would mean Home Innovation is not covered by the COI. 

In this case, there are THREE options: 

1. The insurance company removes the clause "required by a written contract" and a new COI is uploaded to AXIS,
2. The GC signs the CA instead of the developer organization, OR 
3. If the non-signing entity (GC) adds the CA signing entity (developer) as a Named Insured to their policy AND adds Home Innovation as an additional insured, we can accept the "as required by written contract" language because that provides the CA signing entity with the same rights as the entity carrying the insurance.

The simplest way is to have one entity sign the CA and provide the COI. We can accommodate lots of other situations, but they require more attention and take longer. If you have specific questions or need assistance, please contact Michelle directly.

The BRG has been updated with the additional insurance guidance. 

Buildings seeking NGBS Green certification may unintentionally miss the required pre-drywall inspection. Missing the inspection doesn't mean that the building is not compliant; but it does eliminate the opportunity for the Verifier to visually confirm compliance with green practices that get covered up, such as proper insulation installation. In these cases, the Verifier and Home Innovation must rely on a different, yet no less rigorous, means of verifying NGBS compliance.

Previously, we handled such buildings through the formal appeals process (see the NGBS Green Policies Appendix in the BRG) by convening the Appeals Board to hear the evidence from client and Verifier that a building was NGBS compliant. In all cases, Home Innovation set out detailed criteria for how the Verifier could demonstrate the building met the compliance criteria.

NOTE: Appeals fees are now PER BUILDING. While we have streamlined the process, we are NOT looking to encourage appeals.

Now that we have significant experience with what is required for the Verifier and Home Innovation to be confident of compliance, a new administrative appeals process has been released on the AXIS platform to streamline appeals for missed rough inspections. This process is no less rigorous but eliminates the need to schedule a formal call with the client and Appeals Board. The new process is detailed in the December 2022 BRG Policy Appendix (available on Builder Central).

Clients that believe a project will need an administrative appeal for a missed drywall inspection should contact their Verifier immediately.

The NGBS Green Client Agreement (CA) that is generated in AXIS and sent via email by DocuSign for completion will now display "NGBS Green Program Administrator" as the Sender, rather than "Steven Klass" from AXIS. For new NGBS Green clients, this should hopefully reduce confusion associated with the email and not recognizing it is a legitimate request to sign for the certification program.

Projects seeking NGBS Green certification to the 2012 NGBS version must be completed by December 31, 2022 (unless the Verifier has been granted an exemption). Projects that have not completed the certification process or have not requested an exemption will be removed from the database on January 1, 2023. If you have a project seeking certification to the 2012 NGBS and the final verification will be delayed after January 1, 2023, please confirm with your Verifier that they have requested – and been approved for – an extension.

Home Innovation's Market Research team will be conducting interviews and focus groups at IBS, January 30^th - February 2^nd. Join us! An honorarium is available to qualified participants. We are especially looking for architects, exterior siding contractors, home builders, energy raters, insulation contractors, roofers, framers, and remodelers. If you're interested, contact Jon Violette with your availability.

Congratulations to Darek Burns, Project Engineer at Crescent Communities, as the latest individual earning the NGBS Green PRO accreditation!

Calling all industry professionals!

Earn your NGBS Green PRO professional designation to validate your expertise in green design, construction, and building certification.

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 – Student Discount & Recruiting Opportunity

Are you a student interested in green building? Utilize our discount code for a 50% savings off the NGBS Green PRO training: NGBSStudents50.

NGBS Green PRO Directory

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

Our IRA Tax Incentive Chart is designed to provide you with a high-level summary overview of the incentives available for energy efficient buildings, renovation, and clean energy technologies. The chart can help you evaluate how you might take advantage of the new incentives for any development or renovation projects in the pipeline or in the planning stage. We encourage you to review and share widely.

Michelle's blog summarizes the key IRA incentives that we anticipate will be most impactful for NGBS Green Partners. Particularly for existing buildings, we believe the IRA makes NGBS Green certification even more appealing. Between the IRA credits and deductions, and other preferred green financing available – such as the HUD MIP – more multifamily buildings should be retrofitting with green and efficient systems and even attaining higher certification levels.

Home Innovation actively advocates for third-party certified, green, affordable housing by providing input for state Qualified Allocation Plan (QAPs). Read about our team's recent state advocacy efforts in Katie's blog.

NGBS Green Certification is widely accepted by federal, state, and local financing and regulatory agencies as either a mandatory requirement for code compliance or voluntary option for achievement of process, financial, and developmental incentives. Acceptance of third-party green certification for state and local compliance presents a win-win for both residential developers and local jurisdictions, and, as the race toward decarbonization ramps up, jurisdictions are increasingly accepting third-party green building certifications as tools to meet their aggressive climate and energy efficiency targets. Read Cindy's blog to learn more.

Financing agencies are increasingly interested in ensuring that funded buildings are designed to withstand and recover quickly from extreme weather events, such as wildfires, tornadoes, droughts, floods, and hurricanes. When incorporating resilient construction requirements into funding evaluations, financing agencies need to look no further than the green building certification programs that they may already require or incentivize for building efficiency and indoor environmental quality. Cindy's blog features Delaware State Housing Authority (DSHA) 2021-2022 Qualified Allocation Plan (QAP) for Low Income Housing Tax Credits, as it provides a great example for other state and local jurisdictions.

CertaSeal INT™ is a spray applied, fast-drying, water-based premixed acrylic latex sealant intended for air sealing penetrations and joints in residential building envelope and stud/drywall interfaces. CertaSeal is certified as a low-emission insulation material and earns 4 points under 901.11.

WaterSense Technical Evaluation – Behind the Scenes

In February 2021, the U.S. EPA recognized Home Innovation Research Labs as a Home Certifying Organization (HCO) for the WaterSense Labeled Homes Program. EPA's acceptance of Home Innovation involved intensive technical evaluation to ensure that our WaterSense Approved Certification Method (WACM), which is based on selected practices of the 2020 NGBS, was a reliable means to satisfy the EPA's water efficiency requirement. In his blog, Pranav pulls back the curtain on the WaterSense Technical Evaluation.

Understanding the Threat of Radon

November was Lung Cancer Awareness Month, and we are spotlighted radon as a leading cause of lung cancer that should be considered and tested during construction. In addition to energy and water efficiency and other green practices, NGBS Green Certified homes have protections against radon intrusion so a home buyer can have peace of mind. Read Pranav's blog to learn more.

The Gladstone Earns Recognition for Wellness and Inclusive Living

The Gladstone is an "Age in Place" home for healthy and inclusive living, incorporating a variety of universal design features that promote accessibility for homeowners and visitors. Be sure to read Pranav's blog and our case study about this exceptional home!

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:

• NGBS Green Certification Quick Start Guide

• Quick Start Guide: Your NGBS Green Portal Powered by AXIS

• NGBS Green vs. HERS

• Comparison ENERGY STAR Version 3.0 and 2015 National Green Building Standard

• 2020 NGBS Green Commercial Certification Options

• 2020 NGBS Green Certified Checklist

• Which Version is Best for You? Selecting the Best NGBS Option

• NGBS Green Compliance Guidance for Tropical Zone

• Streamlined NGBS Green Certification for Single-Family Homes

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

• NGBS Green Resources

• NGBS Advocacy

• NGBS Equivalency & Comparisons

If you know of a program that may be of interest to our NGBS Green program partners, please let us know.

Join these upcoming events:

• 2023 International Builders' Show | January 31 – February 2, 2023 | Las Vegas, NV

• 2023 Pennsylvania Housing Research Center Housing Conference | March 1-2, 2023 | State College, PA