The 2020 ICC-700 National Green Building Standard (NGBS) introduced the Water Rating Index (WRI) as a new optional path for homes to demonstrate compliance with water efficiency criteria. Like the HERS and ERI ratings, a WRI score is a value between 0 and 100 and can be used to understand the operational costs of a given property. Builders who take advantage of this new opportunity can be on the cutting edge of efficiency and will set their homes apart from other green certified homes. By obtaining a certified WRI score for their homes, builders can also position their homes to achieve additional water efficiency labels, including the NGBS Green+ ZERO WATER and WaterSense certifications.

Register here.

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.

View Cindy’s blog for a broad view of QAP green building criteria and their references to NGBS Green certification.

The New Jersey Department of Community Affairs, New Jersey Housing and Mortgage Finance Agency, New Jersey Economic Development Authority, and New Jersey Redevelopment Authority will host the 2021 Virtual Governor’s Conference on Housing and Economic Development September 29-30th.

Together with developers, non-profits, financiers, and government agencies, the conference will foster discussion about how the housing and economic development industries can recover in a post-pandemic world. Learn more and register.

Mono Slab® EZ Form is a stay-in-place EPS form that allows you to form, insulate, and back-fill all before the placement of concrete, saving time, labor, and money. Mono Slab® provides a superior forming and insulating process when compared to traditional methods. Mono Slab® EZ Form is certified under 601.8 Foundation Systems; it is a system that minimizes soil disturbance, excavation, and material usage. Welcome Mono Slab!

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.

The International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) provides an alternative compliance option for energy efficiency programs deemed to be equivalent. Alternative code compliance options are beneficial to local jurisdictions and builders alike, as they provide compliance flexibility without compromising energy efficiency performance.

Recognizing 2020 NGBS Green certification as an equivalent to the 2021 IECC would provide tangible benefits to state and local jurisdictions. At the same time, the increased compliance flexibility can help reduce builder’s compliance costs and allow them to leverage private and federal incentives for building high performance buildings.

The NGBS Green Team prepared these equivalency reports that can be used to advocate with local jurisdictions and code officials that 2020 NGBS Green certification is equivalent to the 2021 IECC. The NGBS Green Team stands ready to help you in any advocacy efforts. As always, our advocacy position is that NGBS Green certification is an alternative to code compliance, and we do not advocate for it to be an exclusive alternative. Contact us if we can be of assistance or if you want to discuss a potential advocacy strategy.

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 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:

You can also find LOTS of great resources by visiting the following pages -- #BookmarkWorthy:

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, the premier provider of marketing research services to manufacturers of construction-related products, their trade associations, and the federal government in housing technology-related studies is searching for a Construction Building Products Market Research Analyst to lead qualitative and quantitative research, conduct analysis, and report findings to our building product manufacturer clients.

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.

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