Every so often at the AIA-San Francisco Small Firms group, we debate amongst ourselves whether getting our residential projects LEED certified is worth the effort. For most of us, with one-off custom residential new homes or remodels, the answer is no – too cumbersome and expensive. If someone is just looking for “green certification” for a California home project, the GreenPoint Rated system from BuildItGreen is a lot more flexible and user-friendly. However, there are a few architects who’ve really made a big push towards LEED certification on some of their homes. So, what are they getting out of it? How do you decide whether to go for GreenPoints or LEED, and what needs to happen with LEED for the process to go smoothly?

(Home shown above is designed by Sparano + Moody Architecture, and has earned LEED Silver certification. But LEED homes don’t all have to be in the wilderness, either.)

The Questionnaire

I took a straw poll amongst our design colleagues, one of our GreenPoint Rater affiliates, and also reached out to a few people that we don’t know – architects, builders, and developers – who’ve completed LEED-certified private homes in California. The questions were, more or less:

• Was it worth the effort?
• What did YOU get out of it?
• Did it add value to the property?
• How much did the rating process itself cost?
• What other additional costs were incurred?
• What can architects, builders, and homeowners do to make the LEED process go more smoothly?

We also discussed the relative merits of LEED vs GreenPoint Rated for private homes in California, including when to go for one vs. the other.

The Respondents

Numerous people took the time to share their opinions freely. In no particular order:

• Rob Lehman of Green Score Solutions. Rob has multiple credentials as a GreenPoint Rater, a HERS rater, and LEED AP, and he’s listed on our Green Compliance Plus affiliates page.

• Rich Williams of ArtHaus, LLC, a residential development company near San Diego. ArtHaus specializes in building sustainable high-end modern homes, and their goal is for all their projects to obtain LEED certification.

• Jonathan Feldman of Feldman Architecture. We’ve known Jonathan for years through the Small Firms Committee – he’s completed or is working on six LEED Platinum and two LEED Gold custom residences. He is a strong proponent of the LEED system.

• Dan Johnson of Arkin Tilt, a well-down Berkeley firm that is in the vanguard of sustainable residential design.

• Eco-Struction, a green builder in Ben Lomond, CA near Santa Cruz.

• Ann V. Edminster, home energy/green building consultant and author of the book “Energy Free” which we reviewed a few months back. She didn’t actually comment for this article, but she’s consulted extensively on LEED projects large and small, including helping design teams set priorities, analyze financial impacts, conduct contractor briefings, and prepare LEED compliance documentation. If you’re looking for a feasibility analysis to help decide whether or not to go for LEED, she might be a good place to start.

LEED and the Building Industry

It’s not just architects who care about it. Builders, developers, homeowners, and home energy consultants all have their own perspectives. Half of the private residences listed as LEED Platinum in California seemed to be credited to developers, builders, or design/build firms rather than architects. However, the majority of the LEED Platinum certified projects were large-scale enterprises like the California Academy of Sciences, multifamily housing, or public buildings – not private residences.

Developers Can Have Ideals, Too

Developers and production builders in general have a public image that seems to view them all as solely focused on making a quick buck. If there weren’t mandatory inspections and statewide energy codes like Title 24, the argument goes, they’d cut every corner, slap the homes together as fast as they can, and get the heck out before the homes started falling over. And if there weren’t environmental protections in place, these same profits-before-people villains would pave over every national park and fill them up with cheap condominiums.

Well, it seems that there’s more variety among people calling themselves “developers” than the stereotypes would suggest. I was surprised to see that around half of the LEED Platinum Homes in California were credited to either developers or design/build firms (developers who turn out a few homes at a time). And not all developers focus on tract homes, either.

One of our own projects from Mark English Architects, the Pepper Drive residence, is a GreenPoint Rated spec home built by a developer that earned a score of 113. Photo: Norma Lopez Molina

Project Scale is a Determinant

“LEED was developed more for production builders than for one-off projects. For one-off projects, GreenPoint Rating is more user-friendly and adaptable,” says Rich Williams of ArtHaus. “However, LEED certification confers a certain amount of prestige, and it’s got more brand awareness than, say GreenPoint Rating. A LEED Platinum certification means it’s the best you can get,” he continued. “A GreenPoint score of 220 is a great score, but people don’t really know what that means yet.”

This new home from residential developer ArtHaus is LEED Platinum certified. Their goal is to have every home they do be LEED certified. Photo: Ramona d'Viola - Ilumus Photography

It’s not just scale, but scope that’s important. LEED for Homes has some prerequisites that may involve a total gut rehab – opening and inspecting every wall and ceiling cavity. So you’d better already have planned on doing a thorough job on any remodel – including a thorough review of any existing HVAC and water heating systems. At least with a home that’s new from the ground up, there are no legacy components to worry about.

Sufficient scope also implies that there is sufficient budget: not only for the measures, but for the certification fees and the extra paperwork. I wasn’t able to get anyone to commit to a dollar amount for the owner’s construction budget as some sort of threshold to determine if LEED would be worthwhile on a particular project. But, the owner and architect should be prepared for upgrades to products, materials, components, systems, and installation procedures where needed to meet requirements – including baselines for energy efficiency. It’s not always something you can tack on later, either – you can insulate now, but even if the insulation is inspected during construction while the walls are open, if it’s not inspected by a LEED certified “Green Rater” – then you may not be able to claim the credit.

Why Did You Choose LEED?

Jonathan Feldman is one residential architect who’s worked on several LEED certified homes, including the award-winning Caterpillar House, a Carmel residence. Based on my conversation with him, the benefits he sees in LEED are:

• A structured and rigorous process
• Verified materials and products
• Tested and calibrated performance
• Process that is raising public awareness

“On our first LEED project, the client came to us very committed to sustainability. She felt that it was reckless the way the building industry largely ignores the devastating impact that it has on our environment,” said Jonathan Feldman of Feldman Architecture. “We were forced to take a wider and more thorough look at different areas of sustainable design, and LEED forced us to follow through with our early project commitments, and also to keep our clients, vendors, and builders committed. We received considerable goodwill from building departments, homeowners associations, and from the press because our project was the first LEED Platinum project in the area. The owners got a house where all the materials, products, and environmental strategies were more carefully considered, specified, installed, calibrated, and tested.”

The Caterpillar House by Feldman Architecture is LEED Platinum certified. Photo: Joe Fletcher

Quality control is an emphasis shared by both GreenPoints and LEED – in fact, any green building standard has to consider both construction quality and overall durability. What’s the point in building something that’s going to be torn down in a few years? Better to build it right the first time, and make it something worth keeping around.

Feldman warned that there was a steep learning curve on his first LEED project, but feels that it’s worth it – if it leads to a much-needed sea change in the building industry. “The more architects and builders go through the process, the easier it becomes. I also think that the more architects and builders share what they learn with each other, the easier it will be for all of us. There are those who don’t want to share what they’ve learned with those whom they view as their competition. I find this amazing. If we are truly concerned with making a dent in curbing the devastating effects of the building industry, then we really should be doing everything we can to help every building project move towards greater sustainability.”

Rich Williams from ArtHaus does it out of personal conviction. “LEED for Homes is a goal that I set for myself. I build stuff that I would want to live in. And with a spec home, LEED certification is a recognition of a benchmark. The biggest take-away from my experience building LEED and GreenPoint Rated homes is that we aren’t really ‘building green’, we are really building to a much higher standard of quality. Consumers will know, because of third-party verification, that the home that they will be living in should be more durable, should require less maintenance, should cost them a lot less to operate, should be more comfortable for them to live in, and (the most important one) should be WAY healthier to live in than other homes that are not being built to these standards. As the Mastercard commercials say, that last one is ‘priceless’. You folks understand how to build a better home, but a lot of folks out there don’t, so having these rating systems in place to provide guidance for doing so is extremely valuable, in my estimation.”

The value of having a structured process with some rigor to it was emphasized by several respondents, as a benefit to both GreenPoints and LEED. LEED might be considered as the stricter of the two, because unlike GPR, the bar to initial certification is a lot higher. Even an “average” home can get a GreenPoint score of 75 without too much effort, but to be LEED certified the home must meet a much larger list of mandatory measures.

Incentives

Rob Lehman reminded me that GreenPoint Rated homes are eligible for additional incentives under California rebate programs such as the New Solar Homes Partnership and California Advanced Homes. If the home is a total gut rehab with all new systems, it may qualify for these programs as “new construction”. So if the client is already thinking about going solar, the rebates can be substantial – and they’re bigger if the home is GreenPoint Rated.

So does that mean that NSHP and CAH ignore LEED certified homes? Not at all. California Advanced Homes rewards it, at least.

• In CAH, there’s a 10% bonus for “Green Home Certification” by a “recognized green building program” and there’s a 15% bonus if the home is 10% smaller than the LEED for Homes size threshold. Yep, LEED has something called Home Size Adjuster which penalizes larger homes.

• NSHP doesn’t appear to reference any green building certifications, although it does mandate energy efficiency. Why? My guess: NSHP is solely about solar power, and reducing home energy use has a direct impact on the PV system size, whereas using low-VOC materials has no impact on the solar array. Both programs use Title 24 as a yardstick – you have to beat Title 24 by 15% or more.

How Much Does LEED for Homes Cost to Do?

How much does it cost? GreenPoint Rating fees seem to be lower than those LEED certification, although I don’t have hard data to do a good fee comparison. Here are a few price points:

• Word of mouth on the street is that it costs $15,000 to get a private residential project LEED certified.

• Rich Williams quoted a fee of $5,000 for getting a 3,000 SF home LEED certified – that’s what it’s costing him – he didn’t include construction costs, though.

• Jonathan Feldman was a bit more specific: estimated rating cost of $5,000 – $10,000 in fees, required advisors, and testers, and another $8,000 – $12,000 for construction practices, materials, research, and design time. “Less in the cases where the clients manage the process themselves,” he added.

Cost analysis can be tricky, because some of it might be things you were planning to do anyway. And with something like LEED, which references other building standards such as Energy Star and (in California) Title 24 energy compliance, assigning weighted costs to requirements can be difficult. Some costs could be incurred during the energy analysis, which is required by both GreenPoints and LEED. In California, projects must exceed Title 24 energy efficiency standards by 15% or more. And, sometimes to get this, a particular project might need upgraded windows, more insulation, higher efficiency systems, or other measures. If you weren’t planning to do these things before, then yes – they’re additional. If you’re just going for the label, that might not be a good reason by itself to go for LEED – or any green certification beyond what local building authorities may require.

“Don’t do it just for the label,” warns Jonathan Feldman. “It’s asinine to jump through that many hoops just for a label. Do the measures because you were going to do them anyway.”

Commercial projects can cost a lot more. Rob Lehman mentioned a LEED certified multifamily project in San Jose with 90 units that cost $90,000 for the LEED certification! “There aren’t that many LEED Green Raters available and they’re expensive,” he noted. I don’t know how this broke out – I’m guessing it likely included the rating, the documentation, and the additional construction costs all rolled into one. And, for a large project like that, having the entire building LEED certified could boost sales and/or rental rates, “especially in certain areas,” he noted.

Does It Add Value to the Property?

Does LEED certification add value to the home? Depending on how you define “value”, here are a few possible definitions:

• A premium that homebuyers are willing to pay, as demonstrated by home sale data
• What realtors and listing services believe are the features that people care about
• What lenders are willing to finance when doing their value assessments of a sale property
• Something that brings the homeowner long-lasting satisfaction, comfort, and enjoyment

The problem is, we don’t really know how much value green building adds to single-family residences, because home listings don’t track green certifications of any kind. So, if a home sells for more, or sells faster, how do we even know whether “green” had anything to do with it? And how can we compare the value of a GreenPoint Rated home vs. a LEED certified one vs. an unrated home that nonetheless has the same green features as a rated one? Thus, data is anecdotal at best.

It seems that the general public is a lot more savvy about Blue Book car values than they are about their own homes. To the extent that they think about it at all, they’re likely to go for spot fixes based on a one-size-fits-all rumor like “I hear that radiant barriers are cool” instead of taking a wholistic approach. A minority of homeowners are DIY energy nerds, who cheerfully experiment on their own homes and report the results, successful or not, for the sake of knowledge sharing alone.

“The MLS real estate listing service does not yet include third-party verifications for any green building programs, so it’s hard to tell exactly how much more the same home would sell for – or how quickly,” said Rich. Rich cited a Portland study claiming an 18% premium, although he personally thinks that 10% is a more reasonable assumption to make. “People want a green home, but they don’t want to pay more for it,” he added. Sometimes green homes sell more quickly, which can be a big advantage to those looking to recoup their investment.

The value of the LEED brand was discussed. A GreenPoint Rated home can have a score anywhere from around 50 to 300 points – but GreenPoint Rating is only within the State of California. LEED has better nationwide brand recognition, and its three designations – Silver, Gold, and Platinum – are simpler to understand, even if the process to achieve them isn’t.

I’d also hazard a guess that homeowners who’ve actually been through the process or who have chosen to invest in the purchase of a LEED certified or GreenPoint Rated home are likely to be happier and more satisfied with their homes than people who are just looking for something affordable. “Most people hate their homes,” was the astonishing opinion of one HVAC engineer whom I met at a Title 24 class last fall. “If they spend any money on improvements, they want it to be something they can see, like a granite countertop.” Both LEED and GreenPoints are intended to create a home that is more comfortable to live in – less drafty, less noisy, and with better indoor air quality – and I’d guess that many people assume that a high level of comfort and control is out of reach, so they just learn to live with whatever they’ve already got.

Don’t Forget: Factor In Energy Savings

Lower operating costs should be factored in to the value equation as well, particularly energy savings. Both LEED and GreenPoints mandate energy-efficient homes – and they both give points beyond the minimum of 15% over “standard” (Title 24 in the case of California). The exact amount of savings will vary by project, and of course if you invest in renewable energy as well as energy retrofitting, the savings will increase. Don’t forget to factor in sudden utility price increases, not that those ever happen… right, Gray Davis?

It could be argued that one can build energy-efficient homes without getting them LEED certified or GreenPoint Rated. However, having a committed process to enforce a level of structure and rigor throughout the project can help guide decision-making and keep the team focused on the right goals. This is one point Ann Edminster makes in her book “Energy Free” – think about why you’re doing it and what your general strategy will be upfront, and then use it as a road map later on.

The other argument – namely that LEED certified buildings aren’t really more energy-efficient – seems to be based on outmoded assumptions. After reviewing the LEED for Homes criteria that include, among other things, requirements for demonstrated overall energy-efficiency (using the HERS index or, in California, beating the Title 24 energy code by 15%), and Energy Star rating, I don’t think it’s possible to go through all that and NOT have a more efficient building. There’s a whole other set of arguments on the counter-effect of efficient buildings actually encouraging more usage – but that topic will have to wait for another day.

Isn’t LEED for Homes Too Cumbersome?

The main critique of LEED for Homes, especially compared to GreenPoint Rating, is that LEED is cumbersome and inflexible. Why would anyone bother when they could just get the project GreenPoint Rated instead? That’s the California voluntary green building standard from BuildItGreen and it’s being adopted by many jurisdictions as a local requirement anyway.

I put this question out to one of our Green Compliance Plus affiliates, Rob Lehman. Rob said “I’d take GreenPoint Rated over LEED for Homes any day” and mentioned the following items:

• GreenPoint Rating is more practical, user-friendly, and affordable. There are a few mandatory measures and the rest are items you pick a la carte. So it can be less stringent but that’s up to you, how many measures you want to include in the project. Because the barrier to entry is lower, it’s actually more of an incentive to get owners to agree to go through the process. Most California jurisdictions that require GreenPoint Rating have reasonable score requirements, at least for now.

• GreenPoint certification is faster and everything goes through the GreenPoint Rater. The LEED application has to go through review in the D.C. headquarters of US Green Building Council and that alone can take up to a year. The USGBC doesn’t respond to questions that quickly, either.

• LEED is very strict and the process is bureaucratic and inflexible. You have to first get your “scenario” approved (by the D.C. central office) and then if you change anything later on, you have to get those changes formally approved as well. Rich Williams added another piece here. “LEED updates can be hard to figure out. Some of them apply retroactively to past projects, some only to projects done in certain years. But what do you expect from an organization that’s based in Washington, D.C.?”

• The LEED mandatory measures are costly. One example that Rob Lehman cited: LEED requires Energy Star certification, which has an extremely stringent quality of insulation inspection – a lot stricter even than the HERS QII credit. It involves a lot of extra sheet rock, building of chases, and even more site visits than a HERS QII inspection.

Rich Williams actually disagreed about LEED being too cumbersome. “Achieving a basic level of LEED is not that difficult,” he said. “It’s like riding a bike – really hard the first time, but then it quickly becomes second nature.” He sees the main challenge as one of training the production builders to be aware of the standard and to follow it. Still, he says it doesn’t make sense for all projects.

One Sustainable Architect’s Viewpoint

One of the other respondents who had an unusual and dissenting viewpoint was Dan Johnson of Arkin Tilt Architects in Berkeley. They’re just finishing a LEED Platinum house in Palo Alto. Although most of their projects are not certified in any rating system, they are nonetheless quite advanced: off grid, energy independent, passive solar design, renewable energy systems, water collection, extensive attention to sustainable material selection, minimal site impact.

“We prefer to build green without doing paperwork required by a rating system.  Since our future work is based on high performing buildings and client referrals, we already have an incentive to stay at the front of green design without cheating just to make claims. To reduce our clients’ costs, I’d prefer not to spend their money on administrative overhead.  Our name is our green brand.

“I would agree that LEED-H costs the owner lots of money in administrative time, proportionally more for smaller houses. The hours spent on paperwork and calculations do not add any real physical value to the home. The owner could instead spend these thousands of dollars on energy upgrades to the home to get better ecological value for the dollar.

Dan echoed a sentiment that we’ve heard from a few other people, namely, that voluntary certifications don’t do that much to save the planet because the bulk of construction projects will build to code but not beyond. In order to make a real impact of any magnitude, it’s the building codes that have to catch up, and the role of innovation is to prove the concepts, but that’s all it can really do.

“GPR and LEED can validate the work of innovators and help them market their products, but this hasn’t improved the quality of the bulk of new construction [which is mandated by code]. In the absence of high government standards for construction, the LEED award is useful from a consumer’s perspective because it verifies quality claims. However, since LEED-H is no longer very far ahead of the code [in California at least], even the marketing value is not there anymore.

“Now that we have CALGreen, the code minimum has caught up to LEED. It seems that fully of half of the credits in LEED-H are code-minimums now that CALGreen is in effect. So the argument against the usefulness of LEED-H certification has more weight this year. Do owners want to spend money on LEED-H documentation showing that their house meets building code? The cities already provide this service through the plan check and inspection process.

“I would like to see more green compliance handled through the normal code compliance pathway administered by the government, to reduce layers of oversight. It would make sense for LEED-H and GPR to go away, now that the code has caught up, or to raise their standards, to remain relevant as a high bar for innovators. In this regard, PassivHaus and the Living Building Challenge have taken the lead as the high bar for innovators to distinguish themselves. LEED has been so successful in California that LEED is now partially redundant with the building code.

“When a city requires GPR or LEED-H certification as the worst allowable construction, can the architect really take credit for “Leadership…” anymore? In lieu of these award systems, I would like to see HERS launched as a statewide mandatory energy labeling system; new homes are scored on the HERS index during plan check and existing homes are scored at time of sale.

Well, that blew my hair back a little. Both USGBC and BuildItGreen because have been extremely successful because they set a high bar. In California, that bar gets raised up every three years, and very likely these voluntary green standards will continue to improve as well. Sustainability is a moving target, one that every person on Earth will have to wrestle with at some point – on a global, national, local, and personal level – whether we want to or not.

Do’s and Don’ts for LEED for Homes

OK, I’ve recovered sufficiently from the boldness of Dan’s words to abstract a few guidelines for residential architects who may be considering whether to get a California home project “green” certified, either through LEED or through GreenPoint Rating. These notes would still be relevant for other certification programs as well.

• DO review local jurisdictional requirements before doing anything else. Some places require GreenPoint rating based on the sized of the house; others may adopt CALGreen tiers beyond the minimum. Or, they may offer expedited plan checking for certain programs.

• DO ensure that the owner is fully committed to the ideals of sustainability, and not just the label. Why are they doing it?

• DO plan for the chosen certification early, including an ongoing assessment of the impact that the certification may have on project budget and scope of work.

• DON’T forget to factor in any incentive programs that may be available.

• DON’T forget to list the intangible, non-monetary benefits of any sustainable measures. A correctly designed, high-efficiency heating system might cost more, but you’ll be more comfortable. Maybe a lot more comfortable. Ditto using low-VOC materials.

• DO Spend a few hours with a good green building consultant. Spend some time reviewing the required and optional measures in both sets of standards, and make sure that the mandatory measures are feasible and affordable for your project before committing to the whole process. At this point, the owners may feel that they have to choose between scope of work and certification – “If I get LEED certification I won’t be able to afford to do as much as I’d wanted” – so consider carefully how your clients’ money will be spent.

• DO read the manual. Both GreenPoints and LEED for Homes have handbooks describing their requirements in detail. The entire project team should know what the requirements are, and how they will be verified.

• DO try to build up some in-house knowledge of various green building codes and standards: CALGreen, GreenPoints, and LEED. If your’e inclined more towards LEED, get a LEED AP designer on staff if you can. Same goes for BuildItGreen – try to have someone who’s a Certified Green Building Professional, and who knows the GPR system well.

• DO partner with a good green builder – someone who’s worked on LEED or GreenPoint Rated homes before, and who can handle the paperwork.

• DON’T do it just for the label. Jonathan Feldman was emphatic on this point. “Don’t do things just for the points. Do things that you were going to do anyway. You’ll have a better product in the end, better quality control and better durability.”

• DO embrace an integrated design approach. Mitchel Slade, President of Eco-Struction, had some good advice for the entire team, including owner, architect, and builder: “Be malleable. LEED for Homes certification should be one continuous process, not a set of individualized tasks.”

This home in Atherton, CA, built by Eco-Struction, earned LEED Platinum certification.

Epilogue

There’s a lot of room for differing opinion, and no doubt some readers will find some statements above to be objectionable. There simply isn’t room to do full justice to every fact and argument in one blog posting. We encourage you to comment on this article and share your own experiences. All comments are moderated, so please use a valid email address, keep your comments directly relevant to the article, and please be sure that your message is respectfully worded. ;-0

About a year ago, we published an article about an exceptional Title 24 project – an astonishing 50% over compliance – and now we present an interview with the homeowner who commissioned the design. The single-family home, designed by Klopf Architecture, is currently under construction by Matarozzi Pelsinger Builders (As an aside, we’ve done design interviews with both Klopf and Mat-Pel on our sister blog, The Architect’s Take.)

Many residential architects would like to design homes as energy-efficient as this one, but without client buy-in, it’s usually not possible to go beyond a certain point. Over and over, we have heard that client commitment to sustainable principles is THE key to building green! So, here we have a green homeowner and design client who’s willing to discuss – anonymously – why he’s doing as much as he is, and why it’s worth doing.

What is your background, education, current profession?

My educational background is in human and computer languages, among other things, plus an MBA in global business practices.  I have run companies in two countries, and am currently advising startups on product and marketing strategy. I also do volunteer work for environmental nonprofits.

My wife’s educational background is in art plus an MBA.  Her artwork has been exhibited in galleries and museums, and she is currently an art educator.  She also does volunteer work for local schools and community events.

How did you become interested in sustainable design?

I have had a lifelong interest in cleaning up the environment and reducing dependence on foreign oil, and was first moved to take action on both at a very young age: in 1973! My wife also has a strong interest in doing the right thing in these areas, and we were both deeply impressed by just how bad an environmental situation can get based on what we saw while working in China.

What did you do in 1973? I remember at that time we turned our heat way down.

In 1973 I found out that a proposed nuclear power plant was going to endanger the fish in our main river with its cooling exhaust.  I joined my middle school “Ecology Club” where I learned even more about nukes, and volunteered to set up petition tables to gather signatures outside of supermarkets.   Also that was the year of the first OPEC oil embargo. With another group I walked the long gas lines handing out pamphlets promoting alternative energy independence.  Learned about all of this stuff by myself; my parents didn’t quite know what was going on.  Of course, those were the days when parents just turned kids loose on the streets while they did their own thing.

This green design client worked on his own initiative as a middle schooler to protect local fish from the cooling exhaust of a proposed nuclear power plant.

Have you experimented with any sustainable projects or home improvements in the past? How did those turn out?

We previously renovated an Eichler home, raising the energy efficiency and overall comfort of the house as best we could, but there is a limit to what you can do without a complete tear-down.  In the process we also developed a deep appreciation for mid-century modern design and 21st century home building techniques.

Have you compared notes with friends or others with similar interests? I think having a knowledge sharing group is important to keeping the flame alive, and if you’re a real hard-core do-it-yourselfer then technical notes might be essential to completing a new project. Of course a lot of that is online now.

Lots of information sharing going on.  A couple friends are renovating on tight budgets and acting as their own general contractors, but are very interested in as much energy savings and solar tech as they can pack in there.  Another guy we know is actually a professional in a technical area of green building, and for their new home he has an architect and contractor putting up a shining example of what’s possible in both architectural and energy design.  Also many neighbors are following our project with great interest, including an electric power researcher who lives right across the street, and our example may influence plans for at least small aspects of many future projects.

I have participated in our local city’s green building ordinance focus group, I’ve had good discussions with green building advocates on the city planning commission and staff, and I’ve even tried to help educate one or two commissioners and other local leaders who don’t seem to have all the facts.  City staff have followed our progress with great interest, and even PG&E has been very supportive.

The green design client is also having the new home be GreenPoint Rated, and used the GreenPoint Checklist as a guide to adding more sustainable features during the design stage.

Apparently, after quite a bit of internal discussion about our project, PG&E decided to get out ahead of the looming challenge of upgrading the grid for electric vehicles (EVs). Instead of waiting until we purchased EVs and chargers that don’t even exist yet – which would have required all sorts of rewiring and reengineering inside and outside our house – they gathered all the information we and the EV companies could provide, and decided to future-proof our entire block by upgrading the transformer, wiring and power poles. They used our project as a benchmark for internal research and planning, and I believe our project may have contributed to PG&E’s most recent guidelines on electric vehicle interconnections for your home.

What made you decide to hire an architect and go for a custom designed home instead of just buying something already built?

We will get more value out of our custom designed home than most people.  The house will seldom be empty, so the return on investment for every energy saving measure is very clear, and the beautiful design will make it a pleasure to live there too!  We will both live and work in the house, we have young children and frequent guests, and we don’t plan to move again.  Our architects have helped us design a home that fits our lifestyle and our long-term plans, and having control of all materials in a complete new custom project allows for better health and energy results.

The same firm that designed the high-performing green home discussed in this article, Klopf Architecture, also has experience with Eichler remodels. Shown here are two of Klopf's other Eichler remodeling projects. The renderings for the green home have a similar airy, open feel.

The whole ROI discussion is a big deal, especially how it’s calculated. The bottom-liners might say that adding green features doesn’t necessarily add to the resale value of the home (as if that’s the only reason to do anything), and they don’t seem to consider long-term savings in energy bills. Without making this discussion too dry to read, I wonder if you could expand a bit more on how you figured your financial return, over what length of time, in a way that makes it seem comparable to other investments people might make over their lives.

It’s an accepted rule of thumb that a new solar PV system adds roughly $20 in value to your home for every $1 saved off your utility bill.  In our case that pencils out to about 20% more than the full cost of the system, *before* rebates and tax credits.  After those are subtracted it’s over 50%!  I know rebates and credits plug some people in, so to speak, but you can’t have it both ways: either kill all the many tax breaks, subsidies and other support for the oil and gas industry too, in which case the price of gasoline would average $10 a gallon, or give the alternative energy and electric vehicle industries a little support so we can transition the economy more gently while pursuing long-term national interests. In fact, government support for these new industries is dwarfed by what the multinational fossil fuel corporations have negotiated for themselves, it’s absolutely obscene.

Which would you rather have: an oil-dependent economy, or the ability to breathe freely?

As for energy savings from other aspects of the house, since we exceed Title 24  by 50% to 60% the return is very clear and faster than you may expect. The new house is three times the size of the old one but requires almost the same amount electricity, and will use no natural gas unless I connect it to an outdoor bar-b-que.  Yes, all this efficiency costs more, and I’ve had several people I don’t know walk up to me in front of the half-finished house and just out-and-out ask “how much per square foot?”  They don’t get the answer they expect.  I point over to a new stucco show-off McMansion around the corner and say “I guarantee you I’m spending more per square foot than that one.  But I’ll be earning it all back on my utility bill, and then some.”  And if another Enron-type power crisis or OPEC embargo comes around again, the ROI will arrive even faster. They all seemed to go away thinking hard about their priorities after that.

Many people don’t seem to value the energy upgrades that actually give them the best bang for the buck, with or without the public statement of a PV system.  (Speaking of which, we tried to hide our panels as much as possible.) Our system would not be paying for itself in about eight years if it weren’t for our commitment from the beginning of the project to a high GreenPoint rating, but in the end that makes our system a better value.

There are slew of sustainability approaches, yardsticks, and standards: GreenPoints, LEED, zero carbon, embedded energy, biodynamic agriculture, slow food, etc. More coming out all the time. What’s your personal philosophy on sustainability? What do you feel is most important and why?

GreenPoints, LEED, Title 24 etc. are important as objective third-party “yardsticks” because all of this is new and changing almost daily.  Everyone in the business is still learning, and hiring a “Certified Green Builder” is just the beginning.  There are good business reasons for these standards.

My personal philosophy on all this is based on a businesslike approach too, beginning with the realization that using language like “sustainability” simply puts many people off. To really serve as an example and make a difference in this world, a successful approach to green building must appeal to more people at all level of needs and aspirations, starting with the most fundamental personal and economic issues. Otherwise it’s just a few of us making these changes, and overall the world is still going down the tubes.

The fact that we’re getting a good financial return on investment in this project is the best way to start neighborhood and national conversations on long-term energy, environmental, economic, security and foreign policy goals.

What is most satisfying about your new home (still under construction)? Not just green, but the “home” part of it too. How’s this home helping you realize your personal dreams?

Well, at the most basic level, it will be a drastic and satisfying change to live in a home that stays warm when you heat it, stays cool when you cool it, and saves money doing both.  But intellectually the most satisfying thing for me is the idea that this house, totally independent from fossil fuels and prewired for electric vehicles, will contribute to national security, peace in the Middle East, and a cleaner healthier world for our children. Emotionally, there will be great satisfaction in a custom home designed to support deep integration of work and family life, exactly the way we live it.  And, it will just be a darn nice place to live.

Mark English Architects is proud to announce that a recently completed project of ours at 97 Pepper Drive in Los Altos has just received its official “GreenPoint Rated” certification. We spoke with GreenPoint Rater Andrew Arnold of Arnold Engineering, who performed the analysis.

“There are five categories in GreenPoint Rating: Community, Energy, Indoor Air Quality and Health, Resources, and Water Conservation. In order to qualify as a GreenPoint Rated project, a minimum amount of points must be earned in Energy, Indoor Air Quality and Health, Resources, and Water Conservation,” explained Andrew. “There are also two mandatory measures that the project must meet. The first is a 50% minimum construction debris ‘waste diversion’ (recycling or reuse) as measured by weight. The second is a 15% improvement over and above the standard Title 24 energy compliance margin.” A full set of categories and possible items are shown in the GreenPoint Checklist from BuildItGreen.

An example GreenPoint Rated certification from BuildItGreen.

The GreenPoint Checklist for 97 Pepper Drive was filled out and submitted to the Los Altos Planning Department as part of the permitting process. Items claimed for this particular project were then subsequently verified by Andrew during the course of construction.

So how did our house do? Well, it scored 113 GreenPoints out of a possible total of around 300. This maximum isn’t a fixed number, because it’s possible to petition the parent organization, BuildItGreen, to obtain recognition for innovations that aren’t part of the regular list of features in the GreenPoints system.

A section from the GreenPoint Data Collection Form for 97 Pepper Drive.

What was the breakout for those 113 GreenPoints? Andrew sent me the GreenPoint Data Collection Form that he used for 97 Pepper. “Only items that earn points are included,” he said, by way of explaining why our list was shorter than the full checklist. Each individual measure has a point total and a category associated. During the design and construction phases, the GreenPoint Rater has various options for verifying that the selected measures are being implemented correctly, including inspections, photos, material safety data sheets, and invoices.

The GreenPoint Rater also has the option of having a consultant or subcontractor fill out and sign an Accountability Form for selected measures when the Rater needs more information, or when the measure is difficult to verify such as the VOC content in paint. The accountability form, shown below, is signed by the contractor who executed that portion of the construction. It is a means to provide the GreenPoint Rater with a higher level of confidence that the measure was implemented, without having to visually inspect the actual installation. Addtional documentation could include receipts or Material Safety Data Sheets.

So, is a GreenPoints score of 113 good or bad? “The minimum required point total in Los Altos is 50 points, which also corresponds with the minimum point total to qualify as a GreenPoint Rated project” says Andrew. “Originally, the owner only wanted to meet this minimum threshold. However, he ended up installing windows with a better SHGC and U value, a more efficient water heater, and more insulation. These three improvements alone boosted us from 71 GreenPoints to 113 because they helped our Title 24 compliance margin.” If your project beats Title 24 by 15% or more, you can earn more points based on the size of that margin.

One of the measures that earned GreenPoints directly was a quality of insulation inspection or QII. This is one of several HERS field verifications that can boost the Title 24 score – which also adds GreenPoints.

A GreenPoint Rated Accountability Form is used for items requiring third-party affirmation.

Lessons Learned

So how does the rating process itself actually work? Did things go smoothly? “This was my first GreenPoint Rated project,” says Andrew. “Most of the items can be seen during the rough framing stage. I made a list of the selected measures for which we were hoping to score points, and arranged with the contractor when the best time to come and see it would be, based on the construction sequencing and schedule. In this case, the owner was acting as the general contractor/owner/builder, which increased the need for careful communication. All the subcontractors needed to be informed of exactly when items needed to be verified, so that they did not proceed with any subsequent work that could impede the verification process.”

It’s good to be flexible on the GreenPoints during construction, because sometimes measures aren’t executed exactly as planned, and you might have to seek additional points elsewhere to make up for it. “The hardest part for me was helping the owner with data collection. A GreenPoint Rater’s role is to verify that all the measures are being correctly implemented. Normally, all the data is furnished to the Rater; it’s not intended that the Rater would have to perform the legwork. However, due to the learning curve on both sides, I had to perform some tasks that are normally outside the intended scope of a GreenPoint Rater. For example, I had to tabulate the tonnages for waste during construction, and do product research to make sure the materials met GreenPoint Rated requirements. Sometimes the owner would buy first and check later, not fully understanding the exact requirements of the measure. Even though there was a learning curve for all parties involved, overall the project was a success and became the 18th home in Los Altos to be certified as a GreenPoint Rated home.”

“We ran into an issue on the zero-VOC paint because there’s a difference between what BuildItGreen considers to be ‘zero’ VOC and what the paint industry will allow. BuildItGreen requires zero-VOC paint to be less than 5 grams per liter of volatile organic compounds, whereas the painting industry claims zero-VOC for anything up to 10 grams per liter. When the owner knew we wanted to earn GreenPoints for zero-VOC paint, he went right out and bought some, but he didn’t read the fine print. The people at the store told him it was zero-VOC, but we had to settle for a less aggressive designation of low-VOC instead. A low-VOC designation works for anything with under 50 grams of VOC per liter, and we missed some GreenPoints because we went for 10 instead of 5. Even though we were just a little bit over, we had to settle for a low-VOC designation, which doesn’t earn as many GreenPoints.”

You’ve got to do your homework and be very thorough when checking out products. “Most people don’t have that level of attention to detail, but it’s very important in the GreenPoint Rating process,” Arnold cautioned. The GreenPoints system may have finely tiered levels, as with the VOC example. When in doubt, check with BuildItGreen directly rather than relying on over-the-counter information from the retailer.

97 Pepper Sale Information

This Greenpoint Rated property was for sale but has since been sold!

Entry hall of 97 Pepper Drive, a Greenpoint Rated sale property in Los Altos, California.

Andrew Arnold and Passive Houses

Arnold is also passionate about passive houses, or “Passive Houses” as they’re officially termed by the Passive House Institute US in Urbana, IL. (PHIUS has been authorized by the Passivhaus Institut in Darmstadt as the official Certifier of Passive Houses in the US.) The concept and standards for Passive Houses were originally developed in Germany under the term Passivhaus. Arnold is actually helping to create the first certified Passive House in California.

Apparently the hardest part of Passive House certification is passing a very strict blower door test; part of the concept is to create a virtually airtight dwelling with carefully calibrated ventilation to minimize temperature swings. We are hoping to get more information about the new Passive House that Arnold is currently working on, as soon as construction is completed.

When we’re advising our Title 24 clients on their residential projects, the first concern is whether the project will meet the State of California’s requirements for efficient energy consumption – and, if it doesn’t, what measures are needed to bring the project into compliance. A home’s Title 24 compliance “score” is expressed according to the percentage by which the home exceeds the baseline efficiency standards set forth by the California Energy Commission, and these standards are tightened every 3 years.

For the most part, people are relieved just to get their home to zero. For many projects, this is challenging enough. But sometimes, additional measures could boost a home’s compliance score higher, and are much easier to take while construction is already occurring. For example, in a remodel where walls are opened, why not insulate those walls? Well… obviously it’s an additional cost that budget-conscious owners may not want to absorb at the time. But, aren’t they potentially leaving money on the table, too? What value is there in achieving a positive compliance margin?

Since Title 24 is based on a home’s projected energy performance, achieving a higher than required compliance score offers several potential benefits:

1. Lower energy bills
2. Credit in other rating systems like Greenpoints, and
3. Eligibility for incentive programs like the New Solar Homes Partnership.

Calculating energy savings is straightforward matter of comparison before and after. Rebates are also known in advance; for NSHP, the rebate is based on system size and whether the home beats Title 24 by 15% or 35%.

Does Green Matter?

However, establishing a dollar value premium for having a Greenpoint rated home is a little harder. Is there a demonstrable relationship between a home’s real estate property value and its Greenpoint score? Is the Greenpoint rating itself worth anything, even if a home achieves only a modest Greenpoint score?

The question is, does a Greenpoint rated home sell for any more than the same home un-rated?

Well, Seattle green-certified homes achieved a 14% premium, according to a 2009 study by Hamilton Investments which I don’t have but which is referenced in BuildItGreen’s own literature. More on this in a moment.

A good time to establish a home’s actual value is when it is sold. Banks may extend loans based on a home’s supposed equity, but as we know, equity can vanish overnight. A good cash sale, on the other hand, establishes that at least one buyer agreed that the home was worth the price paid.

Don't count your chickens until they've hatched - and don't assume your equity is real until you actually sell your home.

Another important factor for sellers is how long the home sits on the market. A $500K home that sells within a week is a lot better than one that only sells after 9 months; even if it sells for the original asking price, there could be additional financing costs to cover those 9 months if the seller has to put down money on a new home before the old one is sold. That’s assuming they can even get a loan.

Do the Creds Matter?

I began to wonder how much green features actually counted with homebuyers, and whether formal certifications made any difference. Even homeowners who aren’t passionate about environmental issues might be passionate about their equity, especially nowadays. So… does a green certification have an impact on a home’s market value, and what evidence is there to support this?

Despite the Seattle premium referenced above, our Bay Area realtor sources indicate that it’s still not a priority for most homebuyers. “There is a market for the green home, but it is a small percentage.  There would be some added value, but not all that much since you wouldn’t want to limit yourself to only that small pool of buyers,” remarks Rob Rogers of Zephyr Real Estate in San Francisco.

Surveys in Seattle

I asked the BuildItGreen folks, since they invented the Greenpoints system. Amy Dryden of BuildItGreen replied, “There is discussion to have GreenPoint Rated and other green building systems on the MLS. ” (The MLS or Multiple Listing Service is the national clearinghouse for up-to-date real estate listings.)

She continued: “We can reference the Seattle and Atlanta areas, where green building ratings have been integrated onto the MLS there. The results are as follows:

• Homes with a Green rating sold 24%- 50% faster in Seattle and Atlanta
• Sale price for Green rated homes were 4.8%- 24% higher than for non-rated homes (Seattle)
• Resale value was 5-16% greater, compared to a 2% depreciation for non-green (Seattle)”

As of this writing, I don’t have the study that she was referencing. I’ll update this post when I can obtain that information.

So yes, apparently green homes can sell more quickly, for a higher price, and they don’t lose their value as quickly in a downturn. Amy sent me a study by McGraw Hill  which is partly a survey of what people say they would do, and partly a survey of what they are doing, particularly in terms of using green remodeling products. From their summary pages, it says that on average, homebuyers are paying a premium of $19,300 more for a green home, and 70% are more inclined to buy a green home in a down economy.

Furthermore, owners of green homes reported far higher levels of satisfaction with their homes. “Satisfaction” is an intangible quality that is not quantifiable, but then again, it’s a whole lot better than hating your home.

That’s Great for Seattle, But What About Here?

Now, does this translate into a guarantee for Bay Area homeowners that they’ll actually get more for their home eventually if they start greening it now? Umm, I’m not really sure. The McGraw Hill study was a huge survey that covered a lot of topic areas, all based on self-reported responses rather than actual real estate market activity; the sample sizes for the detailed respondents were only in the hundreds, although the initial pool was far larger.

It might be a case where individual measures are easier to quantify than some umbrella “green” designation. In a recent interview with Green Compliance Plus, solar contractor Fernando Valenzuela had talked about solar grid parity and the connection between operating costs and property value as follows: each dollar saved on annual home operating costs adds $20 to the property value. So if you tighten your home enough to save $600 a year, that theoretically should add $12,000 to the value.

Today’s “Beyond Compliance” Will Be Tomorrow’s Baseline

Back to our Title 24 clients. Another piece of reasoning to consider when going “beyond compliance” is simply this. You don’t know what you’ll be doing down the road. Maybe you’ll want to remodel again, and that remodel will have to pass a new and stricter Title 24 code. If the Title 24 has to be applied to the entire home, than all those additional measures, that had seemed superfluous at the time, might turn out to be a good thing in the second go-round.

Maybe you’ll only discover incentive programs after the fact and wish you’d taken their requirements into account sooner.

Or, maybe you’ll be putting that home on the market and discovering at some future time that a Greenpoint rated home is worth a lot more than it was when you did the work. All those efficiency measures you put in earlier could help the rating, as well as generally adding to the home’s market appeal.

Take Destiny Into Your Own Hands and Love Your Home

A lot of green market appeal is based on consumer awareness, and that of course is not entirely predictable. The McGraw Hill study indicates that homeowners are becoming more knowledgeable about green building, which would suggest that it is a priority for some. If owners of green homes continue to report higher levels of satisfaction with their homes than non-green owners, that should also eventually percolate as neighbors and friends trade information in the course of daily life.

A happy home is more than just a dollar investment.

With all the focus on sustainable building, and increased local and national incentive programs, the question is why everyone isn’t on the bandwagon already. Why aren’t homeowners rushing to improve their homes to cut their fuel bills? Well…  for one thing, a lot of people don’t like their homes and don’t feel particularly connected to them, and if they spend any money at all it’ll be for something they can see and enjoy right away, like a granite countertop. Possibly, being better-informed fosters a sense of empowerment in homeowners which in turn contributes to their feeling more satisfied with their homes.

A few months ago we published an interview with a GreenPoint Rater to de-mystify the GreenPoints system that was suddenly taking California building departments by storm. Like LEED and several of the current rebate programs, GreenPoints has tie-ins to Title 24′s energy compliance scoring, and so we’ve had to help our clients to interface with this new standard.

There’s another standard that’s been around for a long time – the Home Energy Rating System, or HERS. For the first time, we are having to tell our clients that they will have to do at least one HERS verification in order to meet the new 2008 standards of California’s Title 24 energy code. Suddenly, everyone had questions. What in the heck do HERS raters actually do, and what does it cost? Is this going to be a huge headache or a minor annoyance? What benefit is there to HERS testing apart from compliance? What does a person have to do to become certified as a HERS rater?

I’d make a distinction between green-building standards and energy performance standards.

• Green building is focused on the bigger picture, on quality of life, and on the entire life cycle of the building and possibly the surrounding community. Examples include LEED and GreenPoints.
• Mechanical/efficiency standards are focused on building operational performance and energy usage. In this context, the Home Energy Rating System, or HERS, falls into this second category.

What HERS raters do is make your home more energy-efficient by auditing its current performance levels and pinpointing areas of poorest performance. A few weeks ago, I looked at the CEPE roster shared by the California Association of Building Energy Consultants (CABEC). I was looking for people with dual or triple credentials in GreenPoints, HERS, and as a Certified Energy Plans Examiner (CEPE), since those are the three areas where we most often have to interface with our Title 24 work. One of the people listed on that site, Rob Lehman, is the subject of today’s interview. Rob is also listed on our Affiliates page.

In the text below, Rob’s answers are credited as RL, and editorial notes are shown as [bracketed italic].

What do HERS raters do exactly, and why is it important?

RL: HERS raters are special independent inspectors certified through a HERS provider, and ultimately by the California Energy Commission (CEC) to evaluate homes in California according to the Home Energy Rating System (HERS). These ratings include field verifications and diagnostic tests to determine existing efficiency levels for various energy-consuming components such as:

• Heating and cooling systems
• Supply and return air ducting
• Building envelope air infiltration
• Building envelope insulation quality

A HERS rater will also perform a comprehensive energy analysis of the home, including energy consumption for all daily living activities in the home. This evaluation includes the heating and cooling systems, and how the building components such as insulation, doors, windows, water heater, and lighting all affect the home’s energy efficiency. The information is entered into a computer program that calculates an energy rating for the home. All of the possibilities for improving energy efficiency are analyzed and prioritized according to which ones provide the most improvement relative to their cost.

This illustration shows where the bulk of energy loss occurs within a typical home: 40% through the roof, 36% through the floor, 14% through the walls, and the remaining 10% through window and door openings.

[HERS is nationwide, not just California. The California HERS program was implemented starting in 1999, and is used provide field verifications for energy efficiency programs. HERS Phase 2 or HERS II is the next stage in that implementation within the state of California. There is also a national HERS program sponsored by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET).]

How did you get into this work?

RL: I became interested long ago in do-it-yourself energy conservation and efficiency through Mother Earth News way back in the 60′s and 70′s, and dreamed of a day when smarter building methods would actually be used to conserve energy and help to save the environment.  When I realized the opportunities were out there to become a HERS rater, I joined right away. I have always dreamed of having an active and productive part for myself in energy and environmental conservation efforts.

Where can people find a HERS rater?

RL: People usually come to me through their builders. The public hasn’t caught on yet where to ask for Home Energy Rating Systems inspectors, but you can find HERS professionals listed on sites like CABEC, or through one of the three registered HERS provider organizations within the state of California:  CHEERS, CalCERTS, or CBPCA.

For our market space – residential low-rise Title 24 – what are the most common verifications solely for Title 24 compliance?

RL: The most common HERS verifications that I have performed for low-rise residential construction include tight duct tests and Quality of Insulation Installation, or QII. That’s my advice – start with the ducting and the building envelope.

A blower door test measures the amount of air infiltration within a home.

Some other HERS verifications that are also good to do, and which earn compliance credit within Title 24, include:

• Blower door test for air infiltration through walls, ceilings and floors
• Refrigerant charge management and verification in split system air conditioners and heat pumps
• Measurement and verifications in a/c cooling coil airflow
• Measurement of air handler fan watt draw
• Verification of high energy efficiency ratio (EER) for the air conditioning system, through component matching
• Visual inspection of supply duct location, where ducts are located within conditioned space
• Visual inspection to verify buried ducts or deeply buried ducts
• Photovoltaic installation verification

To qualify for Title 24 compliance, all of these measures require a certified HERS Rater to conduct a field test or visual inspection, and register the results with a HERS provider.

[A HERS provider is not a person, it's an organization such as CHEERS, that is certified by the State of California. You can earn compliance credits through HERS verifications if you use the performance method of Title 24, which employs a software model to simulate the building's energy performance.]

As time goes forward, I believe that people will have to use HERS verifications more and more, as a bolstering measure for Title 24 energy compliance. They will need the extra credits from the HERS verifications to obtain the Title 24 performance scores necessary for green building certifications such as LEED, Build it Green (GreenPoints), and Energy Star.

Are you finding that it’s harder to get projects to comply under the 2008  Title 24 code? What sort of measures are you having to advise your clients to take?

RL: Numerous changes within the 2008 Title 24 energy code have raised the standards for higher energy efficiency in California homes to roughly 15% above that of the 2005 energy code.  And this is just to obtain a passing score of “0″. All this is being driven by AB 32, the Global Warming Solutions Act of 2006. The State of California will continue to tighten up requirements in future code cycles, which happens every 3 years.

I advise my clients to take advantage of the HERS verifications that will help them the most, within their climate zone. In San Francisco, there isn’t a tremendous demand for cooling such as there is in Fresno. So perhaps instead of recommending a refrigerant charge management test, I might recommend a blower door test for whole house air infiltration, to identify problems with a poorly performing building envelope.

California has 15 climate zones, each with different heating and cooling loads. For example, San Francisco is Zone 3, San Jose is Zone 4, both relatively moderate. Livermore, which isn't that far away, is Zone 12 - much hotter.

I have found that including even one HERS verification yields a very significant improvement in the Title 24 energy report score. If the client plans on obtaining a green building certification through a program like GreenPoint Rated or LEED, a Title 24 performance score of 15% better than “0″ is mandatory.  Considering that the 2008 Title 24 requirements are already 15% tighter than before, plus the additional 15% over baseline required for Build it Green or LEED, it is easy to see that employing a HERS rater may be essential for achieving all these goals.

Compliance aside, what are the most worthwhile verifications or services that a HERS rater can do? Why would someone hire a HERS rater aside from Title 24 compliance?

RL: Saving energy! That translates into lower utility company bills, month after month. Everything that a HERS rater can do is an avenue for improvements that will save money. Here in the Bay Area, I recommend starting by investigating the building envelope and duct systems.

A duct blaster test in progress. This duct lying on the floor looks a bit like a python at the zoo.

I recommend starting with the ducting because the standard methods of installation for HVAC ducting throughout the years has not been favorable to tight, efficient ducts that have low air leakage. I’ve heard figures quoted in training workshops stating that 30% leakage in a typical ducting installation is routine, and the air infiltration even in some newer homes is still very poorly controlled. That is a tremendous waste of valuable heating or cooling BTUs! All that expensive conditioned air could be going into the attic or under the crawlspace, or out through holes and gaps in walls, floors, and ceilings and not into the home where you want it.

That’s crazy! Are ducts really that poorly installed every time?

RL: Duct leakage is an issue especially in tract homes that are built by contractors working under the gun to finish the job as quickly as possible. Another problematic practice has been that the so-called “standard” for duct sealing for many years has been to use duct tape for sealing the ducting to the sheet metal connectors. But, most duct systems are in the attic, which get as hot as 140 degrees in the summer time. Duct tape adhesive isn’t designed to withstand these temperature extremes, and it dries out.

Ducts, plenums, air handlers, and connectors should be sealed with mastic on all joints and seams.

OK, so tract homes are one thing, what about custom residences? Do they have leaky ducts, too?

RL: Even in custom-built homes with higher standards of care, it still happens. The standards say not to depend on duct tape, that instead duct mastic should be used. [Mastic is a high-strength flexible adhesive that can tolerate temperature fluctuations.]

Don't use duct tape to seal your ducts - use mastic. There are plenty of web sites to show you how, although if you've never done it before, consult a professional.

What is Title 20 and why do HERS raters care about it?

RL: Title 20 is a piece of California legislation that empowers the California Energy Center to approve the software and protocol necessary for HERS II Raters to conduct energy audits, in order to tie those audit results more closely into various new incentives. There have been energy-auditing businesses and HERS provider organizations offering their services for years now, but until now they have not been regulated by the State. One reason to do so now is the increasingly complex interrelationships among the various energy-related incentives, rebates, and tax credits with Title 24′s energy compliance scoring system.

Title 20 is new legislation, very recently passed in California, which is now in the implementation stage. My HERS Provider, CHEERS (which stands for California Home Energy Efficiency Rating System) is within one month of being available to train and certify HERS II Raters to audit and report energy scores for various incentives, rebates, and tax credits.

Are there other pieces of legislation in the works that we should know about?

RL: Local government financing of homeowner energy improvements through AB 811 may require a HERS II Rater to perform various tests to show how much energy efficiency improvement has actually been achieved. The Federal Home Star Program may require similar verifications.

Rumors of mandatory energy score reports for real estate transactions when selling a home in California are probably not going to pass as law anytime soon, because there has been a lot of opposition from the real estate lobby.

What do general contractors and HVAC contractors have to do differently now under the new Title 24 requirements?

RL: If there are required HERS verifications for any portion of the scope of work involved for a permit, General Contractors and/or HVAC Contractors will have to hire a HERS rater who will register the HERS verification measures online in order for the contractor to obtain a building permit. This requirement will take effect October 1, 2010.  The documentation for the HERS verification (included on the CF-1R Title 24 report) must accompany the application for the building permit, and be submitted to the building department for that jurisdiction.

[These HERS verifications consist of whatever tests were called out originally on the Title 24 report also known as the CF-1R, which was submitted earlier to the planning department for site permit.]

In terms of the CF-1R and CF-6R connection, who’s responsible for what? Where is this all-encompassing HERS data repository, anyway? Who owns and maintains it? How can an architect look up the status of his or her project to see if the project was properly registered? If the HERS rater doesn’t follow through on the reporting, what does the architect have to do to follow up?

[Each registered HERS provider maintains its own separate online registry. Again, these providers are organizations, not people. There are three HERS providers in California: CHEERS, CalCERTS, and CBPCA. Ask your HERS rater which provider he or she is certified through to discover where your project will be registered, and check that provider's web site.]

RL: There are actually three compliance-related forms for Title 24 now: The CF-1R, the CF-4R, and the CF-6R.

• The CF-1R (the Title 24 compliance report) indicates which HERS measures have been specified for credit in the Title 24 energy calculation. Both the architect and the project coordinator are responsible for knowing what is on the CF-1R in terms of how the building and systems are modeled, including specific performance data for products such as furnaces and windows, and any HERS verifications that are specified. The architect should communicate this information to the other parties for follow-up as the project schedule requires.

• During the course of construction, the owner of the project, or his or her contractor, is responsible for ensuring a successful verification by a HERS rater for each measure listed on the CF-1R.

• To prepare for each HERS verification, the contractor (general, electrical, solar, or mechanical) furnishes the HERS rater with a CF-6R, describing the portions of their work or installation that need to be verified. This could include ducting, an HVAC system or component, solar photovoltaic arrays, or insulation in the walls, floors, or attic.

• The HERS rater is responsible for performing the verification and registering the results (pass or fail) with his or her HERS provider’s online registry within four days of performing the test or inspection. These results are also known as the CF-4R report.

• The building inspector (building, electrical, mechanical) is responsible for collecting documentation certifying that the HERS verification is complete, approved, and properly registered before signing a final inspection.

What’s the best way to ensure that the tests happen at the right time during construction?

[The general contractor or construction manager should do the following:

1. Make sure that they have accurate information about the HERS verifications that are required for the project, and
2. Include both the HERS verifications and any pre-testing at the appropriate time in the construction schedule.

For example, the ductwork can be pre-tested prior to completion of construction, but it will be an extra task for the contractor to do so. Since most contractors do not own the duct testing equipment themselves, they may need to have another HVAC professional (the HERS rater can't do it) do some pre-testing prior to the "official" test, at a time when the ducts are accessible for additional repair if needed. However, if the contractor waits for the official HERS test and the ducts don't pass, they may have to pull off sheetrock in order to address and repair any deficiencies.]

Let’s go through each of the tests individually and describe what’s involved.

What happens during a duct blaster test?

RL: Also known as a verified air leakage test, a duct blaster test is designed to test and document the air-tightness of forced-air duct systems. It takes about 1 to 2 hours to do.

Why is it that the only photos I could find of duct testing all show men?

In this test, the HERS rater attaches a calibrated air flow measurement system directly to the duct system in a house, typically at a central return, or at the air handler cabinet. With the remaining registers and grilles temporarily taped off, duct air tightness is measured by either pressurizing or depressurizing the duct system and precisely measuring the fan flow and duct pressure. The findings result in a percentage of leakage for that system.

For new homes, a leakage of 6% or less is the threshold to pass. An existing home needs to achieve a leakage rate of 15% or less. In some older homes, however, the ducting system may be largely inaccessible for repair. For these cases, a 60% improvement after failing the initial test may be allowable.

This is an example of a duct tester machine that might be used for commercial buildings. This one is a PANDA 311 Series from TSI.com. It doesn't look all that scary.

To prepare for this test: inspect your ducts ahead of time. Do you see old duct tape? Any mastic used?

For architects or private homeowners doing remodels, where this test may be specified to achieve Title 24 compliance but where no work is actually being performed on the HVAC system as part of the remodel, how do we know it’ll pass and what can we do if it doesn’t?

RL: Have an HVAC contractor come out and inspect it, pre-test it himself. Then the HERS rater can come out and officially test it.

Are there situations where a house will NEVER pass a duct blaster test?

RL: Well, if you’re using the prescriptive method of Title 24 compliance, duct testing is a mandatory measure for additions with over 40 new feet of ducting. However, if the home has asbestos in the system, it’s exempt.

But let’s take another example. Let’s say that this test has been called out, and it’s an existing home, an older home, with an alteration that has triggered a Title 24 compliance report. Let’s say that we need to use the performance method for Title 24, because we’re adding too much glass. We needed the credit from the duct test to get a passing score on the Title 24 report back at submittal time. Now we’re in construction, and it’s time for the actual test. What if it doesn’t pass, even with a 60% improvement on the second try?

My answer would be that you can’t get even a 60% improvement, that means the ductwork is very poor and the homes heating and cooling will be extremely inefficient. The homeowner should consider whether he really wants to keep throwing good money after bad.

What happens during a blower door test?

RL: A home’s air-tightness is measured with a diagnostic tool called a Blower Door. The Blower Door consists of a fan that is temporarily sealed into an exterior doorway coupled with calibrated pressure measurement equipment. The fan blows air out of the house to de-pressurize the home. This negative pressure differential pulls air from outdoors in through any holes, gaps, improperly sealed penetrations in the building envelope, or locations where weatherstripping is loose or missing – to name a few.

Blower Door tests are typically performed at a pressure difference of 50 Pa (0.2 inches of water column) and the findings are measured in Cubic Feet per Minute (CFM). The CF-1R form (the Title 24 report) has the minimum and maximum allowable rates indicated, and the test must show a rate that falls between those figures.

To prepare for this test: Seal off all openings and drains. Close all the windows, put stoppers or plugs in the sinks and tubs, seal off range hoods and chimneys, and plug up any other hole you can find.

So how can you pinpoint where air is coming in? Is there any equivalent to the thermal image test for heat loss?

RL: Not really. But you should look for obvious signs first, like loose weatherstripping. Caulking can help. Thermal imaging won’t help except in some cases where windows may be leaking around the seals or frames. Today’s windows are manufactured with tighter control and they’re better performing with regard to air infiltration. However, window installation may be an issue. Look for cold spots around window openings if using thermal imaging.

Thermal imaging can be an aid in determining where air leakage is causing cold spots. However, you can't always tell what is causing a spot without further investigation. It could be air, moisture, or thermal heat loss.

For thermal imaging to work, you need to do it on a cold day so there’s a visible thermal difference between the interior and exterior temperature. Also, any cold spots you do see may or may not be due to air infiltration.

Why does the air infiltration rate have to fall between two numbers? Isn’t lower always better? Don’t we want to create an airtight home?

RL: A home can actually be too airtight as well as too loose. Some newer homes are so airtight that they can have problems with moisture buildup, which can in turn lead to mold.

I thought mold was mostly a problem in very humid climates, not in California.

RL: If the home is tightly sealed and it also has high-humidity devices such as spas, aquariums, greenhouses, or even if the occupants do a lot of cooking, it can develop serious mold problems, even out here.

What is an Verified Insulation Quality test?

RL: A Quality of Insulation Installation (QII) verification is a visual inspection by a HERS rater to verify optimal quality in insulation installation. The HERS rater verifies the following:

• The insulation is of the proper R-value and type specified in the architectural plans and on the CF-1R Title 24 report
• The insulation coverage does not have any voids or gaps, nor any compression where the insulation is restricted from achieving its full thickness
• All pipes, wires, etc. that are in cavities where the insulation occurs are covered with non-compressed insulation in front and in back
• All electrical boxes are carefully cut out in the insulation in order to provide a tight fit with no gaps or holes

In other words, the QII inspection is looking for the installation to be pretty much letter-perfect, so that the home performs up to what the insulation manufacturer is specifying for their product. The reality is that most insulation is installed by subcontractors who are seeking to finish the job as quickly as possible.

A HERS rater can verify that insulation was properly installed by checking that the right insulation product was used, and that the insulation was applied evenly, without gaps or compression.

This verification is more cumbersome and involved that most other HERS verifications, because the HERS rater might have to make several inspections as different parts of the building are framed. For example, under-floor insulation has to be viewed before the subfloor goes on top, wall insulation should be viewed prior to installing the drywall, and corner cavity insulation has to be viewed from the exterior.

Can you do this test using thermal imaging if the walls are already closed up?

[For the purposes of Title 24 compliance, the QII verification itself has to be visual, with the walls opened up. However, if you are investigating a home's energy performance, thermal imaging can pinpoint problems that would otherwise be invisible.]

Thermal imaging shows missing insulation in this ceiling where it meets the wall - something that you can't see with the naked eye. In this case, what we're seeing is the building's cooling performance on a hot day, and the missing insulation shows up as a "hot" spot.

Where are the most common spots to find insulation gaps?

RL: In addition to the spots described previously – areas around electrical boxes, pipes, wires, and small building cavities – consider these areas as well:

• Behind the tub or shower
• Fireplaces and chimneys
• Skylight window wells
• Exterior edge between building floors
• Interior/exterior wall connections

This last one is important and hard to get to. In places where there’s a connection between an interior and an exterior wall, there will be a three-stud channel that’s typically filled with dead air, and no insulation. A 1.5″ wood stud has an R-value of only 2 or 3, while the mandatory minimum is R13. Insulation is typically installed from the inside, but for these channels, you have to get to them from the outside.

How do you remedy uninsulated spots inside a wall channel?

RL: To remedy the omission of insulation in a wall channel, you have to address it as the carpenters are framing the house. For example, they could cut and install rigid foam insulation. During a QII inspection we’d have to come out and see this part as it occurred.

What is a refrigerant charge test?

RL: The refrigerant charge test is a HERS verification for split-system air conditioning systems, and ensures that the air conditioner has an adequate supply of refrigerant to work with. The amount of refrigerant in the system can dissipate over time through leaks, and if it gets too low, the system’s overall efficiency suffers, possibly even shortening the life of the system. If the refrigerant level is adequate, the system is considered to be fully charged.

There are three ways to verify refrigerant levels.

• A non-intrusive test that analyzes the superheat and the temperature drop across the cooling coils, and compares that information to referenced values. With this information, the refrigerant charge can be calculated. It’s cumbersome to do because of the math, but worthwhile if you depend on your A/C system for comfort.

• A more intrusive method, less frequently used, is to attach a simple pressure gauge to the A/C system to get a direct reading of the refrigerant level within the system. However, this method also requires the HERS rater to obtain a certification from the EPA, because if the refrigerant leaks out, it can damage the environment.

• Within the next few years, manufacturers will begin installing a CID (Charge Indicator Device) with newer models. At this point, a simple reading of that gauge will be all that is necessary to verify the refrigerant charge. However, manufacturers have not provided these devices in most models as of yet.

Refrigerant charge verification is a mandatory prescriptive Title 24 energy calculation compliance in climate zones 2 and 8-15, but when running the performance method of compliance, it can be a selected HERS verification in all climate zones.

To prepare for this test: If you’re doing this test to meet Title 24 compliance requirements, you need to have a HERS rater do it. But, a pre-test can be performed by any HVAC contractor. If you’re not sure the home will pass, you can have an HVAC expert check the system first, and fix anything that needs attention, so that you’ll know the results of the “official” test beforehand. Because of their status as independent inspectors, however, HERS raters are not allowed to fix or change anything themselves. All they can do is run the tests and report the results.

I can see where a refrigerant charge test would be worthwhile for an older A/C system, but what about a brand-new one?

RL: Even with a brand-new A/C system refrigerant charge can be a problem particularly with split systems. In a split system, you have a compressor outside and a suction and pressure line running to an air handler inside. This line can be rather long, and if there isn’t enough refrigerant in the system, it can take enough to fill this tubing that there isn’t enough in the system overall.

OK, say you’re a developer, you want your latest project to be GreenPoint Rated, and to get more points you want to boost the Title 24 performance score on all the homes. To this end, you have opted to include HERS verifications such as the refrigerant charge test in order to gain additional Title 24 compliance credits. How would you go about pre-testing if you had a whole group of tract homes and you need for them all to pass the refrigerant charge test?

RL: In a tract home situation, an HVAC contractor can use sampling during pre-testing. The HERS rater will sample test also, in groups of 7. Bigger builders should realize that HERS raters are an asset that they can use to test and verify different components of construction.

What is a fan watt draw test?

RL: A fan watt draw test is done on air conditioning systems. It’s a simple measure of the energy consumed by the cooling coil fan, and referencing this to acceptable maximum values as shown on the Title 24 report.

What is a verified air flow test?

RL: This test measures the rate of air flow through the ducts. There are several ways to measure, but I am most familiar with the use of an air-flow capture hood, measuring the airflow with all registers open and the filter installed, and comparing the flow rates to be equal to or surpass the duct design criteria of 450cfm/12000 btu (1 ton).

What is an EER verification?

RL: An EER verification matches air-conditioner components for high functional efficiency as a group. This verification applies to split systems, where the air handler, the outdoor compressor, and the cooling coil can all be from different manufacturers. The verification looks up the make and model number for each of these components in a CHEERS online software application that contains data on how efficiently each of these components actually works with the others.

Is the EER verification a pass/fail test? What do you do if it “fails”?

RL: It’s pass or fail. What we do is match up the components for high EER compatibility. Either the proposed system makes it or it doesn’t. For example, suppose you have a system design that calls for a Carrier compressor, a Train air handler, and a third-party cooling coil. We do an EER lookup and it turns out that the off-market cooling coil was lousy pick.

At this point, you can remedy it in one of these ways:

• Call the contractor and tell him that the components don’t match, and give him some other options that do match.
• Re-calculate Title 24 report and pick another HERS measure based on what the project will best support.

How far off can they be in terms of efficiency if they’re not well-matched?

RL: I’m going to go out on a limb and give you a rough estimate, and say that mismatched components in a split system could degrade overall system efficiency by as much as 10-15%.

Is the EER verification something that you’d have to think about way ahead of time, during project design?

RL: Yes, this is something that should be considered early on. The architect or the mechanical systems designer should contact a HERS rater prior to specifying these components. It can stop you from making a bad purchase. Then, when you add this as a verification for Title 24 compliance credit, you can be confident that your system components can perform together as well as expected.

What is the maximum cooling capacity test?

[Usually recommended for commercial buildings. We're going to punt on describing it here, because it's rather complicated.]

What is the supply duct surface area reduction test?

RL: This is a verification measuring the efficiency of the duct design, again mostly done on large commercial buildings with very extensive HVAC systems. The HERS rater physically measures the duct system as installed and checks this measurement against the calculated allowable area of duct surface from the Title 24 report, and verifies that the existing duct systems meets this allowable criteria.

What are the visual field inspections that apply to duct systems?

RL: There are several inspections related to where the ducts are located and how well they’re insulated. All of these inspections are credits towards achieving a higher Title 24 performance score. The two buried-duct inspections only apply to ducts that are located in the attic.

• Buried ducts: The HERS rater verifies that the attic supply ducts are buried under the required R-value insulation, and that the ducts make contact with the ceiling sheet rock. Signs must be visible that say “caution, buried ducts” [so that anyone doing subsequent work on the home doesn't inadvertently damage them]
• Deeply buried ducts: In addition to the buried duct requirements as described above, the HERS rater verifies that the attic supply ducts have an additional R-25 insulation over them if fiberglass insulation is used, or R-31 for cellulose insulation.
• Ducts in conditioned space: This test applies only to projects where the ducts are located in conditioned space, rather than in the attic or a crawlspace. The HERS rater does a visual inspection to verify that 100% of all supply ducts are within the conditioned space envelope.

[Radiant barriers, which can earn compliance credits in Title 24, are verified by a building inspector, not a HERS rater.]

Under what conditions would any of these tests NOT be advisable?

RL: The climate zone for each project needs to be considered to get the best bang for the buck. In other words, tests that focus on air conditioning may not be advisable in climate zones where there is little demand for cooling.

[They don't buy you as much on the Title 24 score, either. For example adding a radiant barrier in San Francisco does nothing to improve a home's Title 24 performance score, but adding one in Livermore or Los Angeles certainly does. ]

What happens if a project fails a HERS verification?

RL: The HERS rater has to submit the results to the HERS registry as a failure.  The necessary repairs should be done by the contractor, and then the HERS rater is called back to perform the test again.

When does each of these tests occur in the project cycle?

RL: Various stages. The important issue is usually to observe a complete and finished component for verification, prior to its being hidden by subsequent construction. One example is the verification of quality of insulation installation (the QII test), which may require several trips. Duct verifications are best done after all or most of the construction activity is completed, and there is no possibility of workers subjecting delicate items such as ducting to damage.

How much do these HERS tests cost?

RL: Well it depends in part on the size of the building and how cumbersome the test is to perform. A duct blaster test might start at $250-$300, because it can be done in one trip and it only takes a couple of hours. Some duct blaster tests are more challenging than others. A QII insulation test, which requires several inspections over a few weeks’ time, could be more.

How can the architect, owner, and builder ensure that the project will pass on the first try?

RL: Perform your own pre-inspections and employ expert help prior to the test date to prepare the components for testing. For example, good HVAC contractors will often test their own work anyway, although many don’t care enough about quality to do this. But, they should.

Compare it to smogging your car. Emissions is a state test, and it’s pass or fail. You can go to a mechanic ahead of time for pre-smog testing to find out if you’ll pass, and get any needed repairs done prior to having the official smog check.

"Will this cardboard box pass Title 24?"

What do architects need to know about working with local building departments?

RL: Their compliance review starts with the CF-1R form, which is the Title 24 compliance report. But most people don’t know how to read a CF-1R report. Even architects, building officials, and plan checkers don’t always know every aspect of compliance.

Building departments can’t interfere with HERS verifications, which is a State-level program. However, with the increasing levels of reporting and inspection, it will be harder to do last-minute equipment substitutions.

[One thing to note is that Title 24 reporting relies on specific stated performance criteria for products ranging from windows to water heaters, and any substituted product needs to have an equivalent or better efficiency rating. This means that the person responsible for selecting equipment and products must be fully aware of any assumptions that were used when preparing the Title 24 report for the project.]

Any famous last words?

RL: Here’s one thing you should know: All three of the official HERS providers are mandated to do follow-up inspections to check up on their own HERS raters. So, the homeowner could get a call or a letter notifying them that this is happening. Usually they’re OK with it, it gives them reassurance that the system is really working as intended.

After our recent interview with a GreenPoint Rater, several people wrote to us and we realized that since our last coverage in the Chronicle, many of our site visitors aren’t architects or building officials. They’re interested homeowners, or just plain interested.

Some confusion is perhaps justified. Even a cursory web search for “green building rating systems” turned up a pile of competing standards and organizations, some of which merely promote green building without issuing standards. (Mark, Alan, and myself have all contributed to the answers below.)

What is GreenPoint rating?

Green Point Rating is a system developed specifically for green building in California, with a checklist to guide a project while it is still in the planning stages, followed by several visits from a Certified GreenPoint Rater to verify that all measures are actually implemented during construction. Many jurisdictions, cities and counties are now both requiring the checklist at permit submittal, and a full GreenPoint Rating after construction.

GreenPoints includes various types of credits for water conservation and reuse.

The GreenPoint Rating system includes a wide series of recommended measures, and the home gets additional points for each measure that is followed. The final rating is a cumulative score of some possible 290-300 points. Of course, no home is ever going to get a “perfect” score by doing every possible thing. The intent is to provide enough options so that everyone can find at least a few improvements that they can do. And, according to my sources, it’s not that hard to even score the minimum of 50 points.

However, GreenPoint Rating is really about going beyond the minimum. All new construction must meet Title 24 requirements, but GPR is about exceeding the Title 24 requirements. When a green measure listed in the GreenPoint Rating system becomes part of the California Code, it drops out of GPR, because it is no longer beyond the requirements.

What’s the difference between a GreenPoint Checklist and a GreenPoint Rating?

The GreenPoint checklist is an Excel spreadsheet file that anyone can download straight off the BuildItGreen site. The checklist can serve as a guide to choosing among the many options and possibilities for green homes. On this same download page, you can find PDF manuals that explain each GreenPoint measure in greater detail.

If you refer to the checklist during the design stages, as Klopf Architecture did in this case study, your home can be more efficient both energy-wise and water-wise, with better indoor air quality. The checklist is what gets included with the permit submittal, if your jurisdiction requires or encourages the use of the GreenPoint Rating system.

The GreenPoint Rated Checklist includes yes/no items for things like topsoil protection, recycled or local materials, renewable energy, "extraordinary passive solar design", water conservation, and building energy performance.

Who’s behind the GreenPoint rating system?

The GreenPoint rating system was created by a non-profit organization called BuildItGreen, which is located in Berkeley, CA. BuildItGreen was founded by a wide consortium that includes public agencies, building professionals, construction manufacturers and suppliers, and architects. Its aims include raising consumer and industry awareness of the benefits of green building, and serving as a trusted source of information for designers, builders, manufacturers, municipal agencies, and the general public.

GreenPoints strategies for conservation of natural resources include material reuse, sustainably harvested lumber, and engineered wood.

How’s GreenPoint Rating different from LEED?

For one thing, it costs a lot less! Green Point Rating costs between $800 and $2000 to complete, and occurs fairly fast. LEED certification is far more elaborate, and can easily cost $10,000 to $15,000. It takes a long time, too.

Many of our design and engineering colleagues at the AIA have expressed the general opinion that LEED for Homes isn’t worth it, although they’re always quick to add that they support green building. And, one of our Title 24 clients is going for LEED Platinum on a remodel – so, in special cases, it might be worth it for the recognition.

GreenPoints gives community planning credits for walkable communities with access to public transportation.

What’s purpose of having GreenPoints? Why create a new system if we already have LEED?

Our guess is that LEED proved too cumbersome and expensive for anything other than large commercial or public projects. Despite its good intentions, LEED essentially put green building out of reach of the “average” homeowner.

By contrast, it’s not that difficult to achieve a baseline GreenPoint score of 50-75 points, even for the most basic of homes, lowering the barrier to entry. The GreenPoint system is a simpler collection of options and ideas, which are specific enough to be a real yardstick, yet straightforward enough that you don’t need advanced training to understand it – although to be a fully certified GreenPoint Rater, you do need a fairly strong background in architecture, construction and/or engineering.

What happens during a rating?

You’d most likely use the Checklist in conjunction with actual energy-efficiency improvements, or because it’s required for a permit submittal, and then get the improved home rated after the fact. However, if achieving a higher GreenPoint score is important for you, then it’s a good idea to involve a Certified GreenPoint Rater early in the design process.

GreenPoints encourages clean air through both better indoor air quality, and reduced air pollution.

Some jurisdictions are now require a GreenPoint Checklist to be submitted along with permit materials. The checklist usually doesn’t have to be filled out by a certified GreenPoint Rater, although there has been some reported initial confusion among Planning officials on this point.

Then, at specific points during construction, a Certified GreenPoint Rater comes out to your house and looks underneath everything to certify that the correct building products and techniques are being employed. After completion, the GreenPoint rater takes all the information and completes the scoring.

Why should I get my home GreenPoint Rated?

Increased home value, smoother permitting process – and, for professionals, green design credentials.

For homeowners, just having your home rated may boost the value or potential value of your home. Adding GreenPoint Rating to a home provides other professionals such as realtors, lenders, and appraisers with a reliable litmus test that this home not only exceeds California’s building and energy codes, but also is healthier and more environmentally friendly than a non-rated home.

GreenPoints encourages energy savings through more efficient homes and systems.

Architects who have GreenPoint-Rated homes in their portfolio will enhance their credibility with new clients who care about green homes. Statistics unearthed by our own Alan Hugenot indicate that 28% of homeowners doing remodels want more environmental features in their existing homes. In addition, 43.5% of new home buyers would be more likely to purchase a new home if it offered an energy-saving guarantee.

How does GreenPoint Rating help with a smoother permitting process?

Submitting a permit set with the GreenPoint Rated logo in it sets the tone in advance with building department officials and local governments. The GPR logo tells them that this residence is being built responsibly, and creates a favorable response with the building inspectors.

California’s first restored historic Green Point Rated Home. Claremont Courier photo: Gabriel Fenoy

Local governments are encouraged by state agencies to go above and beyond the minimum requirements in Title 24 in order to meet additional goals set forth in California Law AB32. California’s Climate Change Initiatives Law AB32 requires state agencies to develop a plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels, by 2020. Coincidentally, 2020 is the same year that all new homes in California are intended to be Net Zero Energy homes. Constructing GreenPoint-Rated homes that reduce a city’s carbon footprint makes good business sense, and thus building officials are predisposed to support plans with the GPR logo.

How widespread is GreenPoint Rating among building officials?

Building officials in both the Central Valley and the Bay Area have endorsed GreenPoint Rating. As of October 2008, 70 local governments had actively begun using GreenPoint Rating in their jurisdictions, and some 200 additional local governments were in discussion with BuildItGreen to begin implementation of GreenPoint Rating. Jurisdictions such as Stockton, St. Helena, Los Altos, all now require some level of GreenPoint rating, or at least a checklist, in order to apply for a building permit. According to John Klopf (case study), the City of Cupertino is actually willing to pay for the GreenPoint Rater for any home that scores 75 or above.

The "Greenbelt" passive solar design by architect Ralph Rapson isn't GreenPoint rated, but it could be.

When should I get my home GreenPoint Rated?

You have to get it rated if you’re getting a construction permit in certain jurisdictions. In other cases, a good time might be when you’re already planning some renovations, or you’re planning to put the home on the market.

How can the GreenPoint Rating system help me to turn my home an energy-conserving dynamo?

To really “green” your home, you will need to make informed decisions that match your personal priorities. Depending on which choices you make, you will need to involve various types of building professionals. For example:

• To improve heating and cooling efficiency, you might start by consulting with an engineer who’s accredited through CalCERTS, CABEC, or ASHRAE to offer home energy audits, find out where your home falls as of today, and then move forward from there.

• In some cases, a good contractor can help. In the Klopf case study mentioned previously, the architect did more than go through the checklist; he worked closely with Starburst Construction, a Certified Green Builder, to evaluate materials and and mechanical systems. Many of the GreenPoint credits come from use of proper construction techniques during building, so having an experienced green builder is essential.

• If you’re tired of high energy bills, it might even be time to go all out and convert your home to a Net Zero Energy home. The Monterey Energy Group, a residential mechanical engineering firm featured earlier on this blog, has completed 60 NZE homes to date.

• And of course – last but not least – if you’re considering a major renovation or even just a small addition, consider working with an architect to coordinate your remodeling efforts and maximize space-planning potential. After all, if you’re already making all this effort, why not improve your home’s beauty and comfort while you’re at it?

This LEED Gold home, located in South Carolina, is a giveaway home from HGTV.com

The good news is many of these professionals are also now becoming Certified GreenPoint raters, and if your GreenPoint Rater can’t provide one particular service that you need, they’ll most likely be able to recommend someone who can.

Does GreenPoint Rating satisfy San Francisco’s Green Building Ordinance?

SF’s Green Building Ordinance is mostly voluntary at this point, and only really applies to commercial buildings. We don’t know exactly when they will implement the standards with enforcement. It’s possible that they don’t yet have the personnel to carry out the task.

The Truro Residence, designed by Zero Energy Design, is a Net Zero Energy home in Cape Cod. Not all NZE or GPR homes look like this - in fact, any conventional home could be NZE and you'd never know it just from looking.

How can I find out the GreenPoint “score” for a particular home?

BuildItGreen doesn’t appear to have a registry of the ratings themselves, so you’d have to ask the owner or see if it was filed at your local Planning or Building Department. If it’s a sale property, ask the realtor. Just saying that a home is GreenPoint Rated doesn’t tell you enough specifics about how well it scored and why.

A few months ago, we had the pleasure of working with a GreenPoint rater on one of our recent Title 24 consulting projects. John Eckstein is a building professional with expertise in both home energy performance, and indoor air quality, particularly mold investigation. Since GreenPoint rating is still relatively new, we asked him what is involved in working with, or becoming, a GreenPoint rater.

At what points during the project does the GreenPoint rater get involved?

The earlier the better.  By getting a GreenPoint Rater involved in the early planning stages, simple changes can be made to the design that will have a more cost-effective impact on the overall performance of the home.  Two things that come to mind in this regard are duct layouts and Title 24.

The architect should consider the duct layout for the HVAC system while designing the home. We all know that the less bends there are in a duct, the better the duct will perform. Yet I cannot tell you how many times I have seen a beautifully designed home, but because the layout of the ducts was never considered, the HVAC contractor ended up having to route the ductwork in a way that was far from optimal.

This is an easy thing to address at the design stage, but the architect and the HVAC contractor need to talk. This doesn’t happen because of the way we design buildings in the USA. There is typically no HVAC contractor on board during the early design stages. A good GreenPoint Rater can help to address this.

Also, having a good Title 24 consultant is imperative. Many architects don’t realize that there is a huge difference in quality between different T-24 consultants, so they typically go for the cheapest person they can find, and then they get “boilerplate” calculations that don’t optimize the final T-24 in terms of detailed window schedules or other construction details.

Remember – each percentage point over standard on the T-24 calculations equates to 2 points on the GreenPoint Checkist. [Ed: so for example if your home exceeds Title 24 by 15%, you would achieve 30 points on your GreenPoint score] Optimizing T-24 is a great way to get a jump start on building a quality, energy-efficient home.

[Ed: Building to the GreenPoint checklist, even if you don't actually get the project rated or certified, will improve the efficiency of the design.]

What does it cost to get certified (for those considering adding this to their creds)?

The requirements and coursework has changed since I became certified, so I don’t know what it would cost nowadays. The best thing is to check directly with BuildItGreen.

What background and skills does someone need to be a GreenPoint Rater?

The obvious background in construction is important, but I also draw on my background as a consultant and my training in Psychology.

There is no such thing as the color “green”, there are only shades and each client will define green their own way. The GreenPoint checklist available from BuildItGreen has over 270 points available, so there is lots of flexibility to mix and match measure that meet the budget, energy efficiency, and environmental concerns of each client. A good GreenPoint Rater can help the client understand and translate their “green” priorities into the checklist.

The two faces of GreenPoint rater John Eckstein show that there is more than one way to be "green".

My background in sales and psychology are also helpful. In my own mind, I see my role as a rater as part inspector and part home “therapist”.  Just as a psychotherapist will work with a person to bring out the best, a GreenPoint Rater will work with a team of designers, contractors, and homeowners to bring out the best in the home. Being able to work with and understand different personalities and egos, and then communicate and motivate is probably the major role of a good GreenPoint Rater.

What seem to be the hardest issues for architects to understand, from your experience as a GreenPoint Rater?

There are all kinds of architects, so I don’t have a great answer. From my experience working with residential architects, many have a blind spot in relation to ventilation design and HVAC sizing and layout.

How can architects be better prepared to work with a GreenPoint Rater?

BuildItGreen offers a terrific training program called the “Certified Green Building Professional” (CGBP) program where architects can become certified.  This is a great way to get up to speed on the “why” behind all the measures.  Also, as a rater, I  can add a point on the checklist when both the architect and the contractor are CGBP certified.

Which jurisdictions really have it together?

San Mateo County is pretty good. They are working hard to understand the program and their outreach has been excellent about educating the community and contractors about the program. I always see people from San Mateo County at the training programs.

Los Altos Hills seems to have a well-thought-out green program.  I also see many of their staff getting trained.

Palo Alto has made green a priority.  They have a dedicated green program manager in the building department.

On the other hand, there are a few jurisdictions that have made getting a GreenPoint Rating mandatory for new construction, but they have done little to educate their desk staff or inspectors about the program.  As a result, I get calls from many exasperated homeowners and contractors who have been given lots of misinformation, which gives the program a bad name.

What is your own background, and how did it lead you to become GreenPoint Rater?

My father and grandfather were in the plumbing and heating industry.  I never valued it then, but being exposed to the HVAC industry at a young age has really helped me as a GreenPoint Rater. I also ran an indoor air quality and mold testing firm for a number of years.  I investigated hundreds of homes with air quality and mold issues that were caused by errors in the way the home was designed, constructed, or operated.  It sounds strange, but I think I know more about how a home should be designed because I have seen so many that have failed.

I lived in Japan for 13 years and lived in a variety of homes that were designed for a very different climate and culture. This had a major impact on the way I view homes and in the way I work with clients. Japanese trades tend to cooperate more effectively than I see here in the USA. It is huge generalization, but in my experience there there is less “pointing fingers” and less territoriality between the trades.

There are huge opportunities to improve the quality of construction if we could get the trades to think of the “big picture”. For example, an electrician who drills a 1/2 inch hole for a 1/4 inch wire should be thinking of air infiltration and then take the time to seal around penetrations.  Some plumbers install pipes right flush with the wall or stud, so it is then impossible to wrap the pipe in insulation.  Insulation and HVAC contractors should be involved in the job early, so they can plan ahead.

Many clients (and architects as well) have the impression that implementing green features is expensive.  How much does it cost to encourage the trades to talk to each other and to think of the big picture?

I am a HERS rater and do residential energy audits using HERS testing protocols. I also have trained with the California Building Performance Contractors Association (CPBCA). The CPBCA opened my eyes to building science and to treating the home as a holistic system of integrated parts.

I have worked on about 350 GreenPoint Ratings to date. It is funny, because I only took the orignial GreenPoint training because I interested in learning more. I never intended to become a rater.  It just sort of grew.

Do you have any nifty stories or cool projects to tell us about? What’s the coolest project you’ve seen thus far?

For me, the “coolest” green homes are the ones that are thoughtfully and tastefully designed. In my opinion, many of the things that make a home truly “green” are not so sexy, nor expensive.  Some very “green”, but not so sexy measures:

• Designing the home to consider passive cooling and heating.
• Considering the solar orientation of the home and then designing exterior shading, overhangs, tree planting to take advantage of that orientation.
• A well-designed, right-sized, and properly installed zoned heating system.

Do you have any pet peeves?

I really wish that the cities would take the time to really understand the program and to educate their staff and citizens before making these green programs mandatory.

Modern by Design, a project sponsored by Metropolitan Home, is offering public tours of 2201 Baker Street from June 20-July 12, in San Francisco. This spectacular renovation project of an historic 7,000 square foot home showcases modern living and design aesthetics with the latest technologies.

Green design features include use of closed-wall and open-wall spray foam insulation on the exterior walls, reducing air leakage by a factor of 10 over conventional batt insulation, interior wall insulation made from recycled blue jeans, EnergyStar rated high-efficiency appliances, Marvin Low-E windows, and reuse of existing materials: sheet metal, copper, timber and brick.

In addition to the eco-friendly, Greenpoint-rated architecture by Mark English Architects, other studios whose work is featured include Martha Angus and Phillip Parton, David Oldroyd & Greg Stewart of ODADA, Min/Day, Jiun Ho, Gary Hutton, Jay Jeffers, Dowling Kimm Studios, Nicole Hollis, Erin Martin, Sand Studios, Steven Miller, and Surfacedesign.

Mark English and Regina Callan of RBR Development collaborated on the project’s design and execution.