Why Build
Green?

Home builders and remodelers are beginning to use the nation’s first consensus-driven standard for residential green building, which was approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) on Jan. 29.

The ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard provides a flexible and robust third-party rating system for residential green project certification, which will be used for the NAHB National Green Building Program, or NAHBGreen.

“Builders and home buyers who have been confused by the many characterizations of green building in the marketplace now have clear, flexible, bona fide criteria defined under the new standard,” said Michael Luzier, president of the NAHB Research Center. “Under the standard, there are options for Bronze, Silver, Gold or Emerald levels of certification that provide builders and remodelers with the flexibility to choose the certification level appropriate for their market and their customers.”

Learn how green homes provide buyers with lower energy costs and higher value. This 2-day course for building professionals discusses strategies for incorporating green-building principles into homes without driving up the cost of construction. You will learn how green homes provide buyers lower maintenance, better indoor air quality and better long-term value. Techniques are also discussed for competitively differentiating your home products with increased indoor environmental quality as well as energy and resource efficiency.

As a graduate of this course, you will be able to:

• Locate and design green building development sites.
• Control moisture and durability for each component of the building envelope effectively.
• Employ resource-efficient materials to achieve comfortable, safe and sustainable buildings.
• Strategize ways to meet, exceed and verify green building energy efficiency requirements.
• Implement indoor and outdoor water conservation practices.
• Achieve indoor air quality.
• Consider green building objectives in a remodeling project.
• Explain a homeowner’s and builder’s role in effective operation and maintenance of a green home.
• Apply successful business management, marketing and sales strategies to sell green.

This course is required for all builder members of Green Built™ Michigan. On top of hearing some great tips on making your homes more energy efficient, durable, and environmentally sustainable, you will also learn the importance of indoor air quality and low impact development. Participants will learn the following:

• Who is Green Built™ Michigan?
• The basics of residential green building.
• How to meet the National Green Building Standard ICC-700 requirements for home certification.

The Advanced Builder Training offers anyone who is already familar with the basics of Green Built Michigan and green building an opportunity to delve deeper into the science of residential green construction. An in-depth course offering specific applicable building practices to build greener, better homes. All members of Green Built Michigan are strongly encouraged to attend the Advanced Builder Training. Upon completion of the course, attendees will:

• Have in depth understanding of the house as a system approach to green building
• Understand the thermal dynamics necessary to achieve the most effective and economical level of insulation
• Control moisture and durability for each component of the building envelope
• Improve sustainability through the proper selection of building materials and correct installation methods
• Achieve superior indoor air quality
• Save on materials expenses while improving each area of the home

This course will provide attendees with a general overview of the new code, including:

• Comparison of the four Compliance Strategies (MUEC, IECC, Energy Star, and HERS)
• Explanation of various methods (prescriptive, performance, trade-off)
• An overview of construction related changes
• Different foundations insulation systems (inside vs. outside)
• Insulation information including (fiberglass, cellulose, and closed and open foam)
• Sample Cost Scenarios of different methods

A four hour advanced course on the Michigan Uniform Energy Code is also offered. This class will directly address the documentation that is necessary for compliance including:

• The Building Science behind energy efficiency (i.e. What is the thermal envelope?)
• Advanced framing and air infiltration techniques that decrease insulation costs.
• Plan modifications, details, notes, sections, and construction related documents necessary for submittal to the Building Department
• How to perform take-offs and calculate U-values (MUEC Alternate Systems Analysis / IECC Ua Method).
• The Energy Star Thermal Bypass Inspection Checklist
• GreenBuilt Overview - Now that we are all building to Energy Star™, Certifying your home as GreenBuilt™ is only a few hundred dollars away.