There are ample benefits to building high-performance homes, as well as certifying them through an independent third party. A few benefits to help explain and highlight the market the value that high-performance homes bring include:
- Elimination of long-term issues;
- Financial incentives, both to the customer in the form of tax credits and financing mechanisms available to builders;
- Increased occupant health and comfort, including allergy and asthma reduction;
- The potential for a higher resale value; and
- Environmental benefits, such as reducing both the energy footprint and the use of toxic building materials (improving the quality of air within the home as well).
NAHB’s new joint initiative with National Association of REALTORS® (NAR), Home Performance Counts Initiative, also provides tips for translating the value of high performance home features and suggests key building systems to highlight when speaking with clients.
With so many high-performance home programs available to builders, though, it can be challenging to navigate the different requirements and choose the best one for their market. NAHB’s recently updated Green Home Rating Systems comparison matrix can help, as can professionals in the field, such as program administrators and raters — especially for builders who may be certifying projects for the first time or navigating new program changes.
Looking for more resources? Catch the Making Dollar$ (and Cent$) Out of High Performance Home Certifications education sessions at IBSx, a new virtual experience of the NAHB International Builders’ Show, which will explore various high-performance green certification programs in depth and spotlight best practices for using high-performance home building strategies.
What IBSx attendees can look forward to in this upcoming session:
- Being able to compare the requirements of different high-performance home certification programs and decide which are most effective in their local markets;
- Exploring ways to integrate high-performance construction techniques and practices so that they can build in systems to their business model and boost profits;
- Examining the value added by incorporating one or more high-performance home certifications to their next project; and
- Acquiring the knowledge necessary to educate customers and sell high-performance certifications to potential home buyers.