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Why didn't the other builders want to build Green / Energy Star ?

By Edward D. Nikles

Real Estate Broker/Owner with Ed Nikles Custom Builder , Inc. / Nikles Realty , Inc. PA Broker-RM060117A

June 01, 2009 12:52 PM

Hooray , we just signed our 6th Plan Design Agreement in last 5 weeks in a nearly dead new home market ! Our latest Plan Design Agreement , was signed up last Saturday , May 30th , by my new home salesperson , Pat Cordova CGP , after working with these customers for 18 long months ! We were actively bidding against 2 other local builders , but we got the job because the other 2 builders poopooed Green / Energy Star building and didn't offer a 12 year Insured RWC Warranty ! We showed our customers the benefits of Green / Energy Star building and told them we plan on designing their home to score minimum Gold Level Green under the newly approved National Green Building Standards through the NAHB Green Building Program . Last December , we completed our 1st Gold Level Green home under the previous NAHB Green Building Guidelines and we're getting our 2nd Gold Level Green Home certified next week by an independent 3rd party verifier .

At Ed Nikles Custom Builder , Inc. & Green Country Homes , we obviously know Green / Energy Star building isn't a fad , but we're glad our local competition thinks so ! When the Pike County Builders Association offered the Certified Green Professional (CGP) certification courses a year ago , neither builder bothered to attend the 3 days of classes ! Don't they understand how important Green / Energy Star building is to today's consumer ? Did they forget when gas was over $4.00 per gallon just a few short months ago ! Didn't the other builders notice gas prices just went up , again , over 20% in the past few weeks ? Why did they tell the customer Green / Energy Star isn't a big deal and that they build efficient (non-verified) homes too ! Why didn't they talk about indoor air quality when the customer works in the health industry ? We'll probably never know for sure , but we're glad they are just happy building to the minimum IRC code ! What advantages are you seeing in your markets from builders who offer Green / Energy Star building as an option or as a standard practice ?

Keepin' it Green ! Edward D. Nikles CGP , CAPS , GMB , CGB , CGR

view my website at http://www.ednikles.com or blog at http://blog.ednikles.com

view my website at http://www.greencountryhomes.com or blog at http://blog.greencountryhomes.com

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Bethany Phillips, MBA

Fredericksburg, VA

I just spent a week in Mississippi building an Energy Star rated Habitat for Humanity home. Didn't seem like too much to ask of us volunteers to add some caulking, extra tape, eco-insulation, etc. Every home should be Energy Star rated from my perspective...

Jun 03, 2009 02:08 AM

Edward D. Nikles

Ed Nikles Custom Builder , Inc. / Nikles Realty , Inc. - Milford, PA

Bethany , thanks for volunteering ! Habitat For Humanity is a great cause ! It is awesome , that for even the most basic of homes , that someone thought enough to go the extra yard to ensure that the home would also be affordable from a monthly utility perspective ! It really isn't that much more work or cost to get a minimum 15% better than code ! I challenge other builders to go well beyond that & get 30% or 40% better or even more ! Our 1st Green / Energy Star home was 52% better than code (HERS of 48) with conventional (but upgraded ) fiberglass ! Keepin it Green !

Jun 03, 2009 03:14 AM

Lee Ellis

Northern Virginia/DC KWR - Lorton, VA

e-PRO, "RealtyLee" Green Homes & Technology Consultant

Way to go, Ed and company! BTW, Just heard about you again on Michael Chandler's Webinar about the NAHB Green Standards and Certification via GreenBuildingAdvisor.com. Thanks for your green building vision and leadership.

Jun 18, 2009 07:50 AM

Lee , thanks for the post ! Michael Chandler is my Green Guru & friend , who was preaching Green Building & Design years before it became mainstream . I'm glad you were able to participate in his webinar . I was unable to be there , but I'm sure Michael will fill me in when we have our next Builder 20 meeting in September , if not sooner . Keepin' it Green !

Jun 19, 2009 11:02 AM

Stanton Homes

Stanton Homes - New Home Builder - Raleigh, NC

Design/Build Custom Home Builder in North Carolina

HERS score of 48 is AWESOME! Congrats on the contract, and keep leading the way...

Mar 01, 2010 02:59 AM

Thanks Penny ! We are insulating the home today , as our latest snow melts ! We'll be doing our blower door test around the end of April , so we'll keep everyone posted on our latest HERS rating ! Keepin' it Green !

Mar 01, 2010 03:14 AM

Bruce Breedlove

Avalon Inspection Services - Colorado Springs, CO

HERS of 48 is excellent. Keep us posted on future houses and how they score.

Mar 27, 2010 04:23 PM

Thanks Bruce ! I will post the HERS results when we do our next Blower Door test ! So far we have an overall average HERS of 58 on our homes , with conventional fiberglass insulation , high performance eguipment and lots of foaming & caulking . Keepin' it Green !

ps. I guess one of the other builders , who originally bid on this home , finally got his CGP designation , but redid his website to present an Anti-Green message about how it is a fad & waste of money ! This still works for me !

Mar 28, 2010 12:08 AM

We just did the blower door testing last Thursday 5/6/10 and received a HERS Rating of 52 , which is 48% better than code ! We acheived this with conventional fiberglass insulation ! Our revised average HERS rating for all our Energy Star Homes is now 56 , which is 44% better than code ! This is almost triple the 15% minimum Energy Star threshold ! Keepin' it Green !

May 08, 2010 03:23 AM

Why didn't the other builders want to build Green / Energy Star ?

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