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2008 Checklist:

Built Green has had several inquiries recently as to whether a new Checklist for 2008 will be issued.  Built Green has traditionally revised and issued a new Checklist on an annual basis, effective January 1st of each year, with the new version being circulated the prior October to allow builders to prepare for implementation of any changes in their compliance. Based upon several factors, including the difficulties builder members have in adjusting their products on an annual basis, in 2007 the Energy and Environmental Affairs Committee (EEAC) determined to establish a longer revision cycle.

Not all changes to the Built Green Checklist are changes which have the potential to make compliance more difficult, however.  New products, information and research can and do provide the opportunity to expand the choices available to builders on the Checklist.  This being the case the EEAC also determined that in the event that the Checklist could be expanded with new options, that expansion could take place “mid-cycle”.  That is, Built Green can ADD options to the Checklist between review and revision cycles.

Built Green is currently concluding work on additions of that nature to the Checklist which will be released prior to the end of February.  These additions, once released, will give builders even more flexibility in meeting the Built Green requirements by providing more choices on the Checklist.  In the meantime, builders will continue to use and register homes under the current 2007.2 Checklist.

Built Green with ENERGY STAR Partnership:

While we’ve stated above that there will be no major adjustments in the 2008 Built Green Checklist, we do want to make our members aware that we are currently investigating the possibility of adjusting the current Built Green minimum energy efficiency requirement to ENERGY STAR standards, to take effect July 1st 2008.  This change will give the Built Green program and all its members the opportunity to take advantage of the Governor’s Energy Office Energy Star for New Homes Initiative (see their website for more details www.colorado.gov/energy/), as well as bring our minimum energy requirement in alignment with the industry standards utilized my most other green building programs.  We realize that this change is a much bigger adjustment than what has been stated above, and hence bears further research and discussions with our builder members.  We will be contacting some of you to discuss this within the next week or two, but please feel free to contact us directly if you have any questions or concerns.  You mail email your comments or concerns on making ENERGY STAR a requirement of Built Green Colorado to tdalessio@earthlink.net.

Sign-up to sponsor the 2008 Built Green Universities Deadline for sponsorship is February 20th.

• Please click here for the Durango Built Green University Sponsorship flyer.
• Please click here for the Denver Built Green University Sponsorship flyer.

They're breakable, contain toxic material, and are becoming increasingly commonplace. But fears of mercury poisoning from new energy-efficient fluorescent bulbs are overplayed, experts say.

Click the following link to read the full article by Scott Norris from National Geographic News. http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2007/05/070518-cfls-bulbs.html

Fort Collins, Colorado: Solar Energy International (SEI) is proud to announce a Solar Industry Seminar taking place at the Marriott in Fort Collins, CO, March 27-29, 2008. This event is co-sponsored by Colorado Solar Energy Industry Association (CoSEIA). The cost is $450 for members of SEI &CoSEIA and $500 for non-members.

For more information, please visit www.solarenergy.org  or contact SEI at 970.963.8855

NEW YORK — Sean Walsh returned to his mother's San Diego home after the October wildfires to find it charred to its foundation. He says he plans to help her rebuild the trilevel, five-bedroom abode — happily used to host 19 grandkids — exactly as it was, only greener.

Two major insurers are launching "green" insurance programs that will let homeowners reconstruct their property with more environmentally friendly building materials, appliances and landscaping, even if it costs more than the replacement value stated in the policy.

Please click the following link to read the full article: http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/environment/2008-01-08-green-rebuilding-insurance_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip&POE=click-refer

The bottom line is always in the minds of builders and business people.  A Built Green home can cost less and sell faster, both contributing to the builder’s bottom line.  But taking full advantage of the benefits of a Built Green home involves more than joining the program and waiting for customers to come knocking.  The front line – those folks who deliver the message face to face to potential buyers – is the critical link.

According to a 2006 market study, Colorado home buyers, when weighing the value of Built Green features in their purchase decision, are most likely to be influenced by the information about Built Green (and green building) that they receive from builders and their sales staff.  So for a builder interested in highlighting the growing market advantage of green homes, this is not an area to scrimp on training.

To read the full article from Doug Seiter, please click here, or see the December 2007 issue of Home Builder Magazine. To subscribe to Home Builder Magazine, please click here.

Builders:

Berthoud Development, LLC – Boulder, CO
Element Custom Builders (2008 Denver Parade Builder) – Denver, CO
Fuller Custom Homes – Denver, CO
Grand Park Construction – Winter Park, CO
Hedges Mountain Homes, LLC – Dillon, CO

Sponsors:

Hummingbird Recycling Services – Denver, CO
Jordan’s Building Center – Wheatridge, CO

This month’s sales tip features item # 163 from the 2007 Built Green Checklist 163.  Paints and finishes with recycled-content and VOC content of ≤ 200 grams/liter

Sales Tip: Highlight the health aspects of reducing volatile organic compounds (VOCs) in the new homes that you sell.  That new homes smell is most likely a chemical soup of curing paints and glues that can cause a number of respiratory problems from occasional headaches to more serious reactions.  In manufacturing, using post-consumer paint reduces the energy consumption and pollution of paint production. It also assures that a usable product is diverted from the waste stream.

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© 2007 Home Builders Association of Metro Denver