Green Day at the Parade

October 29th was Green Day at the Greater Columbia Parade of Homes at Saluda River Club. There were two presentations with Green Council Chairman Mark Bostic and program verifier Joseph Gilmore. I attended the first presentation before volunteering at the parade's ticket gate.

Mark shared how the NAHB's green program is comprised of seven areas based on a points system. Then Joe spent a good bit of time on the areas of energy efficiency and indoor air quality. Topics included radiant barrier roof sheathing, foam insulation, insulating the roof on an attic instead of the attic's floor, using low-VOC paints & carpets, Energy Star lighting & appliances, tankless hot water heaters, blower-door testing, etc.

Five of the six homes in the parade are seeking green certification under the locally adopted green program. If you are considering building a new home and would like to know more about what it takes to be "green", let me know and I'll be glad to share what I've learned about it this year.

.

2008 Parade of Homes

Last night I had the opportunity of attending the Preview Party of the Parade of Homes at the Saluda River Club presented by the local HBA. The parade officially opens tomorrow and runs through November 2. There are six fully-furnished and decorated homes open for tours. As usual in a parade of homes, there were some "over the top" features including a water closet with its own tv and a dedicated massage room.

The Parade is a great place to get ideas on home layouts, built-in features, interior design, landscaping, etc. I was looking for more green building materials and practices (since 5 of the 6 homes were obtaining the local Green Council's certification) but they didn't appear to be blatantly spelled out. In a way, its a good thing for people to see that green built homes don't have to look odd or futuristic. However, I think it would have also been good to highlight what makes the homes green. To give the Parade credit, they are hosting a "Green Day at the Parade" on October 29 where they will be presenting the green features of the homes.

I hope you get the chance to attend the Parade of Homes this year. And feel free to share your comments about it here if you'd like. I'll be at the ticket gate on October 29 from 2:30 to 7:00pm so maybe I'll see you there!

.

Salim Khalil, CGP

SALIM I. KHALIL AWARDED

CERTIFIED GREEN PROFESSIONAL (CGP) DESIGNATION

Lexington SC, October 1, 2008 - Salim I. Khalil of Master Plan Homes Inc. recently became one of the select group of professional builders nationwide who have earned the Certified Green Professional (CGP) designation, identifying him as someone with knowledge of the best strategies for incorporating green building principals into homes.

The CGP program is administered by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) University of Housing and sponsored locally by the Greater Columbia Home Builders Association.

The CGP curriculum incorporates training by leading building industry practitioners and academics on a range of topics, including strategies for incorporating green-building principles into homes using cost-effective methods of construction, and how green homes provide buyers with lower maintenance and good indoor air quality. Techniques are also discussed for competitively differentiating your home products with increased indoor environmental quality as well as energy and resource efficiency.

Green Building for Building Professionals

A few months ago I mentioned that I attended a green home seminar at the Home & Garden Show. Last week I was able to further my green building education by attending the NAHB (National Association of Home Builders) University "Green Building for Building Professionals".

The course was offered here in Columbia through our local Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia and was attended by both local and out-of-state professionals in the home building industry.

The instructor for the course was Tom Stephani of Custom Construction Concepts Inc. of Crystal Lake, IL.



The main topics of the course included building science principles, site development and design, building envelope and durability, resource efficiency, energy efficiency, water efficiency, indoor air quality, remodeling considerations, effective operation and homeowner education, & marketing and selling green. Each of these topics was discussed in detail. Here are a few highlights I noted:

• The "whole house" approach means every system must be considered in relation to every other system in a house to build an efficient, more comfortable, safer, and more sustainable home.


• Energy efficiency is one of the biggest components of green homes under the NAHB Green Home Building Guidelines. A third-party review plan is required during construction to verify design and compliance of the energy efficiency guidelines.


• The typical household spends over $1,500 per year on energy bills. ENERGY STAR appliances can help homeowners save up to 30%.

And speaking of ENERGY STAR, a few stats:

1. ENERGY STAR clothes washers use 50% less energy
2. ENERGY STAR does not label clothes dryers because most dryers use similar amounts of energy.
3. ENERGY STAR refrigerators use at least 20% less energy than required by current federal standards and 40% less energy than conventional models sold in 2001.
4. ENERGY STAR freezers use at least 20% less energy than required by current federal standards.
5. ENERGY STAR dishwashers use 25% less energy

Hosted by the Green Building Council of the Home Builders Association of Greater Columbia, the Green Building course provided me with another level of compentence within this growing field of the building industry.

You can contact me at 803-260-7546 or by email to find out more about green building in the Columbia & Lexington areas of South Carolina.

.