Reduce, reuse, recycle. The motto of the green movement was also the theme of last week's Triad Green Building Council meeting. Discussion centered on the National Association of Home Builders Green Home Building Guidelines, which advise builders interested in green construction on subjects including site design, conservation of resources, indoor air quality and homeowner education.
Presenter Robert Powell, assistant professor at the Center for Energy Research and Technology at N.C. A&T, reviewed the resource efficiency portion of the NAHB program's online scoring tool.
The Triad council has adopted the green building program guidelines and approved use of its scoring tool to certify green-built homes. The tool lists options that can be incorporated during construction and assigns point values to each environmentally friendly building process or product. Based on the number of points earned, the house receives a designation of gold, silver or bronze.
One reason that resource efficiency is a concern for builders is that the construction industry uses 60 percent of all nonfood and nonfuel raw materials in the nation. Resource-efficient products and practices are those that require less energy output and waste in production, transportation and maintenance. For example, premanufactured joists and trusses create less waste than those built on-site. Installation of a perimeter drain and drip edges at the eaves and roof gables protects against water damage so building materials last longer.
Another way to earn green points in resource efficiency is by using recycled content building materials. Several resources were suggested to help builders achieve this. • The Environmental Protection Agency offers free, downloadable software called BEES, which stands for Building for Environmental and Economic Sustainability. The 4.0 version of the software rates cost-effective, eco-friendly building products using a number of factors, including economic and environmental performance data.
• The Building Materials Reuse Association offers alternatives for the reuse of building materials to reduce the consumption of new resources and to avoid landfill waste and pollution. The nonprofit group's Web site lists a state-by-state directory, including North Carolina, of sources for finding reusable building materials such as salvage warehouses and resale stores.Council members expressed interest in getting more information at future meetings on green building materials and practices that are the least expensive, easiest to implement and will make the biggest impact. Another suggestion was to use meetings as a forum for reviewing the effectiveness of processes and products.
The council was started by the Greensboro Builders Association earlier this year, but recently opened up to members of other area builders associations to better accommodate the large number of professionals interested in joining the group.
The next meeting is in August and will cover energy efficiency. For more information, visit the Greensboro Builders Association Web site, http://www.greensborobuilders.org, and look under Upcoming Events.
Lisa W. Grigg can be reached at 887-2656, ext. 209, or by e-mail at lgrigg@news-record.com.
