Tour of the NAHB Research Center

Friday the Home Builder’s Green Building Council was treated to a tour of the NAHB Research Center in Maryland. Nearly 30 members - builders, associates, and Kent County inspectors attended the tour. The first part, conducted by President Mike Luzier and Green Director Michelle Desiderio was to learn about the numerous services the Research Center provides besides green home certifications, including state of the art market research and focus groups for housing and housing product clients. We learned that the Research Center’s independence from NAHB and non-biased results are without dispute as they hold many accreditations from independent national testing certification bodies.

Then Bob Hill, Director of Laboratory Services, hosted our tour of the 45,000 square foot, 4-story indoor testing facility which can evaluate all parts of housing product components - weatherization of walls, materials, and insulation, osb strength, thermal characteristics, plumbing fixtures, etc.

The Research Center congratulated our HBADE with implementing the Green for Green homebuyer rebate program which rewards new home buyers of certified green homes with cash rebates. Mike cited it as an example of a win-win partnership in Delaware between the State DNREC and SEU and HBADE. He commented that other States are looking to implement the program nationally.

Green Building Council Wins Award

Landmark/JCM's Howard Fortunato and Don Yoos of J.S. Hovnanian & Sons were on hand Monday night in Raleigh, NC to receive the coveted New Program of the Year Award.

Don and Howard attended the NAHB Green Building Conference which began Sunday. The highlight of the conference is the National Green Building Awards which are bestowed for several green building categories. The panel of national judges reviewed entries from across the country and awarded the Green Building Council of the HBADE as the 2010 New Program of the Year.

Big Shoes to fill for a relatively new Council, we were pleased to accept the award on behalf of the entire GBC and the Home Builders Association of Delaware. We' re pleased to show the nation that although Delaware is a small state, that Green building has taken hold here.