NAHB applauds ANSI approval of national green building standard

The National Green Building Standard[tm] for all residential construction work including single-family homes, apartments and condos, land development and remodeling and renovation was approved Jan. 29, 2009 by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

The approval signals a new era for the nation's builders, remodelers and developers and also provides an extra measure of reassurance for home buyers, said Joe Robson, a home builder in Tulsa, Okla., and Chairman of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB).

"The National Green Building Standard is now the first and only green building rating system approved by ANSI, making it the benchmark for green homes," said Ron Jones, who chaired the consensus committee charged with developing the standard."

"The standard provides home builders and remodelers with a much more expansive third-party rating system that they can use to achieve green certification under NAHB Green and the National Green Building Certification Program," said Mike Luzier, CEO of the NAHB Research Center.

The Research Center provides certification for NAHBGreen projects, which until now have only included single-family homes. "Consumers are looking for authentic, verifiable green building practices, and now they'll find them with a true industry consensus standard for residential green building," Luzier said.

The standard defines what green practices can be incorporated into residential development and construction and how home owners can operate and maintain their green homes. But the National Green Building Standard also provides for flexibility - allowing home builders and home buyers to make green choices based on climate and geography as well as style preferences and budget.

As part of the stringent process required by ANSI, NAHB and the International Code Council gathered a fully inclusive and representative consensus committee composed of a broad spectrum of builders, architects, product manufacturers, regulators and environmental experts. The work of the consensus committee was administered by the NAHB Research Center, an ANSI Accredited Standards Developer. The consensus committee deliberated the content of the standard for more than a year, held four public hearings and evaluated over 3,000 public comments in the development of the standard.

The Use of UV Ozone for Environmental Restoration

By Dr. Halden Shane, (The Ozone Man, Inc.)

Over the past decade, literally all service restoration companies have utilized traditional destructive methods to deal with indoor contaminated properties. Such methods include the use of potentially toxic biocides that are applied by fogging, spraying, or hand wiping on floors, walls, counters, furniture and HVAC systems. The theory is that the biocides will kill a wide range of microbial organisms that include fungi, bacteria and viruses. Few if any claims are made regarding the efficacy of biocides against biofilms a polysaccharide adhesive matrix that protects most bacteria and many fungi from outside influences. In addition to biocides, most traditional restoration companies employ portable HEPA units to scrub the air of fugitive spores and other fragments. Both biocides and portable HEPA have limitations that even after their deployment may still render the property uninhabitable.

The use of biocides is akin to chemotherapy for a property. That is, the use of a toxic material to destroy another organism, where, in fact, the cure may be worse than the microbe or cell that it is trying to kill. For many individuals, entering a property after the application of a biocide results in irritation and respiratory distress. Volatile organic compounds, or VOCs, produced by many biocides linger for days, and few restoration companies ventilate properties after biocide application. Portable HEPA, while somewhat effective for elevated airborne spores, often miss organisms and fragments that have settled to the floor or furniture, and as such, are no longer airborne.

A novel use of ultraviolet-generated Ozone properly sized and placed within an indoor environment in the absence of humans, pets, and plants (with elevated levels of bacteria, fungi, allergens, viruses and VOCs) provides an effective method to kill a significant percentage (79-97%) of these organisms within four to twelve hours of application. Additionally, UV-generated Ozone at levels of 10-12 PPM will penetrate biofilms and destroy bacterial and fungal-protected colonies. UV-generated Ozone also has the added advantage of reducing or eliminating offensive odors created by a wide variety of indoor conditions.

Proper use of UV-generated Ozone includes proper placement of the units to ensure total saturation of O3 throughout the property (including the furnace air intakes). During the application of UV-Ozone, measurements are required to ensure that sufficient levels have been reached. Following the application, the property is ventilated and air testing is conducted to ensure that the Ozone levels are below the TLV. In properties that have microbial contamination, spores, fragments and particles will drop to the floor or furniture due to gravity, attachment to dust and through the application of Ozone. It is necessary to HEPA vacuum the entire property after an Ozone application to remove all dead or damaged particles.

Environmental laboratory samples should be taken to establish the baseline (pre-Ozone application) and post-application to measure the effectiveness of the treatment.

For more information about the use of UV-generated Ozone to improve indoor air quality, visit http://www.theozoneman.com/.



Sources:
“Treatment of Mold and VOC-contaminated Residential Homes with UV-Generated Ozone”, with Donald J. Schmidt and Marshall L. Lowen, in Proc. IOA/PAG Annual Technical Meeting, Lake Lanier Islands, GA (Oct. 2005).

“Fungicidal Efficiency of UV-Generated Ozone Against Stachybotrys Chartarum and Aspergillus Versicolor Molds”, Ozone News 33(3):17-22 (2004).

Environmental Science and Technology, May 25, 2005

Official Journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics: Pediatrics 2001; 107;505-51

GenGreen and EcoBroker International Announce Partnership

Today, two Colorado-based companies, GenGreenLife.com and EcoBroker International, announced an innovative partnership that will provide home buyers and sellers with easy access to energy and environmentally-trained real estate professionals across the country. As a result of the partnership, these EcoBroker Certified® real estate professionals will be connected with a national audience of conscious consumers interested in buying and selling green homes.

“Green building is one of the fastest growing industries in the country right now,” said Charisse McAuliffe, founder and CEO of GenGreen LLC. “We feel this partnership will support this trend by increasing our users’ awareness that there are qualified REALTORS® out there who can help them find an environmentally sensitive home.”

GenGreen chose to partner with EcoBroker International because their certification program has been the industry standard of green designation training for real estate professionals since 2002. “The company has built a solid foundation of environmental education and outreach,” said McAuliffe. This helps consumers and communities take advantage of energy efficiency and sustainable design in real estate properties.

As part of the relationship, the Certified EcoBrokers® listed on GenGreenLife.com will be able to display their designation logo on their listing, improving visibility in the search results and allowing users to compare them to competitors who haven’t undergone certification. Likewise, EcoBroker will host the GenGreen API on their Web site, meaning that visitors to EcoBroker.com will be able to find and support tens of thousands of local eco-friendly businesses directly from www.EcoBroker.com

“We’re pleased to offer our members this tremendous opportunity to connect with the GenGreen community,” said EcoBroker founder and CEO, John Beldock. “The EcoBroker program was founded on the belief that licensed real estate professionals are the ideal candidates to connect homeowners with high-quality green products and services, as well as high-performance homes. Our relationship with GenGreen strengthens our ability to further these activities, which is fantastic.”

Those interested in learning more about the partnership and how to contact EcoBroker International for their real estate and designation needs are encouraged to visit the EcoBroker endorsement page on GenGreenLife.com (http://gengreenlife.com/endorsements.php).

About GenGreen LLC
The mission of GenGreen is to help people learn how to live more sustainable lives by making them aware of the environmentally conscious businesses, organizations and people in their local communities. We accomplish this through our Web site, GenGreenLife.com, which is the most comprehensive and diverse resource available for people looking to live a locally focused, environmentally conscious lifestyle. Currently, we offer a directory of over 35,000 business and organizational listings, and hundreds of green events, green-collar job listings and volunteer opportunities across the U.S.

About EcoBroker International
EcoBroker International is the premier provider of green designation training for real estate professionals. Founded in 2002, the company has built a solid foundation of environmental education and outreach helping consumers and communities take advantage of energy efficiency and environmentally sensitive design in real estate properties. Through EcoBroker’s unique energy and environmental curriculum, real estate professionals acquire the knowledge and resources to become Certified EcoBrokers®. These real estate professionals assist clients in their pursuit of properties that provide affordability, comfort and a healthier environment. EcoBroker has thousands of members in all 50 states and internationally.

EcoBroker®, Patrick Canavan previews a built green home under construction. Vol 2.: Insulation

EcoBroker®, Patrick Canavan shows us interior and exterior insulation techniques in home construction.