As a member of the Dallas Green Building Alliance I feel it is necessary to let consumers know what green building programs are in our area.  Green Built Texas has been a valuable resource to the green community for some time now.  All members of the Dallas Green Building Alliance are members of Green Built Texas.

What is Green Built Texas?

Green Built Texas is a voluntary partnership of local home builders, industry supporters, and sponsors committed to creating awareness and interest in the construction of higher-performance, lower-impact residential homes in Texas. The program has a construction protocol that Home Builder Association (HBA) members have deemed essential in order for a home to be recognized by the program. Homes built to this protocol conform to higher standards of site management and waste recycling, water efficiency, indoor air quality, energy efficiency, materials, and homeowner education.

Membership in Green Built Texas is open to both Builder and Associate members of the Home Builders Associations in the State of Texas. Through special events and media outreach, the HBA endeavors to make homebuyers more aware of its green building program and its participants. Green Built Texas also provides educational seminars and is affiliated with the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) National Green Building Program as its certification processes offer an alternative method to Green Built Texas recognition. A similar agreement with the U.S. Green Building Council enables homes built to the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes (LEED-H) protocol to enjoy the same benefit.

GBT is better able to serve its members thanks to the resources offered by these national programs. Meanwhile, the national programs benefit from a vibrant state and local initiative serving as a conduit for certification.

The HBA’s goal is to establish a green building program that is recognized by municipalities and consumers throughout the state. Green Built Texas has also established a program for low and mid-rise multifamily construction and will soon create higher levels of green building achievement that will allow builders to advance their building product to meet both consumer desires and their own business plans.

www.greenbuilttexas.com

Benefits of a Green Built Texas Home-click on this link to view benefits

http://www.greenbuiltnorthtexas.com/benhome.htm

Construction Protocol- Click on this link to view protocol:

http://www.greenbuiltnorthtexas.com/documents/GBNT_ProtocolVersion2_official.pdf

There’s a big debate in the green building industry about performance testing – should it be mandatory for new and existing construction and how much good will it do? As reported in the American Statesman on June 10, 2009 Austin just released the results of the first 310 homes that received energy audits under the new ordinance. The ordinance requires sellers to get energy audits of their homes and disclose the results to potential buyers. Austin Energy compiled these numbers from the first wave of audits:

86% of homes had ducts that leaked more than 10% – the rate considered acceptable for energy efficiency

The average amount of air leakage was 22% – WOW! This is the average of all homes tested – 1/4 of energy lost in leaking ducts.

The average loss in hard $$$$ is $260.00 a year per home. This is $260.00 of wasted electricity per home per year.

807,840 Total annual kilowatt-hours of electricity wasted by these houses — enough to power 67 average-size homes for a year

1 million Pounds of carbon dioxide emitted annually to produce the wasted electricity

$500 Average cost to seal ducts, after Austin Energy rebates, with a $120 average annual savings

$661 Average cost to add 6 inches of attic insulation, after rebates, with an average annual savings of $90

Now that’s some hard facts. How can anybody argue against performance testing?

Dallas does not have an ordinance like this – yet! But it would be in the interest of all consumers to know how efficient (or not) their house is before they buy it. If you are in the market for a new home in Dallas and would like to get it evaluated for energy efficiency before you buy, just give us a call at 214.550.5076 or email us to info@EGCDallas.com.