Posts Tagged ‘arlington county green home choice program’

A Snapshot of Arlington County’s Green Home Choice Program

Thursday, June 2nd, 2011

Arlington County’s comprehensive yet flexible green home certification program paves the way for Northern Virginia County Green Building Programs.

Taking the lead from the guidelines of the EarthCraft Virginia Green Building Program, Arlington County’s Green Home Choice Program takes on home builders and renovators to help them achieve third party certification for a successful green building. They developed this program “to provide a structure and support system within which builders and homeowners can build green,” and ever since implementing this program have grown steadily and have a wonderful following of strong builders in the Arlington community.

Much like the EarthCraft Virginia which is the regional green building program and another third party verification process,  Arlington County’s Green Home Choice Program takes a look at components ranging from insulation and air sealing; energy efficient appliances and heating and cooling equipment; water conservation; indoor air pollution; energy efficient design and resources; solar electric or hot water panels and geothermal systems; and storm water management. The program defines a green home as a “healthy, comfortable home that reduces the use of energy, water, waste and natural resources, with good indoor air quality;” which is why they delve into the list of components referenced above to verify that the homes certified through the program have undergone and have been cross-checked by an Arlington County Green Home Choice Inspector.

If you are interested in utilizing this innovative program, review the guidance book first, then contact the program director, Helen Reinecke-Wilt with Arlington County for support. This weekend is the Annual Green Home and Garden Tour! Take advantage of this opportunity to check out some of the exciting homes which have achieved the Green Home Choice certification in this fun event Sunday, June 5th from 1-5pm. If your a cycling enthusiast and want to donate to Habitat for Humanity, there is a new option this year for a guided cycling tour. Check out the details through the Arlingtonians for a Clean Environment website and experience the Green Home Choice program first hand.

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Green Buildings, Local Green Events and Happenings | No Comments »

Award Winning Architect Stresses Certification Process

Thursday, April 14th, 2011

EnviroHomeDesign’s Marta Layseca knows her green building and shares her story case study about the third party certification process.

At the Arlington County Green It Lecture Series mediated by the Green Home Choice Program manager, Helen Reinke-Wilt, Marta Layseca was able to discuss two of her recent retrofit stories in the Arlington area and stress to the audience how the third party verification service is an absolutely imperative part of the green building process. What is the 3rd party verification part of the construction process anyways? Well, it is the part of the process where the project manager or builder has selected an outside authority to come into the project and certify that the project has been held to specific standards.

In the case of Mrs. Layseca’s projects in Virginia, the Green Home Choice Program is the County green building program and the EarthCraft Virginia Green Building program is the regional green building program which provides third party verification that the home is being built to specific standards.

The EarthCraft program institutes a standard checklist that the builder follows from the outset of the build. From the construction charrette to the final finish out, the builder will follow the checklist with the guidance of an accredited technical adviser who will inspect and consult on the building practices and techniques throughout the building process to ensure that the home is “built tight and ultimately ventilated right” as they say at EarthCraft.

Third party verification services not only provide quality control and performance testing, but they also can allow for the construction team to have a mediation with the third party who can come on site to discuss how “things should be done” if a technique or application is not being done properly.

Take for instance, if the duct work is not being sealed with mastic, and the HVAC contractor is arguing that they only want to use tape; the third party verification service provider such as an EarthCraft adviser can intervene and discuss why the technique being used is not the best, and correct the situation to help the builder achieve a higher performance, more energy efficient design. This will ultimately arrive at a healthier, more cost saving product for the builder and a more satisfied client. Now who can argue with that?!

Tags:, , , , , , , , , , ,
Posted in Sustainability Issues | No Comments »