This session is a great crash course for new sales staff and is beneficial for ENERGY STAR veterans looking to practice their messaging relating to Version 3 systems. This session is aligned with the Version 3 specifications, and will touch on some key differences between Version 2 and 3 homes.

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Congress is unlikely to extend by the end of this year several tax incentives used by developers and remodelers that expire on Jan. 1.

The clock is running down on the New Energy Efficient Home Tax Credit (45L), the only federal incentive available for efficiency in new home construction. It provides a $2,000 tax credit to builders and developers for the construction and sale of homes that achieve a 50% improvement in energy efficiency over the 2004 International Energy Conservation Code.

Also nearing an end is the Existing Home Retrofit Tax Credit (25C), which provides consumers a tax credit of up to $500 for the purchase of qualifying energy-efficient products. Remodelers often leverage 25C tax incentives when working with clients.

NAHB is actively working to extend these tax credits.

Both 45L and 25C are traditionally renewed by Congress at the end of each year as part of a package of expiring tax credits.

Commonly referred to as “tax extenders,” this package has become more difficult to pass due to the government’s fiscal belt-tightening.

Because extending these tax credits would increase the deficit, Congress is required to offset the cost of the extension by either cutting spending or raising other taxes. Finding bipartisan “pay-for’s” has been difficult.

Last year, the credits were allowed to lapse for 11-1/2 months before Congress finally extended them retroactively for 2010 and until the end of 2011.

In addition to pushing for an extension, NAHB is working with a broad coalition of product manufacturers to modernize the 25C tax incentive.

In 2009 and 2010, Congress temporarily increased the 25C tax credit to allow taxpayers to claim 30% of the product cost — up to $1,500 — for installing eligible energy-saving retrofits in their homes.

These higher tax credits were involved in more than $25 billion of remodeling activity in 2009, which NAHB estimates was associated with over 276,000 jobs.

For 2011, 25C fell back to its pre-stimulus level of 10% of the installed costs, with a maximum credit for all qualified retrofits of $500. In addition, many products have lower thresholds, which have created confusion among taxpayers.

NAHB and its coalition partners are working with allies in the House and Senate to introduce legislation to increase the $500 cap to $1,000.

In addition, NAHB is proposing to eliminate the lower, individual product thresholds and permit taxpayers to claim labor costs for all qualifying products. For consumers, this would create a more robust — yet simpler — tax credit.

Although the tax extender package has been renewed before without controversy, taxpayers cannot assume that Congress will proceed as it has in the past.

While support in Congress remains high for extending these incentives and lawmakers have renewed these tax credits retroactively in the past, their fate remains in doubt as Congress wrestles with offsetting their costs.

Recognizing the uncertainty confronting small businesses and consumers, NAHB is continuing to urge lawmakers to extend these tax credits in a timely fashion.

For more information, email J.P. Delmore at NAHB, or call him at 800-368-5242 x8412.

More details can be found at the EPA’s Energy Star for Homes website.

Version 3 Training Requirements: Builder Training Requirements:

Builders must complete the online ENERGY STAR Orientation Training to be eligible to build homes qualified under Version 3. Effective January 1, 2011, new builders must take this training to become partners. Builders who joined prior to 2011 must complete the training by December 31, 2011 to remain ENERGY STAR partners.

Verification Partner Training Requirements

Verification partners, including HERS raters and Field Inspectors, must complete ENERGY STAR Version 3 Rater Training through an Accredited Training Provider . Effective January 1, 2012, new raters must take this training to become partners. Raters who join prior to 2012 must complete the training by December 31, 2011 to remain ENERGY STAR partners.

HVAC Contractor Credentialing Requirements

To be eligible to install HVAC equipment in homes qualified under Version 3, HVAC contractors must complete ENERGY STAR Version 3 Training and be credentialed through an EPA–recognized industry organization. For information on working with ENERGY STAR qualified homes as an HVAC contractor, please visit the EPA’s HVAC contractors webpage.

According to numbers recently released by the EPA, more than 29,000 ENERGY STAR homes were built in Texas in 2010. This represents almost a quarter of all homes constructed to the popular EPA standard across the nation.

These numbers, which include an increase in ENERGY STAR’s total market share are not a surprise; either is Texas’s continued domination of the market. It will be interesting to see if the trend continues into 2012 as the program moves towards its controversial Version 3.0 specifications. Continue this article to read the NAHB press release and see what other states are popular for ENERGY STAR builders.

A full 25% of all single-family homes built in the U.S. in 2010 earned Energy Star qualification, up from 21% the previous year, the Environmental Protection Agency announced last month.

Since 1995, about 1.2 million new homes have earned the EPA’s Energy Star designation, which represents savings of nearly $350 million on utility bills and a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions equal to those from more than 450,000 vehicles, according to the agency.

“These builders understand that energy efficiency and other green features will be the hallmark of almost all residential construction when home building comes back, and in the meantime, they want to set themselves apart from the competition,” said Kevin Morrow, senior manager of green building programs at NAHB.

“However, the overall numbers are still strikingly low — which speaks not only to the state of the home building business but to how important it is to correctly value these features in appraisals so that both the home builder and the buyer get their money’s worth.”

“New homes that earn EPA’s Energy Star seal of approval rise above the competition by offering a better quality and value while allowing home owners to do their part to keep our communities clean,” said Gina McCarthy, the agency’s assistant administrator for air and radiation.

In 2010, the EPA said, the share of new single-family homes receiving the Energy Star label exceeded 25% in 16 states — Arizona, Colorado, Delaware, Hawaii, Iowa, Kentucky, Maryland, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Texas, Utah and Vermont.

Energy Star requirements for energy efficiency in homes include:

■Effective insulation systems

■High-performance windows

■Quality construction to reduce leaks and drafts

■Efficient heating and cooling equipment

■Energy Star-qualified lighting and appliances

Energy Star was introduced in 1992 as a market-based partnership to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through energy efficiency.

More than 20,000 organizations are Energy Star partners who are committed to improving energy efficiency in homes, products and businesses.

More information on the share of homes in the marketplace qualifying for Energy Star is available at www.energystar.gov/homesmarketindex.

More information on the Energy Star program can be found at www.energystar.gov.

Four years ago, newly-elected Mayor Tom Leppert made it clear to our Dallas Division that his goal was to make Dallas “the greenest city in America” and that “green building was going to be a big part of the city’s sustainable portfolio.”

As soon as that challenge was issued, a task force was formed and no fewer than 70 meetings were held as the group went down a wayward path to their eventual result. That result was mostly positive for the industry as the ordinance was divided into two phases. The first phase, effective in 2008, addressed energy (15% above code) and water efficiency. The second phase, scheduled for October of this year, was to require a choice of recognized green building programs such as Green Built Texas or LEED.

Fast forward three years and we arrive at the point where the ordinance requires the task force to reconvene and evaluate the path forward. Obviously a lot has changed since 2007 from an economic and regulatory standpoint leaving the task force to evaluate factors that could not really be contemplated or anticipated the first time around. Those include:

• The economy has taken its toll. Attrition has hit the city just about as hard as it has our industry leaving fewer building inspectors and administrative support staff.

• Energy codes are advancing. Ironically, the 2009 energy code that the city just adopted is more efficient than the 15% threshold that was in the original green building ordinance.

• Interesting legal issues have called into question a city’s ability to mandate above code performance in a manner that conflicts with federal requirements for equipment efficiency such as HVAC.

• Even the most ardent champions of the LEED program admit that it is very difficult to tie the program’s requirements to a traditional building inspection and permitting process.

• To address the previous point, the International Code Council is conceiving the International Green Construction Code (IGCC). However, the IGCC will not be available until next year and, like all codes, will still need to be vetted at the regional level by the Council of Governments.

With these factors in mind, the task force recommended the following strategies that seem to be the way the city is headed; at least for now:

• Phase 2 of the original ordinance will be delayed until at least some time in 2012 meaning that Phase 1 will remain effective for the foreseeable future with some modifications.

• Recognizing that the energy code itself is setting the bar for energy efficiency, projects will simply have to meet or exceed the 2009 code instead of meeting the 15% threshold. On paper this is not a huge change, but practically this could save multifamily projects several thousand dollars by not having to energy model to ASHRAE 90.1 (2004). COMcheck (2009) will suffice as will the Texas A&M IC3 software (2009) for single family homes.

• Along with the “choose four out of six” list or use Green Built Texas or LEED for water efficiency compliance, the modified Phase 1 will allow for other strategies that reduce water consumption by at least 20% (as compared to the base Dallas Plumbing Code).

• Green plan reviews and inspections will be handled by qualified third parties. HBA members will benefit from this as Green Built Texas verifiers will be able to provide this service that will relieve some of the burdens of city staff.

• The city will monitor the evolution of the International Green Construction Code and encourage the Council of Governments to review it as soon as possible. The IGCC covers mid-rise multifamily structures so the HBA will remain involved in its development in order to ensure that it is a feasible strategy for our region.

These changes are on track for adoption by the city council in August or September. With so much still up in the air with the IGCC, the economy, and with Green Built Texas making wholesale modifications to its programs, I firmly believe the city is taking a prudent strategy. As with most things, getting there did not come easy. There are always those who want the city to mandate a lot more, but thanks to the involvement from HBA members a good result for our industry has been achieved; at least for now.

Revised Dallas Green Building Ordinance

Whenever I see an older home being remodeled, especially if it’s an extensive renovation, I always wonder if the homeowners and the contractor know what a great opportunity they have to make the house tighter. Whether they’re opening up walls or adding new ones, working in the attic, the basement, or the crawl space, air-sealing should be part of the scope of work. (read the full article at energyvanguard.com)

I’m not on the board or staff of RESNET or the EPA’s ENERGY STAR new homes program, so I’m not privy to the discussions they’ve been having. It would be interesting to be a fly on the wall at the meetings where those two groups discuss what’s happening during the rollout of and transition to ENERGY STAR Version 3. I’ve noticed an interesting jockeying for position between the two organizations lately. (read the full article at energyvanguard.com)

“The EPA has consistently pursued an aggressive regulatory agenda that has burdened industry with unrealistic mandates and costly regulations,” said Chip Yost, NAM’s vice president of energy and natural resources.

“These overreaching regulations have prevented industry, including manufacturers, from investing and expanding operations, stifling economic growth and job creation,” he said.

The legal briefs have been in response to a series of EPA-initiated rules, which have led to the unreasonable regulation of stationary sources of greenhouse gas emissions.

If left unchecked, the coalition has warned, these EPA mandates will have a crippling impact on manufacturers and could even result in the regulation of millions of stationary sources — from small businesses to hospitals and schools.

“This filing is the latest action in the ongoing efforts to curb the unprecedented number of regulations that will marginalize America’s manufacturers, the very people who are leading the way in our economic recovery,” Yost said.

Additional information about these efforts is available on NAM’s website.

For more information on NAHB’s role in the litigation, email Holli Feichko, or call her at 800-368-5242 x8335.

Read full article by Allison Bailes by clicking here.

It’s like golf — the lower the score, the better.

Anyone involved with the Energy Star Homes program has probably heard of the HERS Index, a method of scoring the energy efficiency of a new or existing home. A Web page maintained by the state of Arkansas, for example, explains that the “EPA requires a house qualifying for Energy Star to be built with best practices, tight ducts, and at least 15% more energy efficient than code as shown by a HERS Index score of 85 or less as determined by a HERS Rater.” (read full article at GreenBuildingAdvisor.com)