NAHB housing policy briefing

The American National Standards Institute, ANSI, recently approved the 2012 ICC 700 National Green Building Standard, the first update to the standard since the original edition.

Launched in 2007, the ICC 700 National Green Building Standard is the first and only residential green building rating system to undergo the full consensus process and receive approval from the American National Standards Institute (ANSI).

“This is a huge deal for our industry,” says NAHB immediate past chairman Barry Rutenberg, a builder from Gainesville, Fla. “The updated version raises the bar on energy efficiency requirements and makes the standard easier to understand and implement. We expect that this will certainly help to build upon the momentum we are already seeing in green building across the residential building industry.”

To date, Home Innovation Research Labs, formerly the NAHB Research Center, has certified the compliance of thousands of dwelling units and developed lots to the ICC 700. Dozens of regional and local green initiatives refer to the standard within their program criteria, and the International Green Construction Code (IGCC) requires compliance with the ICC 700 if a jurisdiction chooses to regulate residential buildings four stories or less in height.

“ANSI’s approval of the 2012 ICC 700 reinforces the quality and transparency of the process used to develop this important standard,” said ICC board president Ronald Piester and CEO Dominic Sims. The new version of the standard includes several important changes including:

• Energy Code Update: While the original ICC 700 used the 2006 version of the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) as a basis, the new version will use the 2009 IECC. The requirements of the 2009 IECC are estimated to result in energy-efficient performance that is about 15 percent higher than the previous 2006 code.

• Incentives for Development and Lot Design: The 2012 ICC 700 includes the addition of a new scoring opportunity for those choosing the build lots in green communities. In the new version, six points can be earned in the Lot Design, Preparation and Development chapter for choosing lots in developments that have been certified to ICC 700 or an equivalent program. No such incentives were provided in the previous version of the standard.

• Restructured Scoring for Remodeling: The new version completely revamped the scoring for renovations and remodeling projects. The revised standard includes two entirely new chapters devoted to existing building projects.

The standard is available at www.builderbooks.com. For more information on the 2012 ICC 700 National Green Building Standard, please visit www.nahb.org/nahbgreen.