Going above and beyond green building in Las Vegas
The Southern Nevada Home Builders Association recently said Las Vegas-based Harmony Homes is the first builder to join the “above code” program, part of the association’s Southern Nevada Green Building Partnership program.
Harmony Homes will incorporate “above code” program requirements at three of its subdivisions: Malibu in North Las Vegas and Daybreak and Talus, both of which are in the eastern Las Vegas Valley.
The association’s green building program allows production builders who construct single-family homes in Southern Nevada to exceed the 2012 International Energy Conservation Code in an “above code” program. The above-code features required in the program produce electric, gas and water savings beyond current code requirements.
Last year, the association partnered with ConSol – Home Energy Efficiency Rating Services (CHEER) provider, to relaunch the Southern Nevada Green Building Partnership program, which promotes energy efficient and environmentally sensitive home building in metropolitan Las Vegas. The “above code” program was added then.
CHEERS administers the program on the association’s behalf. The company has provided energy solutions for builders, government agencies, utilities, trade associations and developers in the Southwest since 1983.
The Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, the largest and oldest trade association representing the residential construction industry in Nevada, and the Green Building Initiative of Portland, Oregon, formed the Southern Nevada Green Building Partnership in 2005.
The green building program provides technical expertise to help local builders implement the requirements of the program; administers impartial third-party inspection and verification by certified home energy rating system raters, and certifies that the home is constructed to the requirements.
Las Vegas adopted the Southern Nevada Green Building Partnership as the residential component of its Green Building Program in 2007.
The program certified 227 local homes — 187 were constructed by Pulte Homes and 40 were constructed by Pinnacle Homes, where I’m a founding principal.
The program went on hiatus in the late 2000s when the economic downturn hit metropolitan Las Vegas.
The association is pleased that conditions are right for the program’s relaunch. It’s a win-win for the building industry, our homebuyers and our community.
Green building, with its “above code” and high-performance features, is important to homebuilding, consumers and the nation because it promotes lower total ownership costs through utility savings and increased durability and offers an improved indoor living environment.
Green building also encourages environmental awareness and stewardship and more efficient use of increasingly scarce resources and helps to conserve them for future generations. Voluntary, nonprescriptive green programs provide builders and consumers with flexibility they need to construct homes that are sustainable, affordable, cost-effective and appropriate to the home’s geographic location.
In a competitive market, builders can differentiate themselves by building green homes.
Send your questions or comments about new homes to monica@snhba.com. We will try to answer as many questions as we can given space and time limitations and constraints. For more information about the association, visit www.snhba.com.
Frank Wyatt, a principal at Pinnacle Homes in Las Vegas, is the 2016 president of the Southern Nevada Home Builders Association, the largest a trade organization representing the residential construction industry in Nevada. He’s been involved in the local home building industry since 1982.