Bethesda Bungalows Contributes Insight into the LEED v. NGBS Debate
Last week, I had the distinct pleasure of meeting with Brad Beeson, the Director of Marketing for Bethesda Bungalows, to discuss and tour their “Incredibly Green Home of Chevy Chase” before it went to settlement. This house is built to meet both LEED for Homes Platinum and NAHB National Green Building Standard Emerald level certifications. Excitingly, the very morning that I was set to visit the house, Bethesda Bungalows received their NGBS Emerald certification for 5133 Fairglen Lane (pictured at left). They are still waiting to hear whether they will attain their LEED for Homes Platinum certification.
Since Bethesda Bungalows has direct experience with both the LEED certification process and with NAHB’s National Green Building Standard certification process, I thought that they’d have some valuable insight to contribute to the LEED v. NGBS debate.
Here’s a synopsis of some of the things that I learned from my discussion with Brad:
1. Documentation Processes: The time intensity required to complete the documentation process for pursuing LEED Platinum and NGBS Emerald certifications (both the highest levels of certification under both systems) is about equal.
2. Pro for LEED: The Credit Interpretation Requests available under LEED are extremely helpful in resolving “gray areas.” The NGBS, on the other hand, is a little less flexible.
3. Con for LEED: LEED performance path testing is more complicated and time-intensive.jpg)
than NGBS.
4. Pro for NGBS: The online scoring tool for NGBS was very helpful in assessing point potential. There isn’t really a counterpoint to this service under LEED. Additionally, the home received its NAHB NGBS Emerald certification before receiving a final determination from USGBC regarding its LEED certification.
5. Those pesky bonus points: On the other hand, the “bonus points” needed under the NGBS were hard to meet for Emerald level certification. (Like I mentioned in this previous post, the “minimums” needed for each certification level under the NGBS are NOT true minimums due to the “bonus point” requirement).
6. Preparation, training and experience is key: Training sessions with their subcontractors to make sure that everyone knew the green goals for the project were fundamental to the project’s success. Additionally, Bethesda Bungalows selected subcontractors, suppliers, and manufacturers that were experienced in green building. See their list of suppliers and manufacturers here.
7. Dual certifications aren't easy: Although there are points that overlap between LEED and NGBS that would support a decision to pursue both certifications for the same project, it’s not likely that this builder will pursue both for the same project again due to the time and organization systems needed for both.
In addition to being an "incredibly green home," 5133 Fairglen Lane is an incredibly beautiful home. I think some people have the perception that green building isn't very attractive, but this home is a true luxury home whose green features are seamlessly interwoven into its overall design.
This is a great comparison of the two standards but what about the cost of the two certifications? I have always heard that LEED is more expensive but were the actual certification costs involved for each designation?
Hi Jon,
Thanks for your comment. I asked Brad that question, but the problem in determining the breakdown for each lies in the fact that it was a dual certification - some things that they did for LEED also counted towards NGBS, and vice versa. I think the best way to really compare costs would be to look at two different projects of comparable size and certification level (ex: 3,000 SQ home LEED Plat certified to 3,000 SQ home NGBS Emerald certified). I know the overall cost of the green features for this project was significant - but it's important to remember that these aren't just "green" features, they're also luxury features (ex - FSC certified wood floors pretty much throughout the home). I'll be on the lookout for a good real world example to compare costs, and will post on it when I find one!
The certification needs to become less expensive to gain the required traction in the building industry to make a true difference in the environment. As the designer of the "Incredibly Green Home," I feel that we need to regulate the products we make so we do not have to struggle to find safe products.If we know there are problems with product why do we make them available?
Additionally we need to get serious about energy efficiency.The energy requirements in all of the certifications are a joke.We need to pressure manufactures of windows,door and insulation ect. to step up and produce products that are authentically efficient.
Energy efficiency is a place where the certifications can raise the standards and drive the manufactures to produce better performing products.
Conservation and simplicity need to be at the heart of this movement in order to have all of us reap the benefits of Green Building.If our buildings become more efficient we will then be able to solve heating and cooling strategies in simple and less expensive ways.
The consumer needs to revaluate the existing housing paradigm and embrace a different way of thinking about their housing needs.We need to think in terms of creating a flexible housing stock that can evolve over generations to meet the changing needs of our culture. LEED should be thought of as a starting point and certainly not the Zenith of this movement, I would encourage people interested in energy efficiency and green building to explore programs like Passive House www.passivehouse.us and The Living Building Challenge www.ilbi.org.
I am excited to continue to apply Green Building principles to our projects and i would encourage everyone who is building and remodeling to participate even if you do not go for a certification.An uncertified house with applied green building principals is very much a step in the right direction.
Christian
Good post and interesting information.
We can all keep rooting for the CIRs to be easily accessible, that sounds like USGBC may be coming around on that topic.