Single-family home builders scored well in energy efficiency under the 2015 National Green Building Standard (NGBS). Scores under the 2012 version were lower as they did not award points for HERS ratings.
Two-thirds of the single-family homes were built to either the 2012 or 2015 International Energy Conservation Code, worth 30 points in the 2012 and 2015 versions of the NGBS. The average number of points earned for energy efficiency under the 2015 version of the standard was 21 points above the threshold for a bronze rating, 51. In water efficiency, the average points earned was 17 above the bronze threshold. According to the National Association of Home Builders, the average scores were beneath the bronze threshold for lot design and resource efficiency
About one-fourth of the typical homes built by a sample of 246 single-family builders in 2016 had enough green features to quality for a bronze rating under the 2015 National Green Building Standard (NGBS).The NGBS is organized into six chapters: lot design, preparation, and development; resource efficiency; energy efficiency; water efficiency; indoor environmental quality; and operation, maintenance, and owner education. To achieve an NGBS rating, a home must not only satisfy a total point requirement, but also point requirements in each chapter.
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