Local Builder Applauded for Excellence in Advancing
High-Performance Mainstream Home Building
[Oakton, VA, 2/8/19] – The Christopher Companies has been named a Home Innovation NGBS Green Partner of Excellence for 2018. NGBS Green, which is based on the National Green Building Standard™ (NGBS), has certified more homes than any other national green home certification program. Being one of an elite group of Home Innovation’s green certification participants to be recognized validates the commitment the Christopher Companies has made to providing its homebuyers with increased value, comfort, durability, and efficiency through its NGBS Green Certified homes.
“In 2019, NGBS Green celebrates a decade of green, high-performance buildings,” said Home Innovation Vice President, Innovation Services Michelle Foster. “The NGBS Green certification program continues to enjoy widespread growth for both single-family homes and multifamily buildings. This year we celebrate the continued accomplishments of verifiers, architects, developers, and builders who have been recognized previously as Partners of Excellence and continue to design, build, and verify exceptional and sustainable homes, and we welcome new program partners who we are recognizing for the first time. Our partners continue to innovate and transform the residential construction industry so that living in a healthier, more comfortable, and lower-cost home can be attainable to anyone seeking a more sustainable lifestyle. We could not deliver such an affordable, rigorous certification program that provides value to the entire residential construction industry without dedicated partners like the Christopher Companies.”
In 2018, the Christopher Companies constructed 77 homes throughout Northern Virginia, Charlottesville, VA and Sussex County in Delaware that were NGBS Green Certified by Home Innovation Research Labs. To date, Christopher Companies has built over 360 homes that are NGBS certified. These certified homes include energy and resource-conserving features such as:
- Installing energy-efficient and water conservancy appliances
- Advanced framing techniques
- Low VOC-materials
- Quality insulation
- High performance filtration
“In a world where sustainable building is increasingly important, for the Christopher Companies – building high-efficiency homes that are both environmentally sensitive and provide real energy savings for our modern homebuyer is a commitment we take seriously,” says John Regan, VP of Christopher Companies, “We are committed to implementing new sustainable technologies that provide both a comfortable home and a happy homeowner! Go green!”
To earn certification to the National Green Building Standard, a home must meet rigorous criteria in six categories – Lot & Site Development; Resource Efficiency; Energy Efficiency; Water Efficiency; Indoor Environmental Quality; and Homeowner Education. There are mandatory practices in each category that every NGBS Green Certified home must meet, and there are a wide range of additional optional practices in each category that a builder can select based on the applicability to buyers or renters in their market. There are also mandatory point minimums in every category for a home to attain the next level of certification, which is a more stringent requirement than in any other national certification program.
Since January 2009, when the National Green Building Standard (NGBS) became the first residential green building rating system to be approved by ANSI, Home Innovation has certified nearly 164,500 green single-family and apartment homes, and nearly 1,700 lots within green residential land developments. For more details on current certification numbers, visit www.homeinnovation.com/ngbsgreenstats. For more information on the NGBS Green Certification Program, visit www.homeinnovation.com/green.
ABOUT HOME INNOVATION RESEARCH LABS: Home Innovation Research Labs, located in Upper Marlboro, Md., is a full-service research, testing, and consulting firm determined to improve the quality, durability, affordability, and environmental performance of single- and multifamily homes and home building products – in short, we aim to perfect the home. Founded in 1964 as a subsidiary of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), our team has been integral in solving many of our client’s most difficult product and technology issues, and helping to introduce some of the most groundbreaking innovations in residential construction. Through an interdisciplinary research approach – including market research, building science analysis, laboratory testing, and standards development – we help to find a home for innovation in the residential construction industry.