FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Allison Landry
703-352-5950
info@christophercompanies.com
Local Builder Applauded for Excellence in Advancing High-Performance Mainstream Home Building
Oakton, Virginia, Jan. 9, 2017– The Christopher Companies has been named a Home Innovation NGBS Green Partner of Excellence for 2016. 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.
“As the home building market continues its rebound,” said Home Innovation Labs president and CEO Michael Luzier, “dedicated partners like the Christopher Companies prove that participating in our rigorous third-party certification program isn’t just a passing fad – it’s a strategic business decision that is paying dividends and changing the marketplace. Others around the industry could benefit from following the lead of this year’s Partners of Excellence and building on their success.”
To date, the Christopher Companies has completed over 260 single family and townhome residences, 112 rental apartments and 30 condominiums throughout Northern Virginia and Sussex County, Delaware that are NGBS Green Certified by Home Innovation Research Labs. Another 32 homes are in progress at this time. These certified homes include energy and resource-conserving features such as Energy Star Certification, water efficiency, indoor environmental quality through properly modeling the homes and having a third party verify the quality of the installation of such measures. These measures assure noticeable improvement in their air performance and quality, as well as saving homeowners approximately 30% more compared to typical homes.
“Since adopting the NGBS standard first in Delaware in 2010, followed by Northern Virginia in 2012, Christopher has emerged as the leading builder of NGBS certified homes in both states,” says company President, Craig Havenner. “The NGBS program provides us with a framework for the most cost effective solution to long term energy performance for our homes, outstanding third party verification of our actual performance onsite, and furthers our commitment to excellence and value in the homes we deliver to our customers. We could not be more proud of our team and their accomplishments.”
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 in order 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 the American National Standards Institute (ANSI), Home Innovation Research Labs has certified nearly 100,000 green single-family and apartment homes, and more than 1,650 lots within green residential land developments. (For more details on current certification numbers, visit www.homeinnovation.com/ngbsgreenstats.) For more information on NGBS Green Certified homes and Home Innovation’s NGBS Green Partner builders and remodelers, visit www.NGBS.com.
For more information on the Christopher Companies, visit christophercompanies.com or contact them at info@christophercompanies.com.
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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.