Vermont Built Green Pushes the Envelope

For the last three years a group of committed builders and other experts has been meeting under the purview of Building for Social Responsibility (BSR) in Vermont to create the nation’s most comprehensive—greenest—residential green building program yet. Vermont Built Green (VBG) is being piloted this summer with a huge array of green criteria. Like most other green builder programs, VBG is built around a combination of required measures and additional points that can be earned for green features. In total, there are 54 required measures and another 226 measures for which more than 430 points are available. To become certified under VBG, a home must achieve all required measures and earn at least 100 points.

The most unique feature of the VBG rating system is its emphasis on house size—recognizing that smaller houses are greener. A matrix has been created listing the average size of houses by the number of bedrooms—from 1,700 ft2 (160 m2) for one bedroom to 3,200 ft2 (300 m2) for six bedrooms. For smaller-than-average houses, points are awarded; for larger-than-average houses, points are subtracted.

The impact of house size on the point total is very significant. In the current version, one could gain VBG certification solely by meeting the minimum requirements of the program and building a really small house. For a two-bedroom house, for example, 100 points are earned if the size is kept to 1,000 ft2 (90 m2); 25 points if it’s kept to 1,500 ft2 (140 m2). Conversely, a very large house loses a lot of house-size points, effectively increasing the point threshold for VBG certification. A four-bedroom house at 5,200 ft2 (480 m2)—twice the average size—loses 100 points, meaning that the house will have to earn 200 points for VBG certification, rather than 100. While some have expressed concern that a builder might exaggerate the number of bedrooms to keep the house size relative to number of bedrooms down, VGB committee members point out that the addition of bedrooms necessitates increasing the septic system capacity (for homes with on-site wastewater treatment), and more bedrooms may increase the assessed value. “Your home is taxed by the town on the number of bedrooms (among other criteria),” points out committee member Jim Vann. “Is someone going to lie on their appraisal to get a VBG points break? I think not.”