Boulder Evaluates Green Building and Remodeling Regulations

With burdensome new green-building regulations under the county’s BuildSmart™ program having drawn boisterous complaints from citizens trying to be compliant, Boulder county commissioners May 19th ordered a review of program requirements.

While important changes will come to new construction design, particularly related to measures toward net zero construction for large homes, our customers contemplating home additions and remodels are affected. The issue for remodeling is whether the whole house before and after or just the addition being added is to be considered. Having an existing house tested is expensive. Predicting the performance of an addition’s design is not.

Building performance ratings which start at zero for a building that produces as much energy as it consumes (a net zero structure), go to 100 for a home built to and performing to today’s energy (and building) code, and up from there for yesterday’s home, the house most of us live in, are at the point of the discussion. It is beneficial if a homeowner remodels to any degree an older home rated at 350. It is either an independent question if a well-designed, green addition is constructed also, or an integrative question as is reflected in today’s BuildSmart program, which evaluates the performance of the whole of a house to which an addition was made.

Less costly and burdensome regulations will encourage more remodeling, and fewer scrape-offs/new builds, both important in the minds of the commissioners. We’ll keep you posted on the changes, and the spread of green remodeling initiatives throughout the Colorado front range.