Habitat for Humanity Bay-Waveland Area has been named an NAHB Research Center Green Partner of the Year for 2011.

Being one of only a handful of the Research Center's green certification participants to be honored with this award validates the commitment Bay-Waveland Habitat has made to providing its customers with increased value, comfort, durability, and efficiency through its Green Certified homes.

"We are awed by what companies like Bay-Waveland Habitat are achieving in the field and the market transformation they are accomplishing through a voluntary, market-driven program," commented Research Center President Michael Luzier. "We're deeply honored to receive this award," stated Wendy McDonald, Bay-Waveland Habitat's executive director. "It reinforces our commitment to build homes that are attractive, energy-efficient dwellings that are an asset to our homeowners and our community."

In 2011, HFHBW constructed 13 homes in Hancock County, Mississippi that were green certified by the Research Center to the National Green Building Standard. To date, Bay-Waveland Habitat has built nearly 70 homes to green certification standards.  These certified homes include energy and resource-conserving features such as: open cell spray foam insulation, galvalume roofing, advanced framing, low VOC paints and adhesives, energy efficient HVAC systems, Energy Star appliances, native species plants, onsite recycling, and low impact construction practices.

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 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 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 any other national certification program has.

Since the National Green Building Standard became the first and only residential green building rating system to be approved by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) in January 2009, the NAHB Research Center has certified nearly 2,600 single-family homes, over 150 multifamily buildings representing nearly 4,700 apartments, and 17 residential land developments representing close to 1,000 lots.

For more information on Bay-Waveland Habitat's
green certified houses