Green Builder Coalition

The Torch – February 13, 2018

The Torch Offical Publication of Green Builder Coalition

Activities

Next Generation Water Summit Workshops Offered at Santa Fe Community College

Santa Fe Community College (SFCC) announced its partnership with the 2018 Next Generation Water Summit. As the education partner for the Summit, SFCC will host several water education workshops before and after the Summit, scheduled April 29 through May 1 at the Santa Fe Community Convention Center.

Next Generation Water Summit logo

The workshops include: Greywater Basics, Rainwater Accredited Professional (ARCSA AP) Class, Water Efficiency Rating Score and Commercial Water Auditing, among others. This is the first time several of these courses will be presented in New Mexico and are open to professionals and students. All courses will be held at Santa Fe Community College, 6401 Richards Ave. For detailed information about the courses and to register, visit: www.energysmartacademy.com/water.html or call 505-428-1866. Information about the 2018 Next Generation Water Summit can be found at: www.NextGenerationWaterSummit.com.

“It’s a privilege to partner with the Alliance for Water Efficiency, the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce, Green Builder® Coalition, the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association and the City of Santa Fe by serving as the education partner for the Summit,” said Interim President Cecilia Y.M. Cervantes, Ph.D. “We are excited to offer these valuable and innovative water workshops, which complement the college’s already strong technology and building science offerings.”

  • The Water Efficiency Rating Score (WERS)® Verifier course, April 25 through 27, provides in-depth and practical experience in performing residential water assessments for new and existing homes. This class is required to become a WERS Verifier. The WERS Consultant course, April 25 and 26, is also being offered and plumbers, builders, irrigation professionals and water reuse professionals are eligible to attend this professional designation course.
  • Greywater Basics, April 26 and 27, will cover how to build and maintain a Greywater system and includes a field trip to view working systems.
  • The Rainwater Accredited Professional (ARCSA AP) Class, May 2 and 3, is an in-depth rainwater harvesting workshop required for those seeking a better understanding of rainwater catchment systems. The course tuition includes an ARCSA Rain Harvesting Planning Manual.
  • Commercial Water Auditing, May 2 and 3, will cover the basics of performing a commercial water audit for many type of facilities. A sample audit will be performed as part of the class. 

Sponsors and partners of the Next Generation Water Summit include the Santa Fe Green Chamber of Commerce, Green Builder® Coalition, City of Santa Fe, the Santa Fe Area Home Builders Association, and The Alliance for Water Efficiency. Santa Fe Community College is the official education sponsor, and Green Builder® Media is the national media partner.

The Next Generation Water Summit brings together the building and development community, water reuse professionals and water policymakers in a collaborative setting to share best practices and learn about innovative water conservation and water reuse techniques that can be used to comply with water conservation restrictions spreading across the southwest.

About Santa Fe Community College

FSFCC logoor more than 30 years, Santa Fe Community College has been the gateway to success for individuals and the community by providing affordable, high quality educational programs that serve the social, cultural, technological and economic needs of a diverse community. SFCC is designated a ”Best for Vets” and a “2015 Military Friendly” school. The college serves more than 15,000 students per year in its credit, noncredit and adult programs. For further information, visit sfcc.edu or call 505-428-1000. Follow us: SFCC on Facebook, SFCC on Twitter, SFCC on LinkedIn.


WERS Update

WERS Educational Sessions at Industry Conferences

WERS logoHere is the list of upcoming WERS educational sessions:

  • Getting to Zero National Forum – 4:00pm on April 18, 2018 in Pittsburgh, PA
  • 2018 Home Performance Coalition National Conference
    • Energy Codes from 2009 to 2018: A Multi-State Look at Compliance Verification Service Opportunities – 10:30am on April 24, 2018 in Philadelphia, PA
    • Water Ratings in Santa Fe: A Look Back at Year 1 – 1:30pm on April 24, 2018 in Philadelphia, PA
  • Next Generation Water Summit
    • WERS: Train the Trainer – 9:00am on April 29, 2018 in Santa Fe, NM
    • WERS Workshop for Builders, Developers and Designers – 3:00pm on April 29, 2018 in Santa Fe, NM
  • American Water Works Association Annual Conference & Expo (ACE) – 8:30am on June 13, 2018 in Las Vegas, NV

Industry News

Consortium for Energy Efficiency Releases Residential New Construction Initiative

In late January, the Consortium for Energy Efficiency’s (CEE) Board of Directors approved the CEESM Residential New Construction Initiative. This Initiative implements a tiered specification with performance-based levels to help drive adoption of increasingly efficient new construction practices, support the development of future building codes that align with program goals, and promote increased stability in a traditionally fragmented market of energy efficiency targets. It is designed to create a foundation from which energy efficiency program administrators can work collaboratively with industry to transform the landscape for newly built homes.

This document is available for any CEE member to use, with the requirement that they promote at least one of the tiers within the CEE Residential New Construction Specification through either an incentive-based or educational program. (CEE members are investor-owned or municipal utilities, state or provincial energy offices, government agencies, and non-utility program administrators.)

Some of the above-code programs listed in the document have a connection to The Coalition. They include: ecoSelect (founded by a Member), Coalition partners GreenStar and Florida Water Star, and our very own WERS Program.

“We are honored to have the WERS Program included in CEE’s Initiative,” said Mike Collignon, Executive Director of the Green Builder® Coalition. “Even though this Initiative is focused on energy efficiency, we credit CEE for recognizing the impact of non-energy benefits.”


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