What Does Green Home Certification Mean?

As a kid growing up in New Jersey, I often went grocery shopping to help my mom. I was familiar with ShopRite, but when faced with a shelf full of options, I'd wonder, "Which brand should I pick?" I'd frequently return to her confused and ask. Her answer was always the same: "Get the one with the Good Housekeeping Seal."

I remembered these words when I sat across from the publisher of Good Housekeeping during my first job interview. He must have liked the story because soon I was on the streets of Manhattan as their youngest advertising salesperson, carrying a bag full of magazines.

“8 out of 10 women” became my mantra. What does it mean? It was the conclusion of a research report I always brought with me that showed that when faced with two comparable products, 8 out of 10 would, you guessed it, “choose the one with the Good Housekeeping Seal.”

The Seal was established in 1909, when consumer protection laws and regulations were scarce, and consumers needed a trusted source especially when it came to food quality, labeling, and safety. To the magazine's credit, they took it upon themselves to only accept advertising from products that had been adequately vetted. Today, I am sure their policies have changed in some ways, but they appear to have adapted the Seal to the times. For example, in 2009, they introduced the Green Good Housekeeping Seal, which recognized products that met environmental standards in addition to quality standards.

Why does this matter? Third-party assurance certifications are still vital, especially for products and services that go into "green homes." Most energy efficiency improvements by design are unseen. Someone needs to "look under the hood" since not all consumers have the expertise or time to dive deep into energy efficiency or renewable energy.

Quick answers are essential for homebuyers in fast-paced markets. Questions arise: What are the heating and cooling costs? What are its CO2 emissions? Can I trust the seller's information?

It's not only buyers who are interested. Many appraisers and mortgage lenders value the energy efficiency and green features of a home, and will work to accurately reflect this in the property's worth as long as the information is presented to them in a certified manner. So far, most of the residential real estate market has been disjointed, and there hasn't been a Good Housekeeping to pull it together.

What green home labeling programs can you trust when buying or selling a home?

DOE’s Home Energy Score program, LEED® for Homes, National Green Building Standard (NGBS) Green Certified program, HERS® Index Scores, Zero Energy Ready Homes among others. Home Performance with Energy Star is going away for existing homes, but ENERGY STAR Homes are still considered by many as the gold standard for new homes.

I also like Pearl Certification especially when it is combined with any of the labels above.

I caught up with W. Casey Murphy, Senior Vice President of Business Incubation at Pearl Certification, by phone.

Like Good Housekeeping, Pearl Certification is a private company with a public mission and, in fact, just became a public benefit corporation.

They're working feverishly to expand the pipeline of reliable energy efficiency and asset labeling programs and get it into the hands of realtors who can make market transformation magic happen.

As I’ve written here before, one or two stray assets may not save energy. It depends on how they interact as part of the whole home’s system. Pearl Certification, when combined with an energy performance visit like those required by the DOE’s Home Energy Score or the HERS Index, gives a complete picture of a home’s energy systems.

After that, Murphy told me, "Pearl puts things in a way the market can understand."

“Real estate agents sell a kitchen remodel; why not energy efficiency?” he asked. Pearl considers itself a clearinghouse for certified information and record keeping, and topline data is automatically imported into into the Appraisal Institute’s Residential Green and Energy Efficient Addendum where it can be put to work by real estate appraisers.

“Maybe the first time you sell the home, energy efficiency certifications are remembered, but what about the second and third time? Is the information going to be there when it’s needed? No one remembers…” Murphy told me.

Visiting Pearl’s website, I was immediately prompted to try its Green Door App. I am glad I did and am very impressed with the implications. First, I found I did forget about some of the improvements we’d already made to our home! Once I found the paperwork from my last energy audit, it was inputted into their system. With the work we’ve done, it shows we are on the edge of obtaining Pearl Silver. Next, I was able to take a look at our whole home’s energy efficiency assets right down to the attic hatch door. I could quickly and clearly see what improvements are left, especially if I want my home to move up the ranks in Pearl’s certification scheme.

“We are all working for the same thing: to make the unseen seen,” Murphy said.

Pearl doesn’t do its work alone. They certify homes through different channels: public-private partnerships, contractors, builders, and real estate agents. This may be especially important for rural areas where a homeowner may not have an energy efficiency program next door.

“It doesn't matter what the asset is; it requires 3rd party certification,” Murphy said. Then he added, "The most important question is: are the market actors going to understand it?"

I agree!!