Green Building Programs Revise Inspection Procedures for COVID-19 Precautions
This post was updated on July 2.
As part of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic response, organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) and Home Innovation Research Labs (HI) are adopting emergency inspection procedures for their green-building programs to protect the health and safety of rating providers while meeting the needs of clients.
EPA's ENERGY STAR programs, RESNET's Home Energy Rating System (HERS) and HI's National Green Building Standard (NGBS) Green program will allow raters, rating field inspectors (RFIs) and verifiers to conduct remote inspections using video and/or photo documentation for verification. Additional documentation may be recommended or required, including:
- For HERS Ratings: A signed copy of RESNET's Interim Remote Verification Disclosure Form to the builder or developer, which will be distributed soon by RESNET.
- For ENERGY STAR for Homes: Specific notation (e.g., 'R' for 'Remote') on the ENERGY STAR Rater Field Checklist for those items that have been verified remotely.
- For NGBS Green: Verifiers should seek approval with Home Innovation for a virtual inspection prior to the conducting the inspection. The virtual inspection request should include a reason for the request, inspection date, the project ID, and a link to the virtual platform that will be used so that Home Innovation staff can participate.