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A Davis engineering firm best known for developing energy-efficient ways to cool homes will lead a pilot program for certifying "green" homes in California -- a major expansion of environmentally-friendly construction, if it works.

The U.S. Green Building Council has chosen the Davis Energy Group as one of 12 firms heading the program nationwide. The Green Building Council plans to create a system for measuring the green building features of new homes and assigning a rating that buyers can easily understand.

The goal is to use less energy, save money and create less smog -- a particular problem in the Sacramento area, where the air generally doesn't meet federal ozone standards.

A similar program for commercial construction, Leadership for Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), has operated since March 2000. Builders have signed up more than 2,000 projects for LEED commercial ratings.

The council wants to expand the concept to include new single-family homes. Developing a consistent green-rating system would help homebuyers choose among competing projects, said Jim Hackler, the council's LEED for Homes project manager.

Mortgage lenders and insurers also want a standardized system to help them quantify the durability and financial benefits of green building designs, he added.

The council hopes to roll out the LEED for Homes program nationwide in 1 1/2 years. The group thinks it could eventually enroll 25 percent of the new-home market.

That would mean about 375,000 new homes annually, if homebuilding continued at last year's pace of 1.6 million housing starts. In Greater Sacramento, it would mean about 4,200.
Points and costs

Each of the 12 LEED for Homes providers must select four builders, who will submit at least two home designs each for consideration. One builder must be a nonprofit with a focus on affordable housing, Hackler said.

"We are looking for homes that are under construction," said Mark Berman, Davis Energy Group's business development manager.

Each house requires a review of the design, the construction and a final home inspection. It's a tougher process than LEED's commercial program, which does not require a performance test after construction.

Builders win points for environmentally-friendly characteristics.

"We want to advocate cost-efficient technologies and redefine what 'green' means in the housing market," Hackler said. "It doesn't have to cost more. It's basic building science 101."

Using better insulation, tighter ducts and properly-sized air conditioning systems would all earn points. Builders can also boost their grades by reducing construction waste, not building on farm land, and by buying lumber and other construction materials produced within 500 miles of the building site.

Builders need a minimum of 30 points for LEED certification. Ninety points earns a "platinum" rating.

The cost question could determine whether builders support the program.

"We're in favor of any project we can do on a voluntary basis," said Dennis Rogers, senior vice president of governmental and public affairs for the Building Industry Association of Superior California. "The issue for us is how do we start including green-building techniques in production housing in a way that doesn't drive the costs up."

The building council hopes to weave in standards from other green building programs, such as the Sacramento Municipal Utility District's Advantage Home program. SMUD's program awards two levels of ratings for homes built with energy-saving components.
Spaceship look not required

Davis Energy Group, which employs 19, beat Southern California Gas Co. and a few other competitors for the pilot program award in California.

The Green Building Council won't provide any funding for the pilot program, so the Davis firm plans to charge builders fees of $150 and solicit funding from electric utilities like SMUD.

"The trick for all of the providers in this is figuring out how to make this pay," Berman said.

In the meantime, he added, the firm will benefit by developing relationships with progressive builders and expanding the company's technological capabilities beyond energy efficiency.

Hackler said he hopes the pilot program will make the concept of a green home more familiar to buyers.

"A lot of people think it has to look like a spaceship," he said, "or it's made of sod, or it has solar panels that look like a screen door blew up on(to) the roof."