In a late-January 2009 town meeting, county officials met with builders, homeowners, prospective buyers and members of the community to dicuss several points of criticism to Boulder County’s new BuildSmart program.  BuildSmart is a precedent-setting building code that requires homes to reach certain levels of energy performance (calculated on the HERS scale), based on home size.  Under this new regulation, for example, homes greater than 5,001 square feet must perform at a HERS Index 25 – nearly zero net energy.

Many people have criticized this new regulation stating that it imposes unfair financial burdens as a result of the extra expenditures required for renewable energy systems.  Eric Doub presented his perspective that BuildSmart does not cost more during this debate.  You can request to view Eric’s presentation and useful handouts on the topic by contacting us.