Water use in Residential Buildings
In pursuit of superior water efficiency certifications for residential buildings
Home Innovation offers two water efficiency certifications for residential buildings, which can be pursued together or independently.
WRI is a score between 0 and 100 that indicates a property's total indoor and outdoor water use compared to a baseline based on the home's size and basic configurations.
WaterSense Certification is EPA's mark of superior water efficiency. Home Innovation serves as a Home Certifying Organization (HCO) and certifies homes in compliance.
These labels do not need to pursued concurrently with NGBS Green certification. However, if they are pursued together, the water efficiency certifications contribute toward compliance with the water efficiency category.
Water Efficiency Certification Details
Water Rating Index (WRI) Score
The 2020 NGBS introduced the Water Rating Index (WRI) as a new optional path for newly-constructed homes to demonstrate compliance with water efficiency criteria. A WRI score is a value between 0-100 and can be used to understand the operational costs of a given property. A WRI score indicates a property's total indoor and outdoor water use compared to a baseline based on the home's size and basic configurations.
Just like with the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) and the Energy Rating Index (ERI), a lower score demonstrates higher efficiency. A WRI score of 70 or below can be used to comply with either New Construction or Single-Family Certified paths under the 2020 NGBS.
Builder can be on the cutting edge when they take advantage of this new opportunity to set their homes apart from other green certified homes. Builder benefits include:
- Ability to use new terminology to communicate expected water use
- Ability to leverage an additional third-party label as part of their marketing purposes
- Access to new tools that can help them consider various design choices and their impact on water use and expected NGBS points
To take advantage of this new opportunity, builders must select a 2020 NGBS accredited verifier who also holds the WRI Verifier credential. These individuals have undergone additional training related to water efficiency and have access to the calculator tools necessary to score and verify a home's WRI value. Homes that earn a WRI of 64 or less may be eligible to earn EPA's WaterSense home label. Builders can leverage EPA's recognizable symbol for water efficiency and offer assurance that the homes are at least 30% more efficient than typical construction.
WaterSense Certification
Homes and multifamily buildings can earn WaterSense certification, EPA's mark of superior water efficiency. WaterSense labeled homes are designed to be at least 30% more efficient than typical construction. Home Innovation serves as a Home Certifying Organization (HCO) and certifies buildings based on compliance with its WaterSense Approved Certification Methods (WACM), a methodology developed by Home Innovation to demonstrate that a home meets the WaterSense water efficiency requirement. Compliance criteria is based on selected NGBS practices, and there are two compliance pathways available.
Compliance criteria is based on selected NGBS practices, and there are two compliance pathways available.
- Prescriptive Path: implement selected practices from Chapter 8 or 11, including installing efficient kitchen faucet, appliances, and hot water distribution and irrigation systems
- Performance Path: demonstrate overall water performance by earning a WRI value of 64 or less
Only NGBS Green Verifiers who have earned the WRI Verifier credential are eligible to verify compliance with WaterSense.
The latest versions of the 2020 NGBS Green Scoring Tools include new functionality to track and verify compliance with WaterSense.
NGBS Green WRI Verifiers
With the release of the 2020 NGBS, homes can now earn a certified water rating index (WRI) score that indicates a property's total indoor and outdoor water use compared to a baseline. Only NGBS Green Verifiers with specialized training are eligible to score and verify for a home's features for a certified WRI score.
NGBS Green WRI Verifiers are also authorized to verify home compliance for EPA's WaterSense HomesProgram.
Find NGBS Green WRI Verifiers