Check the Label: A Guide to Green Designations for the Home

Page 1 of 3 ( 1 2 3 )

Green Homes What is a green home? To answer that question, we first have to acknowledge that “green” has yet to be given a universally accepted definition. However, today a green home would be defined as: 1) a certified “green” home built to certain specifications and/or 2) a home built by a certified “green builder” that might include any number of green features. Even after choosing one of these two definitions, however, the consumer must select from a growing list of green home certifications or builders claiming green homebuilder status. What's in a name? Do you know all the green labels, designations and certifications? The Energy Star label is one of the best-known in the residential world. An Energy Star qualified home is built to energy-efficient standards set by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). The guidelines imposed on an Energy Star home address insulation, window performance, construction and duct tightness, the home’s HVAC systems and energy efficient products. Lastly, an Energy Star home has been third-party tested. Although the Energy Star home does not incorporate all aspects of a green home (such as indoor air quality, water efficiency, etc.), its comprehensive approach to energy efficiency sets it apart. The United States Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes (LEED-H) certification has enjoyed a role as one of the home building industry’s defining models for green homes. A home built to LEED for Homes specifications can earn one of four designations: certified, silver, gold and platinum. To receive the LEED for Homes label, a home is rated on—and earns points in—eight green-related categories: design, location, being a sustainable site, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and awareness and education. LEED for Homes certified homes are rated, inspected and tested by LEED for Homes Providers, essentially third-party testers employed to ensure quality and unbiased oversight of a project. The much-anticipated and recently announced National Green Building Standard from the National Association of Home Builders promises to set in place an industry-accepted standard for green homes, allowing for “flexibility of green building practices while providing a common national benchmark for builders, remodelers and developers.” The standard is based on the NAHB’s Model Green Home Building Guidelines, a two-part builder’s guide to green building first published in 2005 as a resource for the building community and more importantly for local and state home building associations. Like the LEED for Homes label, the Model Green Home Building Guidelines awards more than one certification level (bronze, silver, gold) and gives points in seven guiding principles: lot design, preparation and development; resource efficiency; energy efficiency; water efficiency; indoor environment quality; operation, maintenance and homeowner education; and global impact.

...Continued - Page 1 of 3 ( 1 2 3 )
Next Page >