Building green means incorporating environmental considerations and resource efficiency into every step of the home building and land development process to minimize environmental impact. That means that during the design, construction, and operation of a home, the home's overall impact on the environment is taken into account.
Most builders are using green building practices in their homes as part of their current standard practices; ENERGY STAR® windows and appliances, recycled content materials, and water-conserving fixtures are all important parts of a green built home. To move to the next step of sustainable building, the builder should consider a whole-house systems approach. The home is composed of several independent components which, when planned and fully considered, can work together to increase performance and efficiency. For example, making a home's building envelope tighter through air sealing and quality building techniques can affect the way the builder designs the home's ventilation system. It is through such a forward-thinking process that builders can gain cost efficiencies.
How do I get started?
The NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines is an ideal place to start. The guidelines consist of a variety of line items that a builder can choose from in creating a green home, organized into seven overarching sections, or guiding principles: Lot Design, Resource Efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, Homeowner Education, and Global Impact. The builder can review the criteria in each of the seven guiding principles to determine which practices they could integrate into their home building processes. Additionally, because home builders differ in their relative knowledge and comfort level with green building concepts, the guidelines include three thresholds to delineate different levels of effort. The Bronze level features items that demonstrate the builder paid special attention to a project's environmental impact. The next two levels of green home building, Silver and Gold, include additional line items that place increasingly greater emphasis on green practices.
In addition to the National Program and NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines, there are many green home building programs in operation throughout the United States, which may offer climate-specific guidelines and resources and provide a network of local industry professionals also working to improving housing stock with green practices. See the local program listings for links and more information on local offerings.