As Green as You Want to Be
The average household spends $1,500 a year on energy. A green-certified building, on the other
hand, uses 32% less electricity, 26% less natural gas and 36% less total energy. As energy prices
rise, so do the savings.
You can begin just about anywhere, big or small, and many improvements can be done without
breaking your bank. You could, for example:
Reduce light pollution;
Prevent pollution during construction;
Maximize open space on your land;
Collect rainwater for irrigation;
Install renewable energy sources like a wind generator or solar panels;
Cut energy use with insulation and a highly efficient furnace and appliances;
Build storage for recyclables;
Restore wildlife habitat;
Build new while incorporating the walls, roof or floor of an older building;
Buy products made of recycled materials; and
Use certified (sustainable harvested) wood products.
You'll be happy to know that some of the best investments are also the easiest to implement. These
four will give you the most return for the money spent:
Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. They last seven or eight years and
use less energy, saving about $100 per year in electricity. Cost: $2 and up.
Install a timer on your lights and heating-and-cooling system so you can program your home to
consume less energy when you're gone or sleeping. Cost: roughly $30.
Put aerators on faucets to dramatically reduce water use. Find them at hardware stores for about $3
each.
Caulk and weather-strip air leaks around windows, doors and other places where the wall is
penetrated. Cost: Roughly $5 for a 10-ounce tubeHow to Get Your Green Home
For larger remodeling projects or for new-home construction, you'd ideally work with professionals
experienced in green-home building. In this still-young industry, there is no national directory of
green building programs or builders. But the National Association of Home Builders has certified 300
to 400 builders in green building practices. You can use the NAHB site to educate yourself and find
a local home builders association that may steer you to local builders with a background in green
building.
APS Home Inspection Service advises homeowners to begin by finding competent builders, then
interview several to gauge their interest and experience in green building.
Talk to the builder about their experience level with green building, the types of projects they've
done, the number of projects they've done. There are plenty of competent builders that haven't had
the right client to push them into a green project. They might not have a lot of examples of green
projects they've done but that doesn't mean they can't build that way.
Listed below are some great tips to follow:
Check references. Ask builders for names of homeowners, architects and engineers they have
worked with. Interview references about the quality of the builder's work, which green solutions were
used, how well these worked, how receptive the builder was to them and whether the job site was
well organized and tidy -- a clue to the overall safety, organization and management of waste and
recycling.
Ask about costs and schedules. Ask if a builder typically stays on budget and on schedule, two
sources of client-builder conflict. Projects can run from zero to 20% over budget. Learn the amounts
of cost overruns and what caused them. All in all, the Green Building Council figures most new green
homes cost roughly the same as non-green homes, though going all-out can add 2% to 5% or more
to your construction bill.
Research a builder's communication style. A good builder spends time on pre-construction planning,
forecasts upcoming decisions well ahead and communicates early, helping to contain costs while
making a project greener. Your contribution is to have a detailed plan and stick to it. For example,
after your foundation is poured, your project will screech to an expensive halt if you haven't already
chosen a heating system. Your green options -- radiant-floor heat, for instance, or certain high-
insulation foundations -- will be limited and you'll feel pressure to pick the quickest, not the most-
economical, solution. Also, inefficiency on the work site runs up costs. The argument that green
building is more expensive is more likely to be true if you are making decisions at the last minute.
The more time one has in a project to make decisions, the more opportunities there are to build in
green features, reduce costs or save waste.
Your green seal of approval
If you want to get a green stamp of approval for all your efforts -- which could pay you back down the
road with a higher resale value -- you'll need to follow the guidelines or checklists from a national or
local program.
There are dozens of these programs around the country usually run by homebuilders' associations
or utility companies. All of them set goals for conservation in site planning, water, energy, indoor air
quality and materials. For example, Built Green's checklist for new houses includes keeping 30% of
a site's trees, preserving native vegetation and refraining from clearing or grading during wet
weather.
In addition, the National Association of Home Builders has written green home-building guidelines
and is working on a national green building standard, and the U.S. Green Building Council has
launched its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program, still in
the pilot stage. It lets builders and homeowners get a house certified to one of four levels of
environmental integrity. The standards are much like the checklists and guidelines at local and
regional programs but LEED is tougher than most other programs, and it's alone in requiring an
independent inspection. So far, just 145 homes -- most are on the East and West coasts -- have
earned LEED certificates.
True, there's some extra effort and expense involved in going green, but people living in green
homes say it's worthwhile: In a survey of green-home owners by the National Association of Home
Builders and McGraw-Hill Construction, 85% said they were more satisfied with their green home
than with previous, traditional houses. And of course, there's the monthly bonus of lower utility bills.
For more information on green building, check out the following:
The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC).
Colorado Built Green lists state energy organizations that can lead you to green professionals in
your state.
Denver's American Institute of Architects committee on the environment offers a sustainable design
resource that tells how to evaluate materials, process and home furnishings in every phase of
construction for environmental effects.
The (sixth edition) GreenSpec Directory lists some 2,000 green building products, screened by
editors of Environmental Building News monthly newsletter. Download back issues for free from 1992
to the present.
The Environmental Protection Agency's green building site
Green Certification
Maintenance Innovations is pleased to announce a new Green Certification initiative that will help to
identify environmentally friendly homes to home buyers and help promote environmentally friendly
homes for home sellers.
This certification was created through the joint efforts of the International Association of Certified
Home Inspectors, Inc. (InterNACHI), the International Association of Certified Indoor Air Consultants,
Inc.
Energy Use in Home Lighting
Lighting accounts for 30% to 50% of a building's energy use, or about 17% of total annual U.S.
electricity consumption. Ninety percent of the energy emitted by incandescent bulbs is in the form of
heat, and only 10% is in the form of light. This means that not only is money wasted on inefficient
lighting, but using incandescent bulbs lights increases cooling costs.
Compact Florescent
Generate 70% less heat, they’re safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home
cooling.
Use at least 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light,
and last up to 10 times longer.
Save $30 or more in energy costs over each bulb’s lifetime.
Must turn on instantly, produce no sound, and fall within a warm color range or be otherwise labeled
as providing cooler color tones, in addition to other quality requirements.
Are available in different sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture, for indoors and outdoors.
Where to Use CFLs:
To get the most energy savings, replace bulbs where lights are on the most, such as your family and
living room, kitchen, dining room, and porch, with CFLs.
Although they are manufactured for use in recessed light fixtures, some CFLs have trouble
operating in enclosed fixtures.
The average household spends $1,500 a year on energy. A green-certified building, on the other
hand, uses 32% less electricity, 26% less natural gas and 36% less total energy. As energy prices
rise, so do the savings.
You can begin just about anywhere, big or small, and many improvements can be done without
breaking your bank. You could, for example:
Reduce light pollution;
Prevent pollution during construction;
Maximize open space on your land;
Collect rainwater for irrigation;
Install renewable energy sources like a wind generator or solar panels;
Cut energy use with insulation and a highly efficient furnace and appliances;
Build storage for recyclables;
Restore wildlife habitat;
Build new while incorporating the walls, roof or floor of an older building;
Buy products made of recycled materials; and
Use certified (sustainable harvested) wood products.
You'll be happy to know that some of the best investments are also the easiest to implement. These
four will give you the most return for the money spent:
Replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescent bulbs. They last seven or eight years and
use less energy, saving about $100 per year in electricity. Cost: $2 and up.
Install a timer on your lights and heating-and-cooling system so you can program your home to
consume less energy when you're gone or sleeping. Cost: roughly $30.
Put aerators on faucets to dramatically reduce water use. Find them at hardware stores for about $3
each.
Caulk and weather-strip air leaks around windows, doors and other places where the wall is
penetrated. Cost: Roughly $5 for a 10-ounce tubeHow to Get Your Green Home
For larger remodeling projects or for new-home construction, you'd ideally work with professionals
experienced in green-home building. In this still-young industry, there is no national directory of
green building programs or builders. But the National Association of Home Builders has certified 300
to 400 builders in green building practices. You can use the NAHB site to educate yourself and find
a local home builders association that may steer you to local builders with a background in green
building.
APS Home Inspection Service advises homeowners to begin by finding competent builders, then
interview several to gauge their interest and experience in green building.
Talk to the builder about their experience level with green building, the types of projects they've
done, the number of projects they've done. There are plenty of competent builders that haven't had
the right client to push them into a green project. They might not have a lot of examples of green
projects they've done but that doesn't mean they can't build that way.
Listed below are some great tips to follow:
Check references. Ask builders for names of homeowners, architects and engineers they have
worked with. Interview references about the quality of the builder's work, which green solutions were
used, how well these worked, how receptive the builder was to them and whether the job site was
well organized and tidy -- a clue to the overall safety, organization and management of waste and
recycling.
Ask about costs and schedules. Ask if a builder typically stays on budget and on schedule, two
sources of client-builder conflict. Projects can run from zero to 20% over budget. Learn the amounts
of cost overruns and what caused them. All in all, the Green Building Council figures most new green
homes cost roughly the same as non-green homes, though going all-out can add 2% to 5% or more
to your construction bill.
Research a builder's communication style. A good builder spends time on pre-construction planning,
forecasts upcoming decisions well ahead and communicates early, helping to contain costs while
making a project greener. Your contribution is to have a detailed plan and stick to it. For example,
after your foundation is poured, your project will screech to an expensive halt if you haven't already
chosen a heating system. Your green options -- radiant-floor heat, for instance, or certain high-
insulation foundations -- will be limited and you'll feel pressure to pick the quickest, not the most-
economical, solution. Also, inefficiency on the work site runs up costs. The argument that green
building is more expensive is more likely to be true if you are making decisions at the last minute.
The more time one has in a project to make decisions, the more opportunities there are to build in
green features, reduce costs or save waste.
Your green seal of approval
If you want to get a green stamp of approval for all your efforts -- which could pay you back down the
road with a higher resale value -- you'll need to follow the guidelines or checklists from a national or
local program.
There are dozens of these programs around the country usually run by homebuilders' associations
or utility companies. All of them set goals for conservation in site planning, water, energy, indoor air
quality and materials. For example, Built Green's checklist for new houses includes keeping 30% of
a site's trees, preserving native vegetation and refraining from clearing or grading during wet
weather.
In addition, the National Association of Home Builders has written green home-building guidelines
and is working on a national green building standard, and the U.S. Green Building Council has
launched its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) certification program, still in
the pilot stage. It lets builders and homeowners get a house certified to one of four levels of
environmental integrity. The standards are much like the checklists and guidelines at local and
regional programs but LEED is tougher than most other programs, and it's alone in requiring an
independent inspection. So far, just 145 homes -- most are on the East and West coasts -- have
earned LEED certificates.
True, there's some extra effort and expense involved in going green, but people living in green
homes say it's worthwhile: In a survey of green-home owners by the National Association of Home
Builders and McGraw-Hill Construction, 85% said they were more satisfied with their green home
than with previous, traditional houses. And of course, there's the monthly bonus of lower utility bills.
For more information on green building, check out the following:
The Sustainable Buildings Industry Council (SBIC).
Colorado Built Green lists state energy organizations that can lead you to green professionals in
your state.
Denver's American Institute of Architects committee on the environment offers a sustainable design
resource that tells how to evaluate materials, process and home furnishings in every phase of
construction for environmental effects.
The (sixth edition) GreenSpec Directory lists some 2,000 green building products, screened by
editors of Environmental Building News monthly newsletter. Download back issues for free from 1992
to the present.
The Environmental Protection Agency's green building site
Green Certification
Maintenance Innovations is pleased to announce a new Green Certification initiative that will help to
identify environmentally friendly homes to home buyers and help promote environmentally friendly
homes for home sellers.
This certification was created through the joint efforts of the International Association of Certified
Home Inspectors, Inc. (InterNACHI), the International Association of Certified Indoor Air Consultants,
Inc.
Energy Use in Home Lighting
Lighting accounts for 30% to 50% of a building's energy use, or about 17% of total annual U.S.
electricity consumption. Ninety percent of the energy emitted by incandescent bulbs is in the form of
heat, and only 10% is in the form of light. This means that not only is money wasted on inefficient
lighting, but using incandescent bulbs lights increases cooling costs.
Compact Florescent
Generate 70% less heat, they’re safer to operate and can cut energy costs associated with home
cooling.
Use at least 2/3 less energy than standard incandescent bulbs to provide the same amount of light,
and last up to 10 times longer.
Save $30 or more in energy costs over each bulb’s lifetime.
Must turn on instantly, produce no sound, and fall within a warm color range or be otherwise labeled
as providing cooler color tones, in addition to other quality requirements.
Are available in different sizes and shapes to fit in almost any fixture, for indoors and outdoors.
Where to Use CFLs:
To get the most energy savings, replace bulbs where lights are on the most, such as your family and
living room, kitchen, dining room, and porch, with CFLs.
Although they are manufactured for use in recessed light fixtures, some CFLs have trouble
operating in enclosed fixtures.
Maintenance
Innovations
Innovations
Green certification
How our grading system works
11
We use a 130 point grading system
based on the USGBC (United States
Green Building Counsel) LEED-H
based on the USGBC (United States
Green Building Counsel) LEED-H
Points
Innovation
And Design
And Design
10
Points
22
Points
15
Points
38
Points
energy and
atmosphere
atmosphere
Total pointes possible