A Green Seal of Approval for Your Home

Provided your home meets a minimum threshold for energy efficiency, you may be eligible for certification under a range of national and regional energy-efficiency certification programs. Even if you don’t already meet required thresholds, a few inexpensive improvements may be all that stand in your way.

Certification through programs such as ENERGY STAR, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) Green Building Program, LEED for Homes and others can show potential buyers that a home promises significant utility cost savings over homes without certification – a major selling point in today’s economy. Certification also helps ensure that homebuyers and sellers alike are making greener choices that reduce overall environmental impact.

Read on to learn more about a range of energy-efficiency certification programs and how to participate.


ENERGY STAR

To qualify for certification under the ENERGY STAR program, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency as set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Homes must be at least 15 percent more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and typically include energy-saving features that make them as much as 20 to 30 percent more efficient than standard homes. Some of these features include effective insulation, high-performance windows, tight construction ducts, efficient heating and cooling equipment and energy-efficient appliances.

According to ENERGY STAR, homes certified through its program use substantially less energy for heating, cooling and water heating, resulting in average savings of $200 to $400 annually. Additional savings on maintenance can also be significant, and ENERGY STAR homes are eligible for financing through energy-efficient mortgages.

The EPA reported in July 2009 that nearly 17 percent of new homes built in 2008 earned the ENERGY STAR label, up from 12 percent in 2007. According to the EPA, American families living in ENERGY STAR homes slashed more than $250 million in annual utility bills in 2008 alone, saving enough energy to avoid greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to those from 29 million cars.

NAHB Green Building Program

The National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) launched the National Green Building Program in February 2008 – an education, verification and certification initiative for builders located anywhere in the United States. For a home to qualify, an independent home energy rater must verify that it adheres to the NAHB Model Green Home Building Guidelines and the ICC 700-2008 National Green Building Standard, which award point values across a range of categories, including lot and site development; resource, energy, and water efficiency, indoor environmental quality and homeowner education.

The NAHB website features an interactive scoring tool that helps homebuilders and homeowners alike guage how a home will score according to the Guidelines and Standard. The scoring tool also provides continual feedback, helping those who use it to understand what steps they can take to make a home more green.

Both single- and multi-family homes, including renovations, are eligible for certification through the NAHB program. To locate an accredited National Green Building Program verifier, use the state-by-state listing on the NAHB website or call the National Green Building Hotline at (877) NAHB-GRN begin_of_the_skype_highlighting (877) NAHB-GRN end_of_the_skype_highlighting.



LEED for Homes

LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, is a rating system created by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 1998. LEED ratings measure the overall performance of homes in the following eight areas:

1. Innovation and design process
2. location and linkages
3. Sustainable sites
4. water efficiency
5. Energy and atmosphere
6. Materials and resources
7. Indoor environmental quality
8. Awareness and education.


There are four levels of LEED ratings – certification, silver, gold, and platinum – awarded according to the number of points a home earns in each of the above eight categories.

Participation in the LEED for Homes program requires third-party inspection and verification through LEED for Home Providers and Green Raters. LEED for Home Providers are organizations selected by USGBC to provide certification services in local and regional markets, and Green Raters are individuals who work as part of the Home Providers team to perform field inspections and performance testing. The USGBC maintains an updated list of providers on its website.

New homes, renovated homes, and multi-family homes that meet LEED standards can be marketed and sold as LEED-approved, which can significantly increase their resale value.

(Better Homes & Gardens-Live Green)

16 Ways to Green Your Home: Part 1

Change. 

It is one of the hardest things for us as human beings to master.  Even those of us who thrive on change and claim to embrace it have our areas that are still hard to change.  Sometimes it just takes a change in mindset, a little education or some practical tools and steps to get the ball rolling.  Well below is some key information we gathered from the US Green Building Council. It's a great way to kick start making some changes in your home and family to save money, energy, preserve the planet, and live healthier lives. 

Let us know if and how this was helpful for you.

Here are the first 7 on Lowering Your Utility Bills! 

1. Switch to Compact Fluorescent Light Bulbs

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) can be a huge energy saver. Replace some (or all) of your incandescent fluorescents and enjoy reductions in heat production, energy use, and electric bills!

Savings: Five of the most frequently used light bulbs in your home can save you $100 per year!


2. Program Your Thermostat
When you are at home, keep the thermostat at 78°F or higher in the summer and 62°F or lower in the winter eficiently. Programmable thermostats allow you to program the systems to reduce output when they are not needed (e.g., when no one is home during the day, or in the evening when everyone is sleeping).

Savings: Reduce your energy bill by $100 per year or more!

3. Plug Air Leaks
This simple step can go a long way toward keeping your home at the temperature you desire, saving

money on heating and air conditioning bills and more. Common leaks occur around windows, doors, and

other wall penetrations. Plugging those leaks with weather stripping and caulk can be a simple task for

anyone!

Savings: Reduce your energy bill by $100 per year or more!

4. Tune Up Your Heating and Cooling (HVAC) System
Have a checkup for your HVAC system every 2 years to make sure it is running efficiently. Be sure to clean filters monthly during times of peak usage; a dirty filter can significantly reduce the efficiency of your HVAC.

Savings: Reduce your energy bill by $100 per year or more!

5. Choose ENERGY STAR Appliances, their qualified products meet a high level of energy efficiency, which can translate into savings on electric bills. When considering the price of a new appliance, take into account not only the purchase price, but also the long-term savings associated with an energy-efficient appliance!

Savings: Reduce your energy bill by $50 per appliance per year or more!

6. Reduce Water Use


• Indoor: Use less water by adding aerators (available for a few dollars at your local home supply
store) to your sink faucets and changing to low
• Outdoor: Incorporate native plants in your landscape plan and minimize high-maintenance landscaping such as turf grass to conserve water, while still maintaining a beautiful lawn.



Savings:Reduce your water bill by as much as $100 per year!



7. Switch to Green Power

Green Power is an optional utility service for customers who want to help expand the production and

distribution of renewable energy technologies. With green power, you do not have to change your electricity

provider. Instead, customers choose to pay a premium on their electricity bill to cover the extra cost

of purchasing clean, sustainable energy.

More info on green power can be found at: http://www.eere.energy.gov/greenpower/markets/index.shtml..gov/greenpower/markets/index.shtml

(The last 9 Ways focus on products and greening your yard...stay tuned)

Recycling: Water

Between 1950 and 2000, the U.S. population nearly doubled. However, in that same period, public demand for water more than tripled! Americans now use an average of 100 gallons of water each day — enough to fill 1,600 drinking glasses! (EPA, 2008)

A recent government survey showed that at least 36 states are anticipating local, regional, or statewide water shortages by 2013. (EPA, 2008)

Most people realize that hot water uses up energy, but supplying and treating cold water requires a significant amount of energy too. American public water supply and treatment facilities consume about 56 billion kilowatt-hours per year — enough electricity to power more than 5 million homes for an entire year. (EPA, 2008)

Appliances and Fixtures in General

If all U.S. households installed water-efficient appliances, the country would save more than 3 trillion gallons of water and more than $18 billion dollars per year! (EPA, 2008)

If one out of every 100 American homes was retrofitted with water-efficient fixtures, we could save about 100 million kilowatt-hours of electricity per year — avoiding 80,000 tons of greenhouse gas emissions. The greenhouse gas savings would be equivalent to removing nearly 15,000 automobiles from the road for one year! (EPA, 2008)

Bathroom: Sink, Toilet, Bath, Shower

About 75 percent of the water we use in our homes is used in the bathroom. (California Energy Commission, 2006)

If your toilet is from 1992 or earlier, you probably have an inefficient model that uses between 3.5 to 7 gallons per flush. Newer, high-efficiency toilets use less than 1.3 gallons per flush — that's at least 60 percent less water per flush! (EPA, 2008)

If just 1 percent of American homes replaced an older toilet with a new WaterSense labeled toilet, the country would save more than 38 million kilowatt-hours of electricity — enough electricity to supply more than 43,000 households for one month. (EPA, 2008)

The average bathroom faucet flows at a rate of two gallons per minute. Turning off the tap while brushing your teeth in the morning and at bedtime can save up to 8 gallons of water per day, which equals 240 gallons a month. (EPA, 2008)

Letting your faucet run for five minutes uses about as much energy as letting a 60-watt light bulb run for 14 hours. (EPA, 2008)

Leaky faucets that drip at the rate of one drip per second can waste more than 3,000 gallons of water each year; A leaky toilet can waste about 200 gallons of water every day. If your fixtures have leaks, you should get them repaired! (EPA, 2008)

A full bath tub requires about 70 gallons of water, while taking a five-minute shower uses only 10 to 25 gallons. (EPA, 2008)

Other Household Water Needs

The average washing machine uses about 41 gallons of water per load, whereas newer, high-efficiency washing machine models use less than 28 gallons of water per load. (EPA, 2008)

The typical single-family suburban household uses at least 30 percent of their water outdoors for irrigation. Some experts estimate that more than 50 percent of landscape water use goes to waste due to evaporation or runoff caused by overwatering!
Consider installing a drip irrigation system to water your lawn and garden. These systems use between 20 to 50 percent less water than conventional in-ground sprinkler systems. They are also much more efficient than conventional sprinklers because no water is lost to wind, runoff, and evaporation. (EPA, 2008)

Recycling: Energy

The world's electricity demand is expected to double between 2000 and 2030. The greatest increase will occur in the developing world, and the most rapid growth will occur in people's homes. (Worldwatch Institute, 2007)

Electricity production is the leading cause of industrial air pollution in the United States, and is responsible for 40 percent of the nation's carbon emissions that contribute to global climate change. (Worldwatch Institute, 2007)

At most, 35 percent of coal's energy in a power plant converts to electricity. The remaining two thirds is lost as waste heat, benefiting no one and often harming surrounding ecosystems. (Worldwatch Institute, 2007)

Heating

Almost half of the average home's energy consumption is used for heating. (EIA, 2007)

Improperly sealed/caulked windows can account for up to 25% of total heat loss from a house. (Environment Canada, 2007)

Lighting

Lighting consumes up to 34 percent of electricity in the United States. (Worldwatch Institute, 2007)

Compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFLs) are an energy-saving alternative to incandescent bulbs — they produce the same amount of light, use one third of the electricity, and last up to ten times as long. (Worldwatch Institute, 2007)

If every household replaced its most often-used incandescent light bulbs with CFLs, electricity use for lighting could be cut in half. (Worldwatch Institute, 2007)

Where electricity is produced from coal, each fluorescent lightbulb used prevents 1,300 pounds (nearly 600 kilograms) of CO2 emissions and 20 pounds of sulfur dioxide from being pumped into the atmosphere. (Worldwatch Institute, 2007)

Appliances and Electronics

If you need to warm up or defrost small amounts of food, use a microwave instead of the stove to save energy. Microwave ovens use around 50 percent less energy than conventional ovens do. (California Energy Commission, 2006)

A refrigerator built 20 years ago uses 70% more energy than today's energy-efficient models. (Environment Canada, 2007)

Today's dishwashers are about 95% more energy-efficient than those bought in 1972 — your old dishwasher may be costing you more money in energy bills than it would take to buy a new one. (Environment Canada, 2007)

Many idle electronics — TVs, VCRs, DVD and CD players, cordless phones, microwaves — use energy even when switched off to keep display clocks lit and memory chips and remote controls working. Nationally, these energy “vampires” use 5 percent of our domestic energy and cost consumers more than $8 billion annually. (Alliance to Save Energy, 2005)

How Green Have We Come?

Here's a snapshot of those green measures tha have been embraced and those that still have a ways to go.