Government Standards for Making a Home Green
Posted by Adam Ciboch in Uncategorized, tags: business, eco friendly homes, environment, general, green, green homes, green living, green real estate, home, home and family, home improvement, real estate, UncategorizedWhat does it take to make a home green? For some people, the answer is simple. Using recycled materials and finding ways to lower your energy bill are all ways people assume get their house the green label.
Some things aren’t that simple. USGBC, also known as the United States Green Building Council consists of the nation’s leaders in various industries and also controls different practices that are considered sustainable throughout the country. Encouraging environmentally friendly building projects for people to live and work in is its main goal. Performing a few sustainable practices in your home is just the beginning to getting your home considered green, according to USGBC.
Instead, the nationally accepted benchmark for buildings that are considered green is LEED, or Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It originally launched in 1998 and is a home rating system that encourages the design and construction of green homes. There are eight different categories used in its rating system. Each category has a certain number of credits which, in turn, are worth one or more points. United States homes are given a certification rating by LEED based on the number of points they scored.
What are some of these categories, then? Points can be awarded for innovation and design process. They can also be awarded for the home’s location and its relation to the larger community. In addition, there are points for sites that are sustainable and being fully used. So too are there points for water efficiency, materials and resources and energy and atmosphere. Points are awarded for the latter based on how energy efficient a particular home is. Lastly, points can also be awarded for relevant education to the homeowner or any other resident living in the building.
When someone now declares their house to be green, you’ve got some background information to know how accurate their statements may be. You have to do more than simply perform practices that are sustainable to ensure your home is considered green. Ensuring just that, the USGGC and LEED ratings are a particularly good set of standards that are both impartial and balanced in that regard.
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