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

There are numerous other green home certification programs across the country. Consumers should contact their state or local home building association for an endorsed or widely used program in their area. USGBC has recently launched The Green Home Guide, a Web site that lists green home programs by state, although the programs themselves are not endorsed or affiliated with the USGBC. Similarly, the NAHB’s National Green Builder Program Web site also features a list of voluntary green builder programs by state. When investigating green home certification programs, be sure to find out if the home is independently tested or verified. Green Builders When searching for a qualified green builder, consumers should inquire into certifications, courses and educational steps taken by a potential builder. The LEED Professional Accreditation program, launched in 2001, certifies students as LEED Accredited Professionals (LEED APs) upon completion of the program. Once administered by the USGBC, the LEED Professional Accreditation program is now managed by the Green Building Certification Institute. The LEED AP will be educated on the practices of green home building. Energy Star’s Web site includes a search feature to help locate builders and developers who have partnered with Energy Star and who have built an Energy Star qualified new home within the last 12 months. This list could serve as a good jumping-off point for the consumer looking for green-minded professionals in the area or state. Regardless of how the potential homeowner starts the search process, the list of potential green builders can be quickly narrowed down by investigating green building education and green building experience. It is wise to look into a builder’s green home portfolio—find out if the homes were given performance tests, energy audits or any sort of third-party testing to verify and qualify the green features within. A registered certification mark of GREENGUARD Environmental Institute Green Systems and Products It’s a widely accepted notion that a home can be considered “green” simply by incorporating green elements throughout the home, which can mean replacing a few old energy-hogging appliances with more energy-efficient ones or undergoing a complete overhaul of the home’s water devices. Any homeowner looking to green up a home in sections should seek out the few systems and products that have green designations. Energy Star again sits atop the stack, with an extensive list of third-party tested products that span a wide range of energy-related subcategories, including appliances, HVAC systems and components, insulation and windows, and miscellaneous home electronic devices. Replacing any electricity-dependent items in the home with Energy Star rated versions will save on the home’s utility bill and can help reduce the home’s carbon footprint, an important green consideration. More recently, the EPA unveiled its WaterSense program designed much like Energy Star but with a focus on certifying water-saving products within the home. Thus far, the program has tackled toilets, faucets, showerheads, and irrigation services and technologies, testing and certifying a growing number of products and service providers within these categories. (For more information on WaterSense, read “Making Sense of WaterSense.”) Saving electricity and water is an easy sell for these two programs. Often overlooked, however, is taking steps to improve the quality of the air within our homes. Indoor air quality (IAQ) doesn’t have a monthly bill associated with it, but the long-term health implications are such that any homeowner should take steps to improve this important green home feature. The GREENGUARD Environmental Institute has given homeowners a leg up on the battle for better IAQ, with their GREENGUARD Indoor Air Quality certification program. The program certifies low-emitting interior building materials, furniture and finishing systems, testing each product for chemical emissions. The GREENGUARD program tests a whole host of home-related products, including insulation, bedding, floor and wall finishes, and general construction materials. GREENGUARD currently certifies over 200,000 products for 130 different manufacturers. “Products must meet standards set for the protection of human health,” says Dr. Marilyn Black, founder of GREENGUARD. Ecolabels Although the practice of ecolabelling is not new, the growth in green products and certifications has brought the term more to the forefront of the movement. The Energy Star, WaterSense and GREENGUARD certifications both fall into the ecolabel category, but there are other ecolabels as well organizations and Web sites that catalogue “approved” ecolabels or green certification programs.

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