Green Redux

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), with support from Newland Communities, has launched a new web site called The Green Home Guide with tools and resources for homeowners, homebuyers, renters and landlords. I’ve been checking it out and, no surprise, it’s purty great.

The Green Home Guide has lots of information on ways that green homes can benefit your health, your finances and help reduce negative impacts on the environment. Like how green homes typically use 40 percent less energy and 50 percent less water than conventional homes, saving resources and money. How they use of healthier materials to create healthier indoor environmental quality. And the many ways that using recycled, locally produced and sustainably harvested materials further reduces the impact of homes on the environment.

The web site features case studies of families with the ways they have greened their homes and have achieved certification under the USGBC’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design® (LEED) for Homes rating system. It offers details on the LEED for Homes system, including help in finding LEED builders and providers nearby.

The best part about this website launch is that it’s a nod in recognition that green building is gaining ground in the mainstream. There are currently 350 LEED-certified homes and over 10,000 in the process of becoming LEED-certified. And the numbers are growing every year. It’s estimated that by 2010, 10 percent of the new home construction market will be green, according to the 2006 McGraw-Hill Construction Residential Green Building SmartMarket Report.

The statistics reflect the growing awareness that green building is good for people and the environment. The Green Home Guide is going to add to that momentum serving as a valuable resource for homeowners, whether they are buying a new home or upgrading their existing home.

I am excited to see the Guide for Green Renovation at the new web site. This section is complete with Regreen, the partnership between the American Society of Interior Designers’ Foundation and the U.S. Green Building Council. Regreen has been online in its draft form and open for public comment on developing best practice guidelines and educational resources for sustainable residential remodeling projects. I look forward to watching this program develop.

The Guide to Green Renovation also has a green renovation checklist, green retrofit checklist, green product directories and green project profiles where you can see what other families have done to make their existing home greener, like this fascinating couple who made their green home dreams come true in Chicago.

You can find the USGBC Green Home Guide online at www.greenhomeguide.org.