Maintaining the Home:
Environment Issues
Green Building
Specialized homebuilders began constructing resource-efficient, environmentally sensitive homes in the early 1970s. The home building industry coined the phrase "green building" in the late 1980s and early 1990s, turning a movement into a quiet revolution.
The first official green home building program began in the city of Austin, Texas, in 1991.
The Home Builders Association of Metro Denver introduced the first HBA-owned green building program in 1995. Over the years, Built Green® Colorado has become the largest green building program in the nation, with more than 100 members across the state.
Today, new homes are twice as energy-efficient as they were 30 years ago, thanks to cutting-edge green building techniques and technologies available for new and remodeled homes.
Homes built today use a myriad of green building techniques and technologies that:
- Lower operating costs. Homes are equipped with more efficient heating and cooling systems and use less water, resulting in lower monthly utility bills. Improved construction methods better protect homes from rain and ground water and reduce upkeep and replacement costs, while use of recycled materials helps conserve natural resources.
- Reduce maintenance issues. Landscaping uses native or drought-resistant plants and grasses, and decks made of pressure-treated lumber or synthetic materials need no sealing or staining.
- Increase home value. Homeowners are reporting better resale values with documented lower monthly utility bills.
- Improve environmental quality. Moisture-control products and paints with low volatile organic compounds (VOCs) contribute to a more comfortable indoor environment. Efficient use of materials also helps conserve natural resources.
Nationwide, more than 46,000 homes were built using local green building program guidelines from 1990-2002. In 2003, more than 14,000 green homes were constructed.
Green building is a growing trend among homebuilders nationwide, with 31 successful green building programs now in existence. Eleven green building programs are owned or operated by members or affiliates of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) in Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Hawaii, Missouri, New York and Washington.
NAHB’s "Model Green Home Building Guidelines" is a valuable tool for homebuilder associations, builders and developers by establishing minimum green thresholds for resource-efficient, environmentally sensitive home building.
To develop these guidelines, a group consisting of large and small homebuilders, manufacturers, architects, environmentalists, government agencies and others with an interest in green building were invited to participate in a stakeholders group. Through the work of this diverse group, a comprehensive, practical set of voluntary guidelines is available for the entire home building industry to apply to individual, regionally distinct green home building efforts.
This material was adapted from publications produced by the National Association of Home Builders.
