Certified green homes use a holistic approach to the construction process. Here are the 7 guiding principles of the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) National Green Home Program.

To truly call yourself a “green” builder you must be constructing green certified homes under a national or local green building program, which are certified by a credited third party verifier. There are about 28 green home programs throughout the country with LEED and NAHB Green Model Home Program being the most recognized. 

1. Lot Design, Preparation, and Development – Resource-efficient design and development practices help reduce the environment impacts and improve the energy performance of new housing.
2. Resource Efficiency – Creating resource efficient designs and using resource efficient materials can maximize function while optimizing the use of natural resources.
3. Energy Efficiency - This is a “whole systems” approach, which incorporates, HVAC systems, foundations, insulation, window, appliances, duct sealing; and much much more.
4. Water Efficiency – Green homes focus on water conservation both indoors and out.   
5. Indoor Environmental Quality – Green homes reduce the amount of indoor toxins buy eliminating the materials that off-gas harmful contaminants.
6. Operation Maintenance and Homeowner Education – Improper or inadequate maintenance can defeat the builder’s best efforts to create a resource efficient home.
7. Global Impact – This mainly focuses on the eliminating volatile organic carbons (VOCs) found in paints, caulks and adhesives.