Green Building Programs

ENERGY STAR® for New Homes and GreenHouse

 ENERGY STAR for New Homes is a program backed by Natural Resources Canada and run by the Enerquality Corporation in Ontario and provides builders with guidelines on making their homes more energy efficient.  There website is located HERE  and provides information on the variety of programs.

ESNH participant builders are verifed by a third party, based on a set of standards set above the standard building code.  These fall under two major classifications:

• Improvements to the outside structure
• Improvements to the mechanical systems

This can mean anything from better insulation, to high performance windows, to lighting and appliances.

 GreenHouse^TM, a program that puts the next level of green building in reach of most builders with the credibility they have come to expect from EnerQuality. In turn, EnerQuality will continue to work closely with NRCan, CMHC and the OPA to ensure GreenHouse Certified Homes will be performance tested, third-party verified and government backed.

To read Michael Moldenhauer's article on Energy Star and GreenHouse click HERE.

For more information on Energy Star visit www.esnewhomes.ca

LEED for Homes

 LEED for Homes works to define what green building is, and to raise the level of standard that all future construction is built on.

The LEED for Homes rating system deals with six major areas:

• Sustainable site
• Water efficiency
• Energy and Atmosphere impact
• Materials and Resources used
• Indoor environmental quality

To be certified in LEED a builder is given certain “credits” based on the six major categories of completion.  These “credits” determine the level certification of the structure:

• Certified – 26-32 points (no innovation points)
• Silver – 33-38 points
• Gold – 39-51 points
• Platinum – 52-69 points

These levels and credits are decided by the United States Green Building Council. 

Please visit their WEBSITE  for more information.