GREENBUILDING & ENERGY EFFICIENCY
Green building is the implementation of environmentally conscious design and construction practices in the categories of Energy Efficiency, Water efficiency, Transportation Efficiency, Resource conservation, Indoor Air quality and other minor categories.
In California there two dominate green rating programs for residential projects, LEED for Homes, offered by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and Green Point Rated, offered by Build it Green (BIG). In 2011 the California Building Code will include portions of these green building practices, but will not be as forward thinking as LEED for Homes and Green Point Rated. Existing homes in California represent the largest portion of the residential built environment, and only Build it Green’s Green Point Rating system addresses these homes.
Of all the categories in these rating systems, Energy is the most important and results in 28% of the points in LEED for Homes, 33% of the points in Green Point Rated, New Homes, and 29% of the points in Green Point Rated, Existing homes.
Some cities and counties in California require green design and construction practice beyond those required by new California green building code. These communities require compliance with Green Point Rated or LEED for Homes.