Covered Entry

Every house needs roof overhangs! They protect your siding, windows and doors, keep rain off the foundation and reduce splash back. They also can provide shading. Covered entries at exterior doors help to prevent water intrusion, reducing maintenance and enhancing durability.

Solar Design

Designing for PV systems and incorporating passive solar design features like large, south-facing windows helps heat the home in the winter and allows for increased natural daylighting.

Xeriscaping

Xeriscaping, or using native plants, significantly reduces the need for watering, fertilizers, and herbicides.

Engineered Wood Product

Oriented strand board (OSB) and Laminate Veneer Lumber (LVLs) are engineered products that do not require large trees for its manufacture and use parts of the tree that may have been waste in the past.  OSB and LVLs are resource-efficient and enhance durability and are used for as sheathing for walls and roofs and beams and posts in over 75% of new homes.

Windows

Windows and Doors are one of the lowest R value parts of a thermally insulated wall. Using products that exceed the Mass code of .30 U value improve the performance of the Windows and Doors. Triple Pane Windows are an improvement over Double Pane Windows. Energy-efficient windows incorporating advanced technologies like low-emittance (Lowe-E) glass coatings, gas filler between layers, and composite framing materials keep heat inside in the winter and outside in the summer.

Building Envelope

A High Performance Home will always have a very tight and continuous building envelope.  This requires a continuous air barrier, where all the breaks and seams are well sealed, and a Blower Door Test demonstrates that the building has very low levels of air leakage.  Massachusetts Building Code requires no more than 3 Air Changes per hour (the previous code allowed up to 7), a very tight home will have no more than 1 Air Change per hour, a Passive Home will have no more than .6 Air Changes per hour.  A tight Building Envelope doesn’t happen by accident and requires meticulous detailing and testing to ensure all penetrations in the envelope are properly sealed.  Aero Barrier is a sprayed air sealing mist that provides additional air sealing from inside a home in the rough stage as an added step to close the final small leaks remaining.

Insulation

Increasing the amount and R-value of insulation is a cost-effective way to save energy and help reduce heating and cooling bills, which account for at least half of energy use in the home. Sprayed insulation made of foam, cellulose or wool is an alternative to traditional glass fiber batting.

All studs and plates in wall framing cause thermal breaks in traditional cavity-filled insulation in wall construction. More than 15% of all walls are not insulated in cavity-filled construction.  To eliminate thermal breaks in the thermal system exterior insulation over walls and roofs, double walls with a gap that is filled with insulation, and insulation under the slab are used.

Siding

Fiber Cement siding and other composite and recycled siding products are termite and water resistant and are durable, attractive and often prefinished for a long lasting surface that doesn’t need to be repainted on a more regular basis. A vented rainscreen or dimpled house wrap behind wood siding will help moisture drain out and wood siding and finishes last longer.

Roofing

Roof overhangs help keep water away from your foundation. Longer lasting roofing products such as metal roofs and more durable asphalt
shingles won't need to be replaced as often, better flashing details prevent moisture from damaging your home.

Factory Built Components

Factory-built components including trusses and pre-hung doors allow more efficient use of raw materials, making the most out of every piece of lumber. These products eliminate the need to cut wood at the job site, further reducing waste.

Plumbing and Electrical

Plumbing:

New toilets have redesigned bowls and tanks that use less water, but function more efficiently than first-generation, low-flow models. Some use pumps for supplementary water pressure. Advanced shower and sink faucet aerators provide the same flow regardless of pressure to reduce water use and the energy required to heat it.

PEX PVC piping eliminates most of the use of copper in your home which is a safe, durable, material that won’t be predetermined to eventually fail as copper does and cause damage that needs to be remediated and replaced. 

High Efficiency Water Heating such as Heat Pump Hot Water Heaters and On Demand Hot Water Heaters or Solar Thermal Hot water Systems are more energy efficient perform better than traditional systems.

Electrical Power and Lighting:

High Efficacy Lighting fixtures use much less energy.  Smart strips can eliminate phantom loads of devices that are not being used.  Energy Star rated appliances use less energy. Programmable thermostats allow for setbacks on HVAC equipment when not in use.

Factory Built Components

Factory-built components including trusses and pre-hung doors allow more efficient use of raw materials, making the most out of every piece of lumber. These products eliminate the need to cut wood at the job site, further reducing waste.

Plumbing

New toilets have redesigned bowls and tanks that use less water, but function more efficiently than first-generation low-flow models. Some use pumps for supplementary water pressure. Advanced shower and sink faucet aerators provide the same flow regardless of pressure to reduce water use and the energy required to hear it.

Appliances

The energy efficiency of refrigerators and freezers has tripled over the last three decades because they have more insulation, advanced compressors, better door seals, and more accurate temperature controls. Front-loading washers use about 40% less water and half the energy of conventional models. Energy Star*-rated appliances save an average of 30% over standard models.

Tree Preservation

Tree preservation reduces landscaping and future energy costs and helps provide winter windbreaks or summer shade. Additional landscaping improves the environment even moreL one tree can filter out 60 lbs of pollutants from the air each year.

Foundation

Foundations should be as well insulated as the living space walls for efficient home energy use and enhanced comfort, particularly if the basement is used as a family room or bedroom. Precast foundation walls are made with insulation already attached and install in a day to save time. Insulated Concrete Forms (ICFs) are a system built (think Lego construction) concrete wall with the insulation attached as well.

Flooring

In addition to natural wood, flooring choices include low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) carpets for better indoor air quality, laminates that successfully mimic scarce hardwood, and linoleum, a natural product making a comeback.

High Performance Home

A High Performance Home will last longer, be more healthy to live in every day and demonstrate its value over the lifetime of your home. Incorporating these features will help your home perform better than the typical code-built home.

Decking

Recycled plastic lumber and wood composite materials reduce reliance on chemically treated lumber and durable hardwood for decks, porches and fencing.

Other Useful Sites

Forest Stewardship Council

NAHB Model Green Building Guidelines

NAHB Life Expectancy Of Home Building Products

Green Building Products

InsulSpan

Panel Pros

Oasis Foundation Wall System

Bedford Technology: Recycled Plastic Products

Energy Star Residential Windows, Doors & Skylights

Panasonic Whisper Fans - Quiet bathroom ventilation

Ductless Minisplit HVAC - Energy efficient heating and cooling

Green Books

Your Green Home By Alex Wilson

Green Remodeling by David Johnston and Kim Master

The Company We Keep by John Abrams

Chelsea Green Publishing Books About Green Building

New Society Publishers Green Building
Building Green Bibliography Items Related to Green Building

Green Certification Programs and Rebates

Energy Star Homes -ENERGY STAR is the government-backed program that helps us all save money and protect our environment with energy-efficient products and practices. Whether you are looking to replace old appliances, remodel your home, or buy a new house, ENERGY STAR can help. More than 60 types of products, including appliances, televisions, computers, heating and cooling equipment, and even new homes can earn the government's ENERGY STAR label. ENERGY STAR also offers best-practice solutions to make your home more comfortable and reduce your energy costs

Mass Save  - Rebates available in Massachusetts

U.S. Green Building Council - LEED for Homes

Building Green - Green Spec analysis of products

NAHB Green - National Green Building Standard

Building Science & Research

Building Science

Building Green

Green Builder Magazine

Green Guard Environmental Institute

Air Quality

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

U.S. EPA: Lead in Paint, Dust & Soil

U.S. EPA - Radon

U.S. EPA - Abestos & Vermiculte

Energy Federation Inc - Grills, Vents & Hoods

Energy Federation Inc - Whole House Ventilation

Energy Modeling

Independence Energy Homes

Energy Efficient Rehab Advisor

Recycling & Waste Reduction

Boston Building Resources - For donating materials for reuse

MassRecycle

Gypsum Recycling

The Institute Recyling Network

1-800-Got-Junk?

Restore Home Improvement Center

Materials Exchange

Freerecycle.net

Freecycle

U.S. EPA - Municipal Solid Waste