LEED for Homes

Green Goods: Green Gets Gritty

Initiatives by two of the premier green certification schemes are pushing the green building movement into a new, more complicated phase--a phase that could bring new opportunities for LBM dealers.The changes under way at the Environmental Protection Agency's (EPA) Energy Star program for homes and in place at the U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) LEED for commercial buildings reject the notion that one can turn a structure green simply by installing whiz-bang products or by piling on the insulation. Energy Star's proposed third-generation guidelines for qualified homes, to take effect in 2011, demand builders subscribe to energy-efficient framing methods and show that the insulation and HVAC systems they've installed were put in properly.