Think "Green Buildings" when building or buying your next dwelling. Whether it is a home, office or warehouse following the approved US Green Building Council guidelines can save you money in the long run and better our earths' environment.

The council adheres to LEED which is the green building systems national benchmark for high performance in the industry. LEED is the acronym for Leadership in Energy Environmental Design.

There is a spectrum in the green building industry. At one end is a home with high efficient
appliances and extra insulation in the walls and attic. At the other end is one that is practically an ecosystem in itself, made with recycled materials,collecting its own water for reuse and creating its own energy.

In the middle of the spectrum, is the affordable average single family home, that looks like any other home in the area, but costs less to maintain and has less negative impact on our environment.

The average savings of owning a green building is:   
Energy Costs: 30%
Carbon Savings: 35%
Water Useage : 30-50%
Waste Cost Savings: 50-90%

The bottom line is Improved energy savings and increased value. Here in Florida where I live, a green building costs about 2% more than the minimum standards required by Florida code.

Those costs are usually recouped by the savings I mentioned above.

In addition, occupants and tenants perceive the value of living or working in a green building to be reduced energy consumption, overall environmental benefit, health benefit, positive marketing & promotion and increased re-sale value.

If builders save money by building green, maybe by paying less for government permits, they can pass the savings onto their buyers. If it gets cheaper to go green more buyers will ask to go green. This will aid recycling thus helping our environment.

To be green LEED assesses the following areas:
1. Site planning
2. Water management
3. energy management
4. material used
5. indoor environmental air quality
6. innovation & design process

The state of California currently leads the nation in the number of LEED constructed buildings followed by Washington state. Multi-use buildings lead all other types of green buldings constructed. Here's hoping homes and office buildings will go green at a faster pace to help our earth.