By Sarah Zimmerman
“Green homes are healthier places to live, are better for the environment and can save money,” said Nate Kredich, vice president of residential market development for USGBC. So, when remodeling, why wouldn’t a homeowner want to utilize green products and practices? Prior to this spring, it may have been because she didn’t know where to find sustainable products, how to best use them or what parameters to follow to make her eco-conscious revamp a successful green project.
However, with the introduction of the ReGreen guidelines—finalized in March 2008—homeowners are now better educated on what it means to be green and how sustainability can enhance their homes and lives.
Developed by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) and the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID), ReGreen is the nation’s first set of resources and tools for green home remodeling projects. A technical team of green profession als laid out the initial guidelines, which then went through a public comment period allowing interested parties to provide feedback.
“The team did utilize input from the manufacturing community as well as other industry stakeholders during the process, and we received a great deal of input both during development and the public comment period,” Kredich said. “We certainly feel that manufacturers— in particular, their product innovation that contribute to one’s overall sustainability— are visible within the guidelines.”
So, how exactly do the guidelines work? Organized according to the top-10 remodeling project types—kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, living and working, finished basement, home performance, major addition, gut rehab, deep energy retrofit and outdoor living—the ReGreen guidelines include:
• Remodeling projects described by scope, integrated pre-design issues and environmental strategies for each of the home’s systems, including plumbing, HVAC and electrical workings;
• A library of strategies by environmental topic, and
• Case studies of successful green home renovations.
And, following the guidelines for any remodel project consists of just three simple steps:
• Start green. Read the guidelines section “Green from the start” to find ways to approach every green remodeling project and familiarize oneself with sustainability.
• Pick a project type. Choose from the 10 most common remodeling projects and note the three main elements of your project (integrated pre-design issues, project scope and strategy lists, and project case study).
Follow individual strategies into The Strategy Library—with nearly 200 green remodeling strategy write-ups, The Strategy Library allows users to follow up on numerous strategies across a variety of issues.
Though ReGreen does not endorse any specific products, it does offer educational information on what makes a product green on its Web site, www.regreenprogram.org, and continues to update the program’s capabilities.
And though there is no tracking or accreditations of ReGreen projects—as it is simply a set of best-practices guidelines—at press time approximately 25,000 people had downloaded the guidelines from thegreenhome.org since they were posted in March. Kredich said additional people have downloaded it from the program’s other site— www.regreenprogram.org.
He summed up, stating that by using strategies detailed in the ReGreen guidelines, homeowners and builders are able to make improvements to the home that yield significant money savings—from energy savings to reduced water bills, which will last over the lifetime of the home. “Put differently, a green home uses less energy, water and natural resources; creates less waste, and is healthier and more comfortable for the occupants. What’s to lose?”
For more information on ReGreen or its guidelines, visit www.regreenprogram.org or www.thegreenhome.org.
