Built Green Colorado is a voluntary program that uses buyer demand, market education and builder training to encourage builders to build homes that:
Built Green is the official designation of homes registered in the program and meeting the criteria of Built Green Colorado.
This is the list of green building features from which builders choose their building options. There are over 205 separate features in 22 categories covering energy efficiency, materials, health and safety, and resource conservation. Builders must choose a minimum number of points from the Checklist.
Built Green Colorado is administered by the Home Builders Association of Metro Denver (HBA), and supported by the Governor's Office of Energy Management and Conservation (OEMC), E-Star Colorado, and the Colorado Association of Home Builders and many local HBAs around the state.
Buying regional products reduces transportation costs and energy, and keeps dollars in the local economy. A major tenet of sustainability is making use of resources from the immediate region; an indirect result of this activity is a greater understanding of the region, its characteristics and resources, and the community's impact on that region.
Engineered wood products use smaller, younger trees, and parts of the tree that were not previously used, to reach the same or better structural characteristics of solid dimensional lumber. This makes better use of the resource and avoids the use of larger, older trees. The use of engineered wood products also eliminates the waste associated with warped, twisted or otherwise unusable lumber.
Recycled plastic or composite "lumber"?
A number of recycled-content and composite material deck products are currently on the market. An attractive alternative to chemically treated wood and valuable naturally-durable woods like redwood and cedar, recycled-content and composite material decks are very low-maintenance and highly durable. These products are made either entirely or partially from recycled plastic, which helps close the recycling loop by finding useful end products for recycled materials.
Fiber-cement siding and other exterior finish alternatives?
Fiber-cement siding is highly durable; it doesn't split, holds paint longer and is more moisture-resistant than typical hardwood siding. Other green building siding options include recycled-content hardboard, natural or synthetic stucco and locally produced brick and natural or faux stone. Long lasting, low maintenance exterior finish products reduce replacement frequency, which means cost savings, reduced landfill impact, and fewer resources and time devoted to maintenance and replacement.
High-performance windows?
Perhaps more than any other building component, windows have seen a significant increase in performance resulting from new technologies, including "low-e" glass coatings, and gas-filled windows. While high performance windows may cost slightly more, when the rest of the home's heating system is adjusted accordingly these costs can be offset and the on-going energy savings and comfort gains will pay back that extra cost quickly.
Water heaters and pipe insulation?
Why do we insulate the water pipes for just the first three feet at the water heater? The greatest loss of heat from the pipes is close to the water heater, where the temperature is being maintained at the water heater's set point. The higher the temperature, the greater the heat loss through un-insulated pipes. Water heaters with an Energy Factor (EF) of at least 0.62 are most efficient and readily available.
Insulation?
You can choose between several types of insulation, and all of them can have recycled content. Blown-in products or the installation of batts by certified installers typically provide a better insulated home, because there is less opportunity for air leakage. Typical insulation levels are R-15 in the walls, R-38 in the attic, and R-11 on basement walls. Appropriate insulation levels in walls, attics and on basement or foundation walls make the home more resistant to energy loss, lowering energy bills, improving comfort, reducing pollution related to energy production and saving precious resources.
Energy ratings?
An energy rating from a qualified Home Energy Rating Provider gives you information on the cost and associated savings of energy improvements in your home. And Energy Rater also helps builders decide the best energy package for their homes while giving them an additional tool to highlight their energy features. With an energy rating of 80 points or more, the home is qualified for a energy efficient mortgage, which can make the energy features even more affordable.
Energy heels?
The point at which typical roof rafters connect with the top plate of the exterior wall leaves little room for the full depth of attic insulation, creating compressed insulation and reduced performance. A raised heel truss, or "energy heel," raises the truss at that point (at least 6 inches) to allow the insulation enough room to produce its full R-value at this critical location.
Air infiltration?
Techniques like blown cellulose insulation, advanced air sealing and sill plate sealing are effective methods for tightening a home to reduce unwanted air infiltration and loss of conditioned air. Sealing the home with an advanced sealing technique (new construction) or with basic sealing from the inside (existing home) can make a big difference in winter heating bills and overall comfort, as well as reduce the infiltration of dust and other outside pollutants, such as pollen.
Leaky ducts?
Your duct system has numerous opportunities to be leaky. Studies have shown that an unsealed duct system leaks from 20-40% of the heated air that's supposed to be getting to the rooms of your house. This is bad for your comfort and energy bill, but it could be worse for your health and safety; a leaky duct system can create pressure differences in your heating system that can draw in contaminants like dust, soil gasses or flue gasses. A well-designed, well-sealed duct system should be a fundamental part of your otherwise energy-efficient home. The duct system should be entirely hard-ducted and sealed at all joints and penetrations with brush-on, low-/non- toxic mastic, not duct tape.
Carpet from pop bottles?
Carpet made from fibers spun from recycled plastic soda bottles is now commonly available. This carpet performs as good or better than carpet made from other materials, and costs about the same. The advantages include excellent stain resistance and durability. This carpet is a useful product made from material often thrown in the landfill. 500 square yards of carpet divert about 20,000 pop bottles from landfills. Carpet pad made from recycled fibers reduces the need for petrochemicals and off-gases less than a typical foam pad.
VOCs and indoor air quality?
VOCs are Volatile Organic Compounds and can be released by human or natural sources. They can react with the atmosphere to form ground-level ozone, and to a lesser degree, acid rain. Some VOCs, like the fumes from numerous interior products (glues, paints, cabinets, carpets and pads, furniture, etc.) are toxic, and could possibly cause a range of health problems from occasional headaches to allergic reactions, depending on the concentration and the sensitivity of the individual. "Least toxic" products are those that contain levels of VOCs below what the EPA or other credible sources have determined to be safe levels. In some cases, a "least toxic" product may be preferable to a "non-toxic" product for performance reasons. Additional indoor air quality protection can include controlled mechanical ventilation with an air-to-air heat exchanger or heat recovery ventilator to bring in fresh air without wasting heat.
XeriscapeTM?
Simply put, Xeriscape means the use of native, drought-tolerant plantings that can survive in our climate without lots of watering, appropriate turf areas, and using irrigation techniques that optimize the water you do supply. In general, Xeriscape should be the landscape option of choice. Beautiful designs abound, and the choices in flowering plants and turf grasses make this the only reasonable landscaping strategy in this high desert climate. Water is a precious resource, and shouldn't be wasted on inappropriate landscapes. Information can be found at city water departments around the state, and on the Internet. One excellent resource is Denver Water's website, http://www.denverwater.org/.
Solar energy?
Good passive solar design will save energy from the day you move in by taking advantage of the sun's "free" energy to help heat your home. Solar water heating is already cheaper than using electricity or gas to heat water, and solar electric (photovoltaics, or PVs) is becoming less expensive.
Efficient appliances?
The refrigerator is always on. The washing machine and dishwasher consume water as well as the energy to heat that water and to run the appliance. Huge strides have been made in recent years to improve the efficiency of all home appliances. Look for appliances qualified under the Department of Energy's ENERGY STAR® program for the highest performing models.
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