Green building is also known as sustainable building, or high-performance building. It is building houses designed to significantly reduce the impact on your carbon footprint. There are many ways to accomplish this and in the end, it's better for the planet via lower emissions, as well as better for your pocketbook via lower operational costs.
There are several industry specific certifications that houses can achieve and most of them have independent third party tests to prove performance. These include LEED, Passive House (PassivHaus), EnerPHit (Passive House for remodels), Energy Star, EPA's Indoor airPLUS, Green Globes, GreenStar Home Certification, HERS, and more.
Resources
Passive House (PassivHaus, EnerPHit)
LEED
GreenStar Home Certification
Energy Star
Indoor airPLUS
Green Globes
ecoHome has many guides for green building
Green Building Advisor
Blogs about lowering our energy use and carbon emissions
Thriving on Low Carbon
Green Builders
Amaris Custom Homes - (
2115 Country Road D, Suite B,
651-426-0584, website) We won’t be experimenting on your home. Amaris Homes is the leading green home builder in Minnesota and has built and certified more custom-built green-homes than any other custom home builder in Minnesota. Green certification programs Amaris Homes is familiar with and have certified under include Zero Energy Ready (Department of Energy – DoE), Leed for Home (US Green Building Council – USGBC), Energy Star for Homes (Energy Star) and MN Green Path (Builder Association Twin Cities) to name a few. Because we have built many custom green homes for more than a decade, our team is well trained and knows how to execute on your custom-built green home project. In fact, we have embedded green principles into our everyday building practices.
Filla Green Design and Build - (
1224 Quincy Street NE #240,
612-716-2532, website) Building green means designing efficient and non-wasteful integrated systems that eliminate as much negative environmental impact as possible. When we approach a project with this goal in mind, we’ve found that simply spending a little extra time to think things through on the front end goes a long way. It does not have to mean spending more money on state-of-the-art products (though there is a lot of cool stuff out there we’d be happy to share with you) – it really starts with common sense.
Modern Construction of Minnesota, Inc - (
621 MAIN ST NW,
763-200-6376, website) Owned and operated by Jesse Hartung. Building custom dream homes throughout the Twin Cities Metro Area.
Sustainable Nine Design + Build - (
3511 W 44th Street,
612-540-0863, website) Custom home builder that focuses on sustainability.
For the planet, we use vendors who are the top of class but will also make your home eco-friendly. We take a creative approach to ensure a minimal environmental impact, such as recycled plastic and glass, spray foam and rigid foam wall insulation, construction materials designed to stop heat from escaping the home; and high-efficiency appliances, such as furnaces, central air units and water heaters, insulated garages and light fixtures contain LED bulbs. The relationship between these three pillars of sustainable home building is a movement away from the use-all approach that was once all-too common with home design and construction.
Ziegler Custom Homes - (
11469 193rd Ave NW,
763-441-2326, website) Zeigler Custom Homes is a custom home builder, remodeler, and developer. We specialize in designing, building new custom homes, and creating inviting communities throughout the northern suburbs of the Twin Cities.
