Building Criteria

The Health House® program is a collaborative effort of the American Lung Association of the Upper Midwest® and the American Lung Association® national office to provide quality information for home builders and home owners regarding home design, construction, renovation and operation with a focus on healthy indoor air quality.  Health House seeks to build a unique blend of sound medical science integrated with proven building science in a format understandable to both homebuilders and homeowners.

EarthCraft House is a green building program that serves as a blueprint for healthy comfortable homes that reduce utility bills and protect the environment. EarthCraft House is a partnership between the Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association, Southface, government and industry partners.

ENERGY STAR is a joint program of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. Department of Energy helping to save money and protect the environment through energy efficient products and practices.         
To earn the ENERGY STAR, a home must meet strict guidelines for energy efficiency set by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. These homes are at least 15% more energy efficient than homes built to the 2004 International Residential Code (IRC), and include additional energy-saving features that typically make them 20–30% more efficient than standard homes

WaterSense, a partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, makes it easy for Americans to save water and protect the environment. Look for the WaterSense label to choose quality, water-efficient products. Many products are available, and don't require a change in your lifestyle. Explore the links below to learn about WaterSense labeled products, saving water, and how businesses and organizations can partner with WaterSense.

In a continuing effort to advance the use of environmentally responsible technologies in residential construction, the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), the International Code Council (ICC) and the NAHB Research Center have developed a process for an ANSI standard ( American National Standards Institute (ANSI)) for green home building construction practices. The result is a voluntary green home building standard that can be adopted by local green home building programs or local building departments as a conformance guide. 

The U.S. Green Building Council's core purpose is to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built and operated, enabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy, and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life.  A non-profit organization consisting of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally  responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work.