Green Building Registry Data Types

Built Green

Built Green is the green home certification program of the Master Builders Association of King and Snohomish Counties. In addition to certifying green homes, remodels, apartments, and communities, we host a membership network of companies and individuals involved in the green building industry. We also research and communicate the human and environmental benefits of ecologically focused building.

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EarthCraft

EarthCraft House has served as the foundation for the creation of the EarthCraft family of programs. Launched in 1999 through a partnership with Greater Atlanta Home Builders Association and Southface Institute, EarthCraft House has become a popular choice for single-family homebuilders and homeowners alike.

The EarthCraft House program certifies homes that are sourced, constructed, and designed to reduce environmental impacts. EarthCraft homes also save homeowners a projected 30 percent on their energy bills, relative to comparable buildings that use standard construction methods.

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Earth Advantage® Certifications

Earth Advantage is a nonprofit, providing building certifications that guides builders and developers to create energy-efficient, healthy, long-lasting, and resource-efficient homes. As of 2022 they have certified over 18,000 single-family homes and 20,000 multifamily units certified in the Northwest.

Their certification tiers are designed to guide all builders and residential buildings at any level of building performance. From Silver certification, suitable to builders making their first step from code into above code practices all the way to Zero Energy Certification that awards builders for exceptional performance. Their five pillar (Health, Energy, Land, Water, & Materials) certification program guides project teams to go beyond the minimum needs of a house and support them in creating a healthy and equitable place of home.

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ENERGY STAR®

ENERGY STAR Certified Residential New Construction for a new home or apartment means not only that it is more efficient, but that it is designed and built to standards well above most other homes and apartments on the market and that it has undergone a process of inspections, testing, and verification to meet strict requirements set by EPA.

ENERGY STAR Certified Buildings and Plants is focused on the commercial and industrial space. The major focus of this ENERGY STAR program is on improving the performance of existing buildings and industrial plants. To do so, EPA provides tools for benchmarking whole building and industrial plant performance. Using these tools, buildings and plants that receive an ENERGY STAR score of 75 or above, as verified by a licensed professional (a professional engineer or registered architect), can apply to have their building or industrial plant certified as ENERGY STAR for a given year.

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EPS™

Homes that use energy wisely stand out from the rest. EPS™ is a scoring system that estimates a home’s energy consumption, utility costs and annual solar generation. It also serves as a pathway and promotional tool for builders who understand the added value of homes that use energy wisely.

In order to receive an EPS, homes in Oregon must be served by Portland General Electric, Pacific Power, NW Natural, Cascade Natural Gas or Avista. In Washington, homes must be served by NW Natural. EPS homes are built at least 10% more efficient than typical newly built homes in Oregon, and 5% more efficient than typically newly built homes in Washington.

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Florida Green Building Coalition

The Florida Green Building Coalition (FGBC) is a nonprofit 501(C)3 Florida corporation dedicated to improving the built environment. Our mission is to lead and promote sustainability with environmental, economic, and social benefits through regional education and certification programs.

Builders who use FGBC’s residential green standards reach beyond “minimum requirements” and that’s why certification is an important part of our process. We use independent third-party experts to review a home’s construction so that its owners can be assured their home will perform as expected in several critical areas.

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Florida Water Star

The Florida Water Star program, owned by the St Johns River Water Management District, is a third-party certification program administered by the Certified Rating Program with certification from UL and Intertek. The program is generally voluntary with a few areas requiring it in local code or offering rebates for participation.

Participation pays off with measured savings that mean builders and developers have a clear pathway to building water-efficient homes, and homeowners should see reduced utility bills and landscapes that are more attractive and lower maintenance.

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Green Built Homes

Green Built Homes, formerly NC HealthyBuilt Homes, is a voluntary green building certification program administered by the Green Built Alliance. Green Built Alliance is pleased to offer the Green Built Homes program to builders throughout the region.

Multiple levels of certification are available (Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Net Zero Ready, Net Zero Energy and Regenerative), ensuring that the program is available to all budgets and experience levels. Homes earn additional points to attain each certification level and in doing so demonstrate that they have exceeded market-level to a significant degree.

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GreenPoint Rated

GreenPoint Rated is a nationally recognized, residential green building certification and the flagship program of Oakland-based nonprofit Build It Green. By providing flexible pathways to recognition, GreenPoint Rated makes it easier and more affordable for homeowners and multifamily developers to add value to their properties. This in turn encourages the design and construction of healthy, safe, and resource-efficient homes.In addition to managing GreenPoint Rated, Build It Green plays an important educational role in the housing sector, compiling resources and hosting trainings to build knowledge around home electrification, ADUs, and place-sourced development. The organization seeks to encourage building practices that prioritize community and bioregional wellbeing in addition to the health of an individual home.

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GreenStar Homes Certification

GreenStar Homes Certification encourages every certified home to incorporate the five pillars of green building - energy, health, materials, water, and place. The GreenStar program consists of four certification levels: Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum. There are mandatory requirements for each level, which build upon one another. All Certified-level requirements must first be met before a Silver certification level may be achievable; Silver requires all Certified, Gold requires all Certified, and Silver, and Platinum requires Certified, Silver, and Gold. Most of the requirements are the same among project types (single-family detached, attached, multifamily, and renovations) though there are minor differences to consider. The program focuses primarily on projects within North America but is available globally.

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US Department of Energy, Home Energy Score

Developed by the United States Department of Energy and its national laboratories, the Home Energy Score provides home owners, buyers, and renters directly comparable and credible information about a home’s energy use. Like a miles-per-gallon rating for a car, the Home Energy Score is based on a standard assessment of energy-related assets to easily compare energy use across the housing market.

The Home Energy Score Report estimates home energy use, associated costs, and provides energy solutions to cost-effectively improve the home’s efficiency. Each Home Energy Score is shown on a simple one-to-ten scale, where a ten represents the most efficient homes. Use the Home Energy Score Interactive Label to explore some of the information provided.

DOE-trained Home Energy Score Assessors can provide the Home Energy Score within an energy audit, home inspection package, or as a standalone product. Local and national Partner organizations help Assessors meet training, mentorship, and quality assurance requirements.

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Missouri Home Energy Certificate

Missouri Home Energy Certificate (MHEC) encourages Missourians to reduce energy usage by making improvements or upgrades to their homes. MHEC is designed to promote energy efficient homes through clear and meaningful recognition. It is intended to help homeowners convey the invested value of the energy efficient features of their home to potential buyers.

The purpose of the MHEC program is to supply homeowners and potential home buyers with information about the energy efficiency of Missouri homes by providing recognition in the form of state-issued Gold certificates to the top performing tier of Missouri homes, and Silver certificates to homeowners who have improved their homes by a significant margin or have completed a majority of cost effective energy efficiency measures.

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LEED® for Homes

The U.S. Green Building Council is committed to a sustainable, prosperous future through LEED, the leading program for green buildings and communities worldwide. Our vision is that buildings and communities will regenerate and sustain the health and vitality of all life within a generation. Our mission 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.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building types, LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership. 

The LEED standard is used for both single-family residences and multifamily buildings.

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NGBS Green Certification

NGBS Green certification implemented by Home Innovation Research Labs™ goes well beyond saying a home is energy efficient; it provides independent, third-party verification that a home, building, or land development is designed and built to achieve high performance in six key areas: Site Design, Resource Efficiency, Water Efficiency, Energy Efficiency, Indoor Environmental Quality, and Building Operation & Maintenance.

Builders seeking NGBS Green certification for their homes have two options. Homes can earn Bronze, Silver, Gold, or Emerald certification, depending on the number of green practices successfully incorporated into its design and construction. This option applies for all versions of the NGBS. Alternatively, homes can earn the Certified level by following the streamlined single-family certification path in the 2020 NGBS.

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Pearl Certification

A Pearl Certification is a “living certification” intended to be updated by the homeowner over time after a home is built, maintained, and/or improved. The Pearl scoring system assigns points to home features based on how much they contribute to the home’s performance. The more points a feature earns, the more it contributes to comfort, indoor air quality, and energy efficiency. 

The categories evaluated for high-performing features that earn points include Building Shell (roof, walls, windows, foundation), Heating & Cooling (furnace, air conditioner, ductwork), Baseload (water heaters, appliances, electronics), and Home Management (smart thermostats, information dashboards, energy management plans).

Pearl also recognizes homes that have Renewable Energy and Storage systems (solar panels, inverters, batteries, electric vehicle chargers), are All-Electric, and/or homes that have earned labels or scores when built and/or when improved.

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Renewables

The Renewables category is primarily focused on data associated with residential rooftop solar PV installations. We only display solar data related to “owned” systems as opposed to leased systems. This information includes the potential output of the PV system, its installation date, and data source. Solar PV systems have been growing rapidly over the past few years. Providing this information in real estate listings is important to valuing a home given the impact of solar systems on energy use and production. 

In the future, GBR will also add data within this category that includes on-site wind generation, and battery backup systems.

RESNET HERS® Index

The RESNET HERS Index is the industry standard by which a home’s energy efficiency is measured. The HERS or Home Energy Rating System was developed by RESNET and is the nationally recognized system for inspecting and calculating a home’s energy performance. Certified RESNET Home Energy Raters conduct inspections to verify a home’s energy performance and determine what improvements can be made to increase it.

The HERS Index measures a home’s energy efficiency and there are a lot of great reasons to have a home energy rating performed on your house. It can tell you so much about the home you live in, like how efficiently it’s operating and where you can make modifications for greater energy savings. When you’re selling your home, a low HERS Index Score can command a higher resale price. And when you’re buying a home you can anticipate the costs of energy bills and efficiency upgrades.

A certified Home Energy Rater assesses the energy efficiency of a home, assigning it a relative performance score. The lower the number, the more energy-efficient the home. The U.S. Department of Energy has determined that a typical resale home scores 130 on the HERS Index while a standard new home is awarded a rating of 100.

A home with a HERS Index Score of 70 is 30% more energy-efficient than a standard new home. 

A home with a HERS Index Score of 130 is 30% less energy-efficient than a standard new home.

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Time of Sale Energy Score

Time of Sale Energy Score is a collaborative energy disclosure program between Minnesota nonprofit Center for Energy and Environment and participating local cities. Time of Sale Energy Scores are designed to encourage greater adoption of energy improvements by providing energy performance data to home sellers and buyers.

The scoring system is tailored for an older, existing housing stock and disclosed to the public in an Energy Disclosure Report. Each report rates a home's energy performance from 0 (least efficient) to 100 (most efficient) based on four key areas: wall insulation, attic insulation, the heating system, and windows.

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