In February Oregon became one of the few areas in the nation to offer green home feature options on its real estate forms. The main change is the Green Certification Field letting buyers know that the listing has received ENERGY STAR, Earth Advantage or LEED for Homes certification. This Green Certification Field is only available for homes listed as New, Proposed or Under Construction.
They have also added options to fields that were already there, things like ENERGY STAR appliances under Kitchen Features. Other options include
- Bamboo or cork flooring
- High-efficiency 90 AFUE furnaces
- Source of electrical power, including specific utility service and solar features
- Additional home modifications, including sustainable materials, water filters, rain collectors and solar tubes
So you are probably now wondering what these certifications mean. ENERGY STAR Homes Northwest is a program administered by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance, electric utilities, public benefits administrators, state governments, public interest groups and energy efficiency industry representatives. They are out to offer products and services that are affordable and energy efficient. www.northwestenergystar.com
Earth Advantage homes are designed for overall sustainability and use at least 15 percent less energy than houses using standard building codes. www.earthadvantage.org
LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is a voluntary national standard that is consensus-based for developing sustainable buildings that are high in performance which are sponsored by the U.S. Green Building Council. www.usgbc.org
Certifications for realtors:
- The Association of Energy and Environmental Real Estate Professionals www.ecoBroker.com
- The Green Real Estate Education Company www.GreenRealEstateEducation.com
- The U.S. Green Building Council www.usgbc.com
- EA S.T.A.R. (Sustainability Training for Accredited Realtors) www.earthadvantage.org
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