Green building guidelines that will provide a nationally recognized baseline for determining minimum thresholds for resource-efficient, cost-effective home building will be developed by NAHB and the NAHB Research Center, it was announced in January.

"The Model Green Home Building Guidelines will take ‘green' to the mainstream," said Ray Tonjes, NAHB Green Building Subcommittee chair and a homebuilder from Austin, Texas. "We will ensure that all home builders, not just a few niche builders, better understand green building techniques and technologies. The home building community around the country can use them for their own specific, regionally distinct green home building efforts."

The guidelines will provide criteria for land development, site planning, resource efficiency, water conservation, indoor air quality, energy efficiency, operations maintenance and homeowner education.