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Updated 4/9/2013

Comprehensive Home Assessment

To understand the requirements for an energy retrofit, you need to understand how the existing assemblies currently perform. Get a running start with our Comprehensive Home Assessment checklist, free with Unit One of BuildingGreen's High-Performance Building Assemblies online course.

The course includes 4 weekly online lessons with detailed videos of key topics, downloadable course materials (suitable for offline study), and an online quiz for CEU credit (AIA, LEED, BPI, NARI) available with Lesson 4. Click here to get the checklist free with the course.

Get The Missing Manual

Do you know which LEED credits have the most LEED Interpretations and addenda, and which have none? The Missing Manual does. Check here first to see where you need to update yourself, and share the link with your team.

Managing LEED Costs

Experienced cost estimators evaluate hundreds of specific technologies and approaches that teams are using right now to earn points in LEED-NC. Learn more about your best options for achieving specific LEED-NC credits -- and the cost implications of those options.

LEED-Existing Buildings readiness review

Identify the EBOM credits that are within easy reach — and learn the steps to achieve the hard ones.

What Makes a Building Product Green?

See GreenSpec's criteria for every major building product category.

How to Select Windows: Understanding 7 key decision drivers

The latest BuildingGreen special report includes:

  • Anatomy of a high-performance window
  • How to use NFRC ratings
  • The framework you need to make informed choices on windows
  • Smart strategies that save money

See the complete table of contents

For Educators: Free Green Building Course Syllabus

Sign up for a free campus-wide trial of BuildingGreen Suite and get a sustainable-design syllabus outline.

General Panel Corporation Structural Insulated Panels —


General Panel Corporation produces an EPS-core SIP system. The company offers panels with a EPS core thicknesses of 3-5/8", 5-5/8", 7-3/8", 9-3/8", and 11-3/8" with corresponding R-values of 15, 23,…

Earth Measure Dimension Stone —


Earth Measure, a collaboration between Coldspring and Jason F. McLennan, is a dimension stone product that takes waste from stone manufacturing and cuts it into specific patterns that mimic the…

BlueskinVP Water-Resistive Barrier —


Henry Company’s BlueskinVP house wrap is a water-resistive, vapor-permeable, air barrier membrane that contains a permeable adhesive layer, so it does not require mechanical attachment. BlueskinVP can…

Daikin Altherma —


Daikin’s Altherma is an air-source heat pump system that can provide heating, cooling, and domestic hot water. Altherma is available with split-type or outdoor-only heat pumps along with a “Hydrobox”…

ACDC12 Solar Air Conditioner —


The Securus ACDC12 is a solar hybrid heat-pump air conditioner and heater suitable for spaces up to 750 ft2, or to supplement a larger system. It may be connected to up to three PV panels (for a…

 > More green products from GreenSpec

The Hidden Beltway Lobbyists Who Shape Green Building Policy

Author name:  Paula Melton Blog Category:  BuildingGreen's Top Stories Poison pill pushed by illegal lobbyists, or exciting, bipartisan energy bill that could change everything? It could be up to you. We’ve been keeping an eye on the sweeping Energy Savings and…

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Get Ready for LEED-EBOM with Our Stress Test

Sure, most project teams get points for EAc6: Emissions Reduction Reporting (78% achievement rate in LEED-EBOM 2009). But how ready is your project team for the challenging credits—like EAc3.2, SSc6, and MRc6?
Read more

What does LEED certification cost, credit by credit? "The Cost of LEED" report breaks it down

Looking for LEED documentation? LEEDuser's Documentation Toolkits offer credit-by-credit samples and templates, as well as actual LEED Online form samples

LEEDuser Forum

RE: Acoustics study
in NC 2009 IDc1: Innovation in Design
Saturday, 9:04 PM

SS1 Option 2 Path 11 With Tenant installing PV
in CI 2009 SSc1: Site Selection
Saturday, 7:22 PM

changing prerequisite completed forms
in Pilot Credit 67: Pilot Alternative Compliance Path—EA Prerequisite 2
Saturday, 2:06 PM

RE: Percantage Make-Up
in Healthcare-v2009: Sustainably sourced materials and products
Saturday, 5:08 AM

RE: Casework
in NC 2009 MRc7: Certified Wood
Friday, 9:41 PM

School addition - LEED Boundary
in MPR3: Must use a reasonable site boundary
Friday, 6:22 PM

RE: Recycled Soil and Aggregate
in NC 2009 MRc4: Recycled Content
Friday, 6:18 PM

RE: Good to know
in The Hidden Beltway Lobbyists Who Shape Green Building Policy
Friday, 4:40 PM

RE: Building Envelope Commissioning LEED required test methodology
in NC 2009 EAc3: Enhanced Commissioning
Friday, 4:10 PM

RE: Form Questions
in Healthcare-v2009: Acoustic environment
Friday, 3:23 PM

10 Tips for Passing the LEED Green Associate Exam

Author name:  Paula Melton Blog Category:  BuildingGreen Talks LEED Despite waiting till the last minute to study, I got a really good score and became a LEED Green Associate. Here’s where I spill all my secrets! Let’s get one thing straight: I don’t usually…

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Whole-Building Life-Cycle Assessment: Taking the Measure of a Green Building

Whole-Building Life-Cycle Assessment: Taking the Measure of a Green Building

Why we will never understand the true impact of our buildings—and how we should try to anyway

Read full article…

“We don’t look at the calculation that’s coming out as exact down to the last gram of carbon that’s been emitted or stored in the building, but it gives us a picture of how it’s performing.”

— Max Richter, of Perkins+Will, on the value of whole-building life-cycle assessment

From Whole-Building Life-Cycle Assessment: Taking the Measure of a Green Building