Replacing old appliances really can save energy – and money. How much money? These calculations, based on Energy Star labeling, help you find out.

Over the past decade, many Americans have seen the need to reduce their energy consumption. Some people have chosen to pursue this lifestyle change in order to live green and save the planet. In many cases, though, this reduction in energy consumption is driven by the savings that can be achieved by decreasing energy costs. Opportunities to deliver these energy savings occur throughout a home: replacing old appliances with new ones can create a significant return on investment (ROI).

In recent years, water issues have become a very hot topic. Water shortages throughout the western United States, as well as severe droughts in the southern, have made water usage a major concern. Many green building experts agree that with a growing global population we can no longer rely only on water conservation. Instead, green building technologies must quickly implement water efficiency. With that in mind, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has expanded its WaterSense program with a comprehensive WaterSense Label for new homes.

The performance of green buildings is a very hot topic in both the construction and real estate industries. As owners demand lower operating expenses, more and more new construction and existing building retrofits are being designed to a very high standard. However, as owners are finding out, those high design standards create only the opportunity for a green building. It’s what is done with that opportunity that defines both a building’s operations and the occupants inside it.

As many architects, engineers, developers, and facility managers know, a LEED project comes with many lofty goals. Often those goals include ambitious reductions in energy and water usage. However, once the project is finished, those goals are typically overlooked, indicating a glaring need for an ongoing process that ensures that expected performance is met or exceeded. It is with this in mind that the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has created the Building Performance Partnership.

Throughout the last 10 years LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) has developed into an efficient and effective solution for building owners to reduce expenses and limit the environmental impact of their buildings. Although many LEED projects take the form of typical commercial, institutional, government, and healthcare facilities, LEED provides many other sectors the ability to differentiate and produce a truly rare project, none more so than the Twin Oaks Landfill in Grimes County, Texas, which achieved LEED Silver certification.

In 2008, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) launched its LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) for Homes program with the intent of capitalizing on the momentum of other LEED programs and revolutionizing the way homes are built. Since the inception of LEED for Homes, more than 10,000 LEED homes have been certified, providing builders a way to differentiate the products that they offer. It has also given home builders the opportunity to provide homes with higher marketability. Making the transition from traditional home building to green home building can be a daunting task: the following tools will facilitate the building of a LEED-certified home.