Where will I find the rebate information?

www.energystar.gov Provides a list of energy star partners that offer special sales tax exemptions, credits or rebates to encourage the purchase of energy efficient products and you can sort by zip code.

www.dsireusa.org Provides information on state, local, utility and federal incentives that promote efficient and renewable energy.

www.epa.gov/ Federal, state and local levels providing sources of funding for homeowners, industry government organizations and non-profits. You will find grants, tax credits, loans and other programs here.

www.nahbgreen.org Local information (stands for National Association of Home Builders)

www.realtor.org Provides information on state-specific resources.

Arizona specific sites:

www.azdot.gov/mvd/vehicle/energyefficient

www.azcommerce.com/Energy/Efficiency

www.azcommerce.com/BusAsst/Incentives/Solar+Energy+Tax+Incentives+Program

www.azdeq.gov

www.cc.state.az.us

www.swenergy.org

Energy Efficient Mortgages, EEMs

www.fanniemae.com or www.freddiemac.com Offered by lenders that sell their loans to Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac. This allows you to qualify for a higher mortgage, being off set by the savings of your estimated energy bill.

www.hud.gov US Department of Housing and Urban Development allows lenders to add 100% of the additional cost of cost-effective energy improvements and an already approved mortgage loan.

www.mhrahome.org If you are looking at purchasing a manufactured home the Manufactured Housing Research Alliance has information on FHA EEM’s and Energy Star qualified manufactured homes.

www.homeloans.va.gov US Dept. of Veterans Affairs allows improvements to existing homes of veterans and qualified military personnel. Presently capping energy improvements at $3k – $6k.

LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design)

www.usgbc.org US Green Building Council is where you can find the Rating System and very few buildings have qualified for this designation. As of August, 2008 there were 369 certified LEED for Homes projects and 888 certified units. Of those units:

216 homes are LEED Certified
366 are LEED Silver
166 are LEED Gold
140 are LEED Platinum

Energy Star homes have to be 20-30% more efficient than standard homes and the guidelines are set by the EPA and more than 120,000 new homes earned the Energy Star rating in 2007 saving $54,000,000,000 on utility bills for homeowners. Not to mention the impact on the environment, which was equivalent to: Eliminating the emissions of 60k vehicles, saving 355,680 pounds of coal and planting 97k acres of trees.

www.natresnet.org to locate a certified rater HERS Home Energy Rating System

National Green Building Certification

Since 2005 the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB) developed guidelines to address the following:

Design and preparation of the lot
Resource efficiency
Energy efficiency
Water efficiency and conservation
Comfort and indoor environmental quality
Operation, maintenance and homeowner education

There are 3 levels of certification: Bronze, Silver and Gold

www.aia.org American Institute of Architects

Green Home Remodeling is here!

www.greenhomeguide.org This is a great place to start with many tips under $500!

www.construction.com Another great resource!

www.eere.energy.gov US Dept of Energy (Energy Efficiency an Renewable Energy)

http://www.daylighting.org Save on heating/cooling/artificial lighting

www.regreenprogram.org Questions to ask yourself before remodeling.

www.GreenandSave.com How much will you save going green?

www.ecosystemvaluation.org What about the land?

www.ftc.gov What does that Energy Star Rating mean?

www.aceee.org American Council for Energy Efficient Economy explains the total energy use of the US home.

www.greenerchoices.org Will define green cleaning agents and what products areVOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) free! I love my Holy Cow products!

www.stopwater.org You will find great ideas for landscaping.

www.fscus.org Did you know that lumber can be certified to be green?

www.greenseal.org Here is another certification mark to look for

www.wbdg.org Whole building design guide, National Institute of Building Sciences

www.nahb/org Model Green Home Building Guidelines

www.healthhouse.org/build

www.toolbase.org For residential building diagnostic tools

HEED (Home Energy efficient Design)energy.design.tools@ucla.edu This easy-to-use program shows you how much energy and money you can save by making various Design or Remodeling changes to your home. It’s free! Straw-Bale Homes – OVE (Optimum Value Engineering)

www.strawbale.com You have to check out this site – you will NOT believe these gorgeous homes were built with straw bales! Plus, no matter what your questions about constructing a straw bale home, you will find the answer here.