Green Glossary
Green building has a language of its own. Here are some commonly used terms used in green building vernacular. Please contact us if you have questions about green building terms or if you have words that you think we should add to our glossary.
| Biodegradable | Waste material composed primarily of constituent parts that occur naturally, are able to be decomposed by bacteria or fungi, and are absorbed into the ecosystem. |
| Biodiversity | A large number and wide range of species of animals, plants, fungi and microsystems. Ecologically, wide biodiversity is conducive to the development of all species. |
| Biological Contamination | Contamination of a building environment caused by bacteria, molds and their spores, pollen, viruses, and other biological materials. It is often linked to poorly designed and maintained HVAC systems. People exposed to biologically contaminated environments may display allergic-type responses or physical symptoms such as coughing, muscle aches, and respiratory congestion. |
| Biomimicry | The process of emulating nature to design and produce products, systems, and buildings. |
| Blower Door | A test that measures the air tightness of a building |
| Brown-fields | Abandoned, idled, or underused industrial and commercial facilities where expansion or redevelopment is complicated by real or perceived environmental contamination. |
| Building-related Illness | Diagnosable illness whose cause and symptoms can be directly attributed to a specific pollutant source within a building Also called Sick Building Syndrome. |
| Carbon Credits | The purchase of carbon-generating items, such as trees, that help offset the amount of pollution emitted from a process or system. |
| Climate Change | Used to refer to all forms of climactic inconsistency. While Climate Change includes Global Warming, it is a broader term that refers to natural changes in climate. |
| Carbon Dioxide (CO2) | The most prevelant of the greenhouse gases. Emitted by burning fossil fuels. Naturally occurring from sources such as human and animal respiration, ocean-atmosphere exchange, and volcanic eruptions. |
| Close-Loop Recycling | When a used product is recycled into a similar product; a recycling systems in which a particular mass of material is remanufactured into a product of similar or higher use. |
| Compact Flourescent Lamp (CFL) | Small flourescent light bulbs that can be used in place of incandescent light bulbs. CFLs consume significantly less electricity and last 8-10 times longer than incandescent bulbs |
| Cradle-to-Cradle | A term used in life-cycle analysis to describe a material or product that is recycled into a new product at the end of its defined life. |
| Daylighting | Designing a building to take advantage of natural sunlight illumination |
| Dioxin | Any of several heterocyclic hydrocarbons that occur especially as persistent toxic impurities in herbicides. Also formed by burning plastics that contain chlorine. |
| Duct Blaster | A test that measures the air tightness of heating and cooling ducts |
| Embodied Energy | The amount of energy used in the construction, production, and transportation of materials. |
| Energy Audit | A written report prepared by a qualified tester using methods and measurements that comply with industry standards. An audit typically involves collection of detailed data and an engineering analysis. The result is a report of detailed project costs and savings expected when an energy-efficient project is completed and operated as designed. |
| Energy Efficient Mortgage (EEM) | A mortgage that figures conserved energy into the loan in the form of credits as an energy-efficient incentive, mostly for new homes already certified as energy efficient. |
| Energy Guide Label | An appliance label that provides an estimate of how much energy the appliance uses, compares energy use of similar products, and lists approximate annual operating costs. Required by the U.S. Department of Energy. |
| Environmental Footprint | A company’s environmental impact determined by the amount of delectable raw materials and non-renewable resources it consumes to make its products, and the quantity of wastes and emissions that are generated in the process. |
| Energy Improvement Mortgage (EIM) | A mortgage intended for existing homes for the purpose of installing energy efficiency improvements. |
| Global Warming | A process that raises the air temperature in the lower atmosphere due to heat trapped by greenhouse gasses such as carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, CFCs and Ozone. It can occur as the result of natural influences, but the term is most often applied to the warming predicted to occur as a result of human activities. |
| ENERGYSTAR | A certification granted by the Environmental Protection Agency and the U.S. department of Energy for household appliances and buildings that perform at specified levels of energy efficiency. |
| Green Design | A design, usually architectural, conforming to environmentally sound principles of building, material, and energy use. |
| Greenhouse Effect | The warming of the earth’s surface and lower atmosphere as a result of carbon dioxide and water vapor in the atmosphere, which absorb and reradiate infrared radiation. |
| Green Roof | Surfaces that reduce the temperature of buildings’ rooftops by absorbing heat as well as trapping dust and adding sound and temperature insulation to buildings. |
| Green Seal | A certification for construction products, such as windows, paints, and adhesives, attesting that the products were manufactured and can be used with minimal impact on the environment. |
| Greenwash | Disinformation disseminated by an organization so as to present an environmentally responsible public image. |
| HERS, Home Energy Rating System | A home energy rating that supplies credible verification for a home’s energy-efficiency using the home’s construction plans and the results of onsite inspections. |
| Indoor Air Quality | ASHRAE defines acceptable indoor air quality as air in which there are no known contaminants at harmful concentrations as determined by cognizant authorities and with which 8-% or more people exposed do not express dissatisfaction. |
| LEED – Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design | A certification granted by the U.S. Green Building Council. The detailed rating system involves full assessment of the construction, operation and innovation of the structure as a sustainable design. |
| Life Cycle of a Product | All stages of a product’s development, from extraction of fuel for power to production, marketing, use, and disposal and recycling. |
| Life Cycle Analysis | The assessment of a product’s full environmental costs, from raw material to final disposal or recycling, in terms of consumption of resources, energy, and waste. |
| On Demand Water Circulation Pump | A water-conservation device that rapidly moves water from a water heater to fixtures. |
| On Demand Water Heater | A device that heats water rapidly as it is dispensed from the faucet. Eliminates the need for a conventional tank water heater. |
| Ozone layer | The protective layer in the atmosphere, about 12-15 miles above sea level, that absorbs some of the sun’s ultraviolet rays, thereby reducing the amount of potentially harmful radiation that reaches the earth’s surface. |
| Permeable Pavement | A paving material that allows the penetration of water, thus significantly reducing runoff from storm water. |
| Photovoltaic | A solar energy system that captures light from the sun and converts it into electricity. |
| Post-consumer Material | Any household or commercial product that has served its original, intended use. |
| Post-consumer Recycled Content | A product composition that contains some percentage of material that has been reclaimed from the same or another end use of its former, useful life. |
| Post-industrial material | Industrial manufacturing scrap or waste, also called pre-consumer material |
| Post-industrial Recycled Content | Product composition that contains some percentage of manufacturing waste material that has been reclaimed from a process generating the same or a similar product. Also called pre-consumer recycled content. |
| Radon | A naturally occurring gas, colorless and odorless, that has been shown to cause adverse health effects. Radon gas often enters a structure by seeping through cellar walls and floors. |
| Rain Garden | An area, planted with deep-rooted plants, that collects storm water runoff and encourages absorption into the ground. |
| Reclamation | Restoration of materials found in the waste stream to a beneficial use that may be other than the original use. |
| Recycling | Process by which materials that would otherwise become solid waste are collected, separated, or processes and returned to the economic mainstream to be reused in the form of raw materials or finished goods. |
| Renewable Resources | A resource that can be replenished at a rate equal to or greater than its rate of depletion; i.e. solar, wind, geothermal, and biomass resources. |
| Resource Conservation | Practices that protect, preserve, or renew natural resources in a manner that will ensure their highest economic or social benefits. |
| Sustainability | Practices that ensure the continued viability of a product, practice, ecosystem, or the plant for a long-term (typically defined as at least seven generations into the future.) |
| Sustainable Development | An approach to progress that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. |
| Volatile Organic Compound (VOC) | Organic substances capable of entering the gas phase from either a liquid or solid form. |
| Wetland | Areas that serve as links and buffers between land and water resources by collecting and filtering runoff. |
| Xeriscaping | A landscaping method used in arid areas. Uses native plants that can tolerate infrequent watering. |
| Zero-energy | A process or building that produces as much energy as it uses. |
| Zero-waste | A process of building that has a closed-loop relative to waste, where all outputs are used again as inputs and no waste is created. |
Glossary compiled from several great resources such as by Green Builder Magazine and NAR GREEN Council.
