Green Building Guidelines for Renovation

Baltimore County Office of Community Conservation strongly endorses the use of environmentally sensitive ("green") building materials and systems in all affordable housing renovation projects. Some projects will be more intensive than others, thus we have developed a two tiered set of criteria. The first tier is a checklist of recommended materials and systems that should be considered when doing any renovation project. Not all recommendations will be applicable to every project, but, every project can use some of the recommendations.

To help you in making green choices, we have developed this Baltimore County Remodeling Check List (PDF). It is intended to help developers and homeowners to consider the use of green building methods and practices in your projects. We strongly encourage you to consider these features in the early stages of project planning. For projects that will require more extensive renovations we have partnered with Maryland Home Performance with Energy Star program administered by the Maryland Energy Administration and will require a home energy audit for all projects.

What does the Audit involve?

The audit involves a “whole-house” assessment to find the most cost-effective improvement to increase the home’s energy efficiency. A certified technician will be required to come to the site and conduct extensive tests to evaluate if there are any air leaks, if insulation amount is adequate, if there are leaks in the ductwork, if there are any problems with the heating and air conditioning systems and identify opportunities for upgrading lighting and appliances.

To perform the needed work on the homes based upon the audit, will require a Certified Home Performance Contractor. Certification for both analyst and contractors is provided by the Maryland Home Performance program and follows the standards established by the Building Performance Institute (BPI).

To learn more about home energy audits visit the Energy Star Home Performance web site or the Maryland Home Performance web site.The BPI standards for certification can also be found at their web site.

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Revised July 28, 2009