Minnesota Pollution Control Agency/Living Green
The Building Green Brochure was produced by Anoka County’s Integrated Waste Management Department. It's a great guide to recycling, buying and selling used building materials.
Minnesota GreenStar is a state-wide residential building standards and certification program, which strives to maximize sustainable environmental strategies utilized in both home remodeling and new housing construction. MN GreenStar aims to take the guesswork out of what it means to build green for homeowners. The program is divided into 12 main categories, which span all aspects of construction practices. Within each category is an extensive list of tasks that a trained contractor can choose from to receive points. A certain number of points must be attained in order to achieve Bronze, Silver or Gold certification. The City chose to participate in the GreenStar certification process to educate the public about, and to emphasize, green remodeling practices. To learn more, click on Minnesota GreenStar's logo above.
To improve energy efficiency, durability and comfort of single family residences, Xcel Energy and the Neighborhood Energy Connection offer residential customers Home Energy Audits. During an in-home audit, a Certified Energy Auditor assesses how much energy the home uses, and then evaluates what measures can improve the efficiency and safety of the home. There are three types of audits: Walk-through ($30); Standard (includes blower-door test, $60); and Standard with Infrared Scan ($100). To learn more about Energy Audits, visit Xcel Energy’s website by clicking on the logo above.
Xcel Energy, CenterPoint Energy, and the NEC offer another great program called the Home Energy Squad. The Home Energy Squad consists of skilled crews that will make a variety of simple energy improvements in one easy visit. They install products like energy-efficient lights, water-saving shower heads, exterior door weather stripping, and programmable thermostats. They also recommend the next steps for bigger energy savings, and help homeowners learn about utility rebates. For more information about the Home Energy Squad, or to schedule an appointment, click on the Home Energy Squad logo above.
