Many folks  have been working for many years to improve the quality of the homes we build. You will find many names for similar programs as you start to collect information on what many now call Green Homes. Here is a list of some common vocabulary used to describe these homes.

• Affordable Housing - should be affordable to buy and maintain.
• Energy Efficient Home - a vague term, used freely by sellers of homes.
• EnergyStar Home - about 20 to 30% more efficient than code.
• Green Building - The practice of 1) improving the efficiency with which buildings and their sites use energy, water and materials, and 2) reducing building impacts on human health and the environment through better siting, design, construction, operation, maintenance and removal – the complete building lifecycle. — The Office of the Federal Environmental Executive
• Green Homes - the latest term to describe a home designed to be environmentally friendly, including energy and water efficiency, healthy and more.
• Model Energy Code -  minimum building requirements, the worst home you can legally build.
• Passive Solar Homes provides cooling and heating to keep the home comfortable without the use of mechanical equipment. The plan of the house, careful site selection and planning, construction materials, building features and other aspects of the home are designed to collect, store and distribute the sun's heat in winter; and to block the sun's rays in summer. Passive solar houses can be built in any architectural style and in any part of the country.
• Superinsulated (SI) Homes can save 75% of the annual energy costs for heating and cooling compared to a standard home, and is also more comfortable and healthy for the occupants. SI houses can be of any design and often look identical to a conventional home, especially from the exterior.
• Sustainable Development -“meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”— The UN World Commission on Environment and Development
• Whole Building - an early term for using systems approach to home design.
• Zero Energy Homes produce as much energy as they consume in a typical year.