The U.S. EPA’s new Green Homes website will help homeowners, renters and buyers make their homes greener with tips on reducing energy consumption, carbon footprints, waste generation and water usage, as well as improving indoor air quality.

The latest federal survey of American housing (2007) reported 128 million housing units across the United States, accounting for nearly 54 percent of national energy use and nearly 31 percent of all U.S. carbon dioxide emissions, the most common greenhouse gas contributing to climate change.

The EPA believes many green building practices and technologies have yet to make a dent in the existing residential market, in part because it is hard for people to find clear, consolidated, readily accessible and credible information. The Green Homes website addresses that need by providing guidance on approaches to greening each room of the home as well as the surrounding yard. 

Information also is available on building new homes and finding an energy-efficient mortgage, which takes into account the savings derived from energy-efficient homes to enable the applicant to qualify for better terms.

Renters will find information to help them identify a green property before moving in and tips for working with their landlord to add green features to an existing property. Users can also find references, such as a list of common green home terms, and links to dozens of EPA websites with more specific information on a wide variety of green home topics.

For more information, visit www.epa.gov/greenhomes.