All Residents
- VOTE for candidates committed to addressing climate change.
- Let your elected officials know you support meaningful acton to transforming our built environment to carbon neutrality.
- Opt for all electric when buying or renting a home — let real estate agents and property managers know of your preference.
- Ask to see at least a year’s worth of utility bills (or estimated energy costs for new homes) when buying or renting.
- Identify and seal air leaks around windows, doors, and electrical outlets.
- Install a smart thermostat to automatically adjust temperature settings during the day.
Home Owners
- Get an energy assessment or an energy audit, including blower test, to identify opportunities to lower energy costs and improve comfort.
- Air seal windows, doors, and any other building penetration and add extra insulation, particularly in the attic.
- Ensure air ducts are properly sealed.
- Replace gas systems and appliances for heating, hot water, cooking, and clothes drying with high-efficiency electric appliances.
- Buy Energy STAR appliances.
- Have HVAC and hot water systems checked and tuned up for efficiency.
- Install window coverings to save on cooling costs.
- See if your dishwasher has an energy saving mode and only run it with a full load.
- Add rooftop solar for electricity and/or solar hot water system, if feasible.
Programs Supporting Home and Building Energy Upgrades
Arlington County’s Green Home Choice Program is a program that helps homeowners, builders and designers create homes that are better for you and the planet and provides free certification for significant home renovation and new construction.
Dominion Energy’s Home Energy Retrofit Program offers rebates for selected retrofitting such as air sealing, insulation, duct sealing, heat pump tune-ups and upgrades, and energy management system based on a comprehensive energy audit paid by the homeowner.
Dominion Energy’s Residential Home Energy Assessment Program includes a 30 to 60 minute walk through and installation of simple energy improvement measures such as LED lights, low flow faucets and showerheads and hot water pipe insulation.
Fannie Mae’s HomeStyle Energy Mortgage allows homeowners to finance energy and water efficiency upgrades and natural disaster resiliency measures when buying a new home or refinancing an existing mortgage.
ENERGY STAR Appliances provides information on selecting ENERGY STAR certified appliances, including rebates and retailers.
Arlington C-PACE is a County-sponsored program that enables owners of commercial and industrial buildings to use private sector money to finance energy efficiency, renewable energy, and water efficiency improvements to their property.
Arlington Solar and EV Charger Co-op, organized by Solar United Neighborhoods in partnership with EcoAction Arlington and the Arlington Initiative to Rethink Energy, brings homeowners together to take advantage of group purchasing power to get discounted prices and quality installation of solar panels and EV chargers.
Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) offers a similar solar co-op, plus weatherization services, energy assessments and audits, and education programs to NOVA homeowners and renters.
Arlington’s Energy Lending Library helps you find ways to reduce energy costs and improve comforts; you can check out therma cameras, LED light bulb sampler kit, and electricity usage monitors.
Amicus Green Building Center is a green design and home improvement store focused on environmentally-friendly building products.
DMV Net Zero Energy Coalition is a peer-to-peer network with the mission to drive the National Capital Region towards zero carbon communities. It is a coalition of like-minded volunteers working collaboratively and supporting each other in making immediate and meaningful progress towards the NZE goal.
Energy Masters Program is a partnership between EcoAction Arlington and the Virginia Cooperative Extension, trains volunteers to deliver hands-on conservation upgrades and community education in affordable housing communities in Northern Virginia. Training is conducted annually in October and November.
Building Certification
There are a host of building certification programs that set standards for highly sustainable buildings far exceeding existing building codes and usually applying to new construction and major renovations such as:
- Arlington’s Green Home Choice Program (see above)
- Zero Carbon Certification, a third party certification standard developed by the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), requiring energy sourced from onsite or offsite renewable energy sources, no onsite combustion of fuels, documented high energy efficiency performance, and offsets purchased for embedded carbon in building materials.
- Zero Energy Certification, an ILFI standard requiring that on a net basis all energy consumed is produced by onsite renewable energy with no combustion of fossil fuels
- LEED Certification, developed by the US Green Building Council, offers a framework for green building design, construction, operations and performance and comprehensively addresses sustainability elements to include energy optimization, water conservation, use of sustainable, non-toxic material, landscaping, and access to public transportation. Depending on the number of points, certification levels include Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum and can also include LEED Zero (zero carbon, zero energy, zero water, and zero waste)
- Earthcraft Certification, a residential green building program originally developed by the Greater Atlanta Homebuilders Association and the Southface Energy Institute for single-family homes and multifamily residential buildings, both new construction and renovation. Earthcraft is a point-based system incorporating proper site planning, energy-efficient appliances and lighting, resource-efficient building materials, indoor air quality, water conservation, homebuyer education, and all are verified during site visits and inspections. Implemented locally by Viridiant.
- Passive House Certification, offered through the Passive House Alliance, uses a set of design principles such as insulation, airtight construction, window and doors, and ventilation to minimize the need for using heating and cooling systems.
- Pearl Certification, conducted by certified contractors, provides homeowners with a comprehensive assessment of a home’s energy performance in building shell, heating and cooling, baseload, home management, and renewable energy and storage. Certification levels (Assessed, Silver, Gold, and Platinum) reflect energy performance in one or more of these areas that exceed the average home.
- International Living Future Institute offers the CORE Green Building certification, a framework that outlines the 10 best practice achievements that a building must obtain to be considered a green or sustainable building, as well as a number of other zero carbon and biophilic design guidelines.
- Enterprise Green Communities, a residential green building program developed in 2004 and available to any housing development in the United States that includes affordable homes. Its five themes include integrative design, a path to zero energy, healthy living practices, water standards and resilience requirements.
- Zero Energy Ready Homes, a residential program developed by the U.S. Department of Energy emphasizing rigorous requirements to ensure outstanding levels of energy savings, comfort, health, and durability.
- Indoor airPLUS, a voluntary program developed by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency emphasizing improved indoor air quality through construction practices and product specifications that minimize exposure to airborne pollutants and contaminants. Required under the Zero Energy Ready Homes program.
- WaterSense, a voluntary partnership program sponsored by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency that is both a label for water-efficient products and a resource to help people save water.
Additional Resources
AIRE Tips for Reducing Energy Use
A Zero Emissions, All-Electric Multifamily Construction Guide (Redwood Energy, 2019)
A Guide to Healthier Homes and a Healthier Planet (World Green Building Council, 2018)
The Economics of Electrifying Buildings (Rocky Mountain Institute, 2018)
Electrification Nation? (New Building Institute, 2020)
The False Promise of Natural Gas (New England Journal of Medicine, 2020)
The Impact of Green Buildings on Cognitive Function (Harvard University Center for Health and the Global Environment, 2020)
Rhetoric vs. Reality: The Myth of “Renewable Natural Gas” for Building Decarbonization (Earthjustice and Sierra Club, July 2020)
Rewiring America (organizational Website)
Rocky Mountain Institute (organizational Website)
Gratitude Ecovillage (organizational Website)
Resources provided by
EcoAction Arlington
Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions
The Potomac River Group of the Virginia Chapter of the Sierra Club
This content originally appeared The EcoAdvocate newsletter produced by the EcoAction Arlington Advocacy Committee. For more information about the Advocacy Committee, please visit ecoactionarlington.org/get-involved/ecoaction-arlingtondvocacy/