• The home should be oriented on its site to bring abundant natural daylight into the interior.
• Devices should be implemented in order to reduce lighting requirements and to take advantage of any prevailing breezes.
• Windows, skylights, light monitors, light shelves and other strategies should be used to bring daylight to the interior of the house.
• The exterior should have shading devices, like sunshades, canopies, green screens and – best of all – trees.
• These devices should be placed particularly on the southern and western facades.
• Also they should be placed over windows and doors, to block hot summer sun.
• Dual-glaze windows reduce heat gain in summer and heat loss during cold winter months, specially if there is inert gases in between panes.
• To spot a truly green home, just look up, the roof should be a light-colored, heat-reflecting Energy Star roof.
• Or even better, a green (landscaped) roof, to reduce heat absorption into the structure.