Green and high-performance buildings often improve indoor environmental quality. Qualitative checklists of key factors to look for are on the following sub-pages:
Here are additional resources of value to appraisers.
Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades. EPA has developed a voluntary guidance document, Healthy Indoor Environment Protocols for Home Energy Upgrades, that provides a set of best practices for improving indoor air quality in conjunction with energy upgrade work in homes. The guidance was developed in collaboration with the White House Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) Recovery Through Retrofit Initiative and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) initiative to develop Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals.
Indoor Air Quality Scientific Findings Resource Bank (from LBNL and USEPA). The IAQ-SFRB provides information summarizing the state of scientific knowledge about the relationships between people's health and productivity and the IAQ conditions or associated building characteristics in which the people work or reside. When possible, these relationships are expressed in quantitative terms using graphics, charts, or equations.
Radon risk maps, by state (from USEPA). These pages also include state offices/entities that assist with the issue, status of codes regarding radon safety, and lists of contractors offering radon-resistant construction for new homes.
Humidity (TBA)
Outdoor air quality non-attainment areas (from USEPA).
Indoor Air Plus is a voluntary USEPA program--augmenting the Energy Star rating process for high energy performance--that provides guidelines on reducing indoor air quality risks in homes.
Illuminance levels. The Illuminating Engineering Society of North America publishes recommended lighting levels (measured in footcandles or lux) for a wide range of building types and activities. If such measurements are available or can be obtained for the subject building, they can be compared against the recommended benchmarks. Examples from the 9th IESNA Handbook are given here.
Further reading