It's easy being green.

Green buildings are sprouting up everywhere, and with them, green products, tools and techniques that make maintaining an apartment building easier, more eco-friendly and. in many cases, less expensive.

"People are becoming, much more conscious of not only the health of the world but the health of their pocketbooks as well." said John W. Spears. C.E.M., LEED, AP, President of Sustainable Design Group and President and CEO of International Center for Sustainable Development.

"To maintain a green building, you need to use green products and be conscious of what goes into the building, such as the cleaning supplies and tools," he said. "You don't want to compromise a green building by sending in a team with nasty chemicals."

And although many think that "nasty chemicals" such as bleach are the only proper cleaning options and that their HVAC systems or vacuum cleaners can't be improved, think again. Here are 10 things you might not know about green buildings:

1. Anything to improve the mood. Daylighting, the technique of using natural light to illuminate buildings, is the most economical and environmentally responsible light available. It's also reported to make people happier and more alert.

2. But if the sunlight just doesn't cut it, lose those harsh incandescent bulbs and instead install compact fluorescent bulbs. The Energy Department reports that each bulb can prevent more than 450 pounds of greenhouse gas emissions and save more than $30 in electricity over its lifetime which is 10 times longer than the life of a comparable incandescent bulb.

3. Still don't want to give up using the cheaper incandescent bulbs? Consider this: Replacing one standard light bulb with an energy efficient compact fluorescent bulb in every American household would prevent more than 13 billion pounds of carbon dioxide from being emitted. That's equivalent to taking 1.2 million cars off the road for an entire year.

4. Contamination particles less than 5 microns in size can penetrate deep into a person's lungs. (Note that human hair is approximately 60 microns in diameter.) Pollen measures 10 microns, and dust ranges in size from .5 to 5 microns. Install a high-efficiency particulate air (HEPA) filter on your HVAC system, and remove 99.97 percent of contaminants at .3 microns in size.

5. Sweep up those contaminants in half the time. Backpack vacuums are not only stylish accessories, but they also double the speed of cleaning, according to the International Sanitary Supply Association (ISSA).

6. January is National Radon Action Month. Test your community for radon. Learn more at www.epa.gov/radon/.

7. More than 60 million people in the United States suffer from asthma and allergies. Ease your residents' pain by investing in doormats with rubber-reinforced face nubs and a crushproof waffle design. Proper matting can help trap as much as 80 percent to 90 percent of tracked-in soil. According to ISSA, the cost to remove just one pound of dirt after it is tracked throughout a building can exceed $500. That's nothing to sneeze at.

8. Heating and cooling a 85,000-square-foot apartment community costs an average of $28,490 a year using gas heating and electric air conditioning. By using a geoexchange system, that same apartment community can be heated and cooled for only $9,090.

Or go more low-tech. Allowing residents to open their windows facilitates a natural air-ventilation system--also known as a "breeze."

10. For only about $50, insulate hot water pipes from the water heater to the washing machines. This quick project can save about $262 a year.

Sources: Green Communities; One-Source; Michael Bluejay ("Mr. Electricity"); International Sanitary Supply Association; U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Abelard Public Education

Kate Pierce is NAA's Coordinator of Design and Production. She can be reached at [e-mail] or 703/518-6141 Ext. 619.