AAC: Autoclaved Aerated Concrete
AAMA: American Architectural Manufacturers Association, also Architectural Aluminum Manufacturers Association
AC: Alternating Current
ACE: Army Corps of Engineers
ACEEE: American Council for Energy Efficient Economy
ACH: Air changes per hour
ACI: American Concrete Institute
ACQ: Ammonium Copper Quaternary
ADA: Americans with Disabilities Act
AEE: Association of Energy Engineers
AF&PA: American Forest & Paper Association
AFUE: Annual Fuel Utilization Efficiency of a combustion heating appliance
AIA: American Institute of Architects
AISI: American Iron and Steel Institute
ALA: American Lung Association
ANLA: American Nursery and Landscape Association
ANSI: American National Standards Institute
APA: American Planners Association
ARI: Air-Conditioning and Refrigeration Institute
ASE: Alliance to Save Energy
ASCA: American Society of Certified Arborists, also American Society of Construction Analysts
ASCE: American Society of Civil Engineers
ASFD: American Society of Furniture Designers
ASLA: American Society of Landscape Architects
ASHRAE: American Society of Heating, Refrigeration, and Air-conditioning Engineers
ASME: American Society of Mechanical Engineers
ASTM: American Society for Testing and Materials
BEES: Building for Environmental and Economical Sustainability
BEPAC: Building Environmental Performance Assessment Criteria
BIB: Blown-in-blanket Insulation
BOCA: Building Officials and Code Administrators International, Inc.
BOMA: Building Owners and Managers Association International
BIFMA: Business and Institutional Furniture Manufacturers’ Association
BIPV: Building Integrated Photovoltaics
BRI: Building-Related Illness
BTU: British Thermal Unit
CABO: Council of American Building Officials
CCA: Chromated Copper Arsenate
CCRs: Codes, Covenants and Restrictions
cd: Candela
CDD: Community Development Department
CEC: California Energy Commission, also Center for Environmental Cooperation, also Center for Environmental Citizenship
CEM: Certified Energy Managers
CFCs: Chlorofluorocarbons
CFL: Compact Fluorescent Light
CFM: Cubic Feet per Minute
CMA: Chemical Manufacturers Association
CMHC: Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation
CMU: Concrete Masonry Unit
COP: Coefficient Of Performance
CRF: Condensation Resistance Factor
CRI: Carpet and Rug Institute, also Color Rendering Index
CSI: Construction Specifications Institute
CSO: Canadian Standards Organization
CTI: Ceramic Tile Institute
DC: Direct Current
dB: Decibel
DCV: Demand-controlled Ventilation
DOD: U. S. Department of Defense
DOE: U. S. Department of Energy
DOT: U. S. Department of Transportation
DSM: Demand-Side Management
EBN: Environmental Building News
ED+C: Environmental Design and Construction Magazine
ED(F): Environmental Defense (Fund)
EEBA: Energy and Environmental Building Association
EEI: Edison Electric Institute
EEM: Energy Efficient Mortgage
EER: Energy Efficiency Ratio
EMF: Electromagnetic Fields
EPA: Environmental Protection Agency
EPDM: Ethylene Propylene Diene Terpolymer
ERV: Energy Recovery Ventilator
FCA: Full Cost Accounting
FDA: Food and Drug Administration
FSC: The Forest Stewardship Council
FSEC: Florida Solar Energy Center
GAMA: Gas Appliance Manufacturers Association
GFCI: Ground Fault Circuit Interrupter, also called GFI: Ground Fault Interrupter
GIS: Geographical information System
GWP: Global Warming Potential
HBA: Home Builders Association
HCFC: Hydrogen Chlorofluorocarbons
HDF: High Density Fiberboard
HDPE: High -Density Polyethylene
HEPA: High Efficiency Particulate Air or High Efficiency Particulate Arrestance
HFC: Hydrofluorocarbons
HID: High Intensity Discharge
HPS: High Pressure Sodium
HRV: Heat Recovery Ventilator
HUD: The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
HVAC: Heating, Ventilating, and Air-Conditioning
IAPMO: International Association of Plumbing and Mechanical Officials
IAQ: Indoor Air Quality
IBC: International Building Code
ICBO: International Conference of Building Officials
ICC: The International Code Council
ICF: Insulated Concrete Form
IECC: International Energy Conservation Code
IEQ: Indoor Environmental Quality
IFC: International Fire Code
IFMA: International Facility Management Association
IIDA: International Interior Design Association
IPM: Integrated Pest Management
IR: Infrared Radiation
IRC: International Residential Code
ISO: International Organization for Standardization
JLC: Journal of Light Construction
K: Kelvin, also Thermal Conductivity
kWh: Kilowatt-Hour
LANL: Los Alamos National Laboratory
LBL or LBNL: Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory
LAP: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED)TM Accredited Professional
LCA: Life Cycle Assessment
LCC: Life-Cycle Cost
LDF: Low Density Fiberboard
LDPE: Low Density Polyethylene
LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
LEM: Location Efficient Mortgage
LPS: Low Pressure Sodium
LSL: Laminated Strand Lumber
LVL: Laminated Veneer Lumber
MCS: Multiple Chemical Sensitivity
MDF: Medium Density fiberboard
MEC: The Model Energy Code
MERV: Minimum Efficiency Rating Value
MSDS: Material Safety Data Sheet
MT: Metric Ton
MUD: Municipal Utility District
MW: Megawatt
N: Newton
NAHB: National Association of Home Builders
NACH: Natural Air Change per Hour
NAFTA: North America Free Trade Agreement
NARI: National Association of the Remodeling Industry
NASEO: National Association of State Energy Officials
NEC: National Electric Code
NFRC: National Fenestration Rating Council
NIBS: National Institute of Building Sciences
NIOSH: National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health
NIST: National Institute of Standards and Technology
NPC: National Plumbing Code
NPS: National Park Service
NPV: Net Present Value
NRC: Noise Reduction Coefficient
NRDC: National Resource Defense Council
NWWDA: National Wood Window & Door Association (see WDMA)
NYSERDA: New York State Energy Research and Development Authority
o.c.: On Center
O&M: Operations and Maintenance
ORNL: Oak Ridge National Laboratory
OSB: Oriented Strand Board
OSHA: Occupational Safety Hazards Administration
OVE: Optimal Value Engineering
Pa: Pascal (unit of pressure)
PAAC: Pre-cast Autoclaved Aerated Concrete
PATH: Partnership for Advancing Technology in Housing
PCA: Portland Cement Association
PCB: Polychlorinated Biphenyls
PCC: Pre-cast Concrete
PCRC: Post-Consumer Recycled Content
PE: Polyethylene
PET: Polyethylene terephthalate
PF: Phenyl Formaldehyde
PIRC: Post-Industrial Recycled Content
PSF: Pounds per Square Foot
PSL: Parallel Strand Lumber
PT: Pressure-treated
PUD: Planned Unit Development
PV: Photovoltaic, also Present Value
PVC: Polyvinyl Chloride
R-Value (R): Thermal Resistance
RAN: Rainforest Action Network
RESNET: Residential Energy Services Network
RFI: Radio Frequency Interference
RTI: Roof Tile Institute
r.o.: Rough Opening
SAD: Seasonal Affective Disorder
SBR: Styrene Butadiene Rubber
SBCCI: Southern Building Codes Congress International
SBIC: Sustainable Buildings Industries Council (formerly PSIC: Passive Solar Industries Council)
SBS: Sick Building Syndrome
SC: Shading Coefficient
SCS: Scientific Certification Systems
SDIC: Sustainable Development International Corporation
SEER: Seasonal Energy Efficiency Ratio
SEI: Solar Energy International, also Southface Energy Institute, also Sustainable Ecosystems Institute
SEIA: Solar Energy Industries Association
SFI: Sustainable Forestry Institute
SFPA: Southern Forest Products Association
SHGC: Solar Heat Gain Coefficient
SI: Systeme Internationale d’Unites
SIPs: Structural Insulated Panels
SMACNA: Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning National Contractors Association
SNL: Sandia National Laboratories
STC: Sound Transmission Class
SRI: Steel Recycling Institute
T&G: Tongue and Groove Joint
T-24: Title 24 (California Energy Code)
TND: Traditional Neighborhood Design
U-Value (U): Thermal Transmittance
UBC: Uniform Building Code
UF: Urea Formaldehyde
UL: Underwriters Laboratories
ULF: Ultra-low Flow
ULI: Urban Land Institute
UPS: Uninterruptible Power Supply
USGBC: United States Green Building Council
UV: Ultraviolet
VAV: Variable-air-volume
VOC: Volatile Organic Compound
VT (VLT): Visible Light Transmittance
W: Watt
WDMA: Window and Door Manufacturers Association (see NWWDA)
WHO: World Health Organization
WSRCA: Western States Roofing Contractors Association
WWF: World Widlife Fund
WWPA: Western Wood Products Association