Why judge a green building by its cover? Why not?

We already have energy efficiency ratings for appliances, electronics, light bulbs, windows and doors … what’s next: a ratings scheme for bricks, lumber and siding?

Why not?

Buildings around the world account for a major portion of our energy consumption, and the choice of facade materials can make a big difference between a clean, green structure and a polluting, brown one. So if you want to build one of the greenest, most sustainable and most energy efficient cities on the planet, it’s vital to know which materials to pick and which to avoid.

That’s why Masdar — Abu Dhabi’s clean-energy initiative — plans to establish a facade test center as part of its über-green Masdar City project. To do it right, it’s partnering with Germany’s Fraunhofer Gesellschaft, which already operates just such a test center near Munich.

“Sustainable building materials’ testing is a leading item on the Masdar City technology roadmap as we believe this is an area where we can provide technology leadership to the region,” said Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, CEO of Masdar.

Each test room at the Masdar center will allow for facade materials to be measured for energy code values, thermal and light transmission properties and overall performance. Construction is expected to start by the first quarter of 2012.