Watch the video on What Makes a Home Green.
What measures determine if a home is green? Does using recycled materials make a home green? How about locating the home on reclaimed land? Or, what if the homeowners have energy bills significantly lower than those for a similar-sized conventional home?
According to the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), it takes more than using a few sustainable practices to build a high-performance green home. USGBC is the nation's foremost coalition of leaders from every sector of the building industry working to promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable, and healthy places to live and work. To define and promote green building, USGBC developed LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building) in 1998. LEED is a cutting edge system used for designing, constructing, and certifying green buildings, and it is the nationally accepted benchmark for high performance green building. Since its pilot launch in 1998, LEED has evolved and branched out to include: LEED for New Construction, LEED for Existing Buildings, LEED for Commercial Interiors, LEED for Core & Shell, and most recently, LEED for Homes, which is currently in the pilot phase. This new program is expected to launch in Summer 2007.
LEED for Homes is a rating system that promotes designing and constructing high performance green homes. Its goal is to help move the mainstream homebuilding industry toward more sustainable practices. The rating system uses 8 different categories to measure the overall performance of a home. Each category contains a specific number of credits; each credit is worth 1 or more possible points. Homes are given a LEED certification rating based on the total number of points scored. The 4 certification ratings are as follows: LEED Certified is awarded to homes scoring between 45 and 59 total points; LEED Silver is awarded to homes scoring between 60 and 74 total points; LEED Gold is awarded to homes scoring between 75 and 89 total points; and LEED Platinum is awarded to homes scoring between 90 and 128 total points. A builder can choose which credits to comply with for the home attempting to be certified; however, among the 8 categories are 18 mandatory measures that must be completed in every LEED-certified home.
The 8 categories and the total possible points for each are as follows:
1. Innovation and Design Process. 9 possible points are given for using special design methods, unique regional credits, measures not currently addressed in the Rating System, and exemplary performance levels.
2. Location and Linkages. 10 possible points are given for placing homes in socially and environmentally responsible ways in relation to the larger community.
3. Sustainable Sites. 21 possible points are given for using the entire property so as to minimize the project's impact on the site.
4. Water Efficiency. 15 possible points are given for indoor and outdoor water conservation practices built in to the home.
5. Energy and Atmosphere. 38 possible points are given for improving energy efficiency, particularly in the building envelope and heating and cooling design.
6. Materials and Resources. 14 possible points are given for selecting environmentally preferable materials, efficiently using materials, and minimizing waste during construction.
7. Indoor Environmental Quality. 20 possible points are given for improving indoor air quality by reducing possible air pollution.
8. Awareness and Education. 3 possible points are given for educating the homeowner, tenant, and building manager (for larger multifamily buildings) about the operations and maintenance of their home's green features.
LEED is the only national homes rating system that clearly defines and establishes benchmarks for the features of a green home. It enables builders anywhere in the country to obtain a green LEED rating that can be recognized by homebuyers nationwide. Homebuilders using LEED will be able to differentiate their homes as some of the best on the market. Furthermore, the LEED certification makes it easy for homebuyers to readily identify high quality green homes.
To learn more about What Makes a Home Green, visit:
www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19
www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=2267
www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=2059
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