|
What is LEED®?
LEED® is an acronym for the
U.S. Green Building Council’s “Leadership
in Energy and Environmental Design”
program, the nationally accepted benchmark for design, construction,
and operation of high performance green homes and buildings.
LEED®
evaluates and assigns points to several key areas:
Innovation and Design Process (ID)
Includes special design methods, unique regional credits, measures not
currently addressed in the Rating System, and/or exemplary performance.
Location and Linkages (LL)
Includes environmentally responsible placement of homes.
Sustainable Sites (SS)
The use of the entire property so as to minimize the project’s
impact on
the site.
Water Efficiency (WE)
Addresses water conservation practices (indoor and outdoor) built
into
the home.
Energy and Atmosphere (EA)
Seeks improvement of energy efficiency, particularly in the building
envelope
and heating and cooling design.
Materials and Resources (MR)
Evaluates efficient utilization of materials, selection of environmentally
preferable materials, and minimization of waste during construction.
Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)
Improvement of indoor air quality.
Awareness and Education (AE)
Education of the homeowner about the operations and maintenance of
the green features of their
LEED®
home.
Documentation, information gathering, calculations and follow-through are all part of completing the
LEED®
requirements. Homes and buildings are certified under the
LEED® program
using the following certification levels:
|