Why LEED?

personal thoughts on the benefits of LEED certification –

  Doug Campbell, architect

Why go to all the work and spend the extra money to have your new home built to LEED for Homes standards?  In today’s world of restricted credit, depressed economy, and tight budgets, it’s a real good question.  Both the short and long answer is – because it’s a good investment.  Not just a good investment in terms of your personal finances, but it’s also a good investment in the future – your future, and the future of the next generation. 

The price premium that “green” built homes command in today’s market place will only increase as the more and more people come to appreciate the impact that they can have on their family’s well-being, their utility bills, and our environment.  It’s a very tangible way to express your individual commitment to a cleaner, healthier, and more energy-efficient lifestyle.

LEED for Homes is a national initiative developed to provide comprehensive and flexible standards to gauge the “greenness” of new homes on an objective basis.  It was developed through the efforts of many national experts and builders knowledgeable about the many aspects of “green” construction.

The strength of the LEED initiatives lay in their multidiscipline range of evaluation factors for the entire construction project.  They cover not just the insulation and material content requirements covered in many local or state-wide green construction programs, but also the more far-reaching aspects of site selection, sprawl reduction, water efficiency and waste reduction.  LEED certification of a home recognizes its overall exemplary performance as a truly sustainable endeavor.

The American dream of a 5,000 square foot mini-mansion in the suburbs is quickly (and thankfully) becoming a relict of a earlier consumer- and automobile-driven culture that was doing nothing to reduce our energy consumption, reliance on fossil fuels, or air pollution.  However, acknowledging that it is better to have that huge house built “green” than not, LEED for Homes uses a weighted point value system to raise the bar on such construction while encouraging small, urban, infill housing more readily.  The point system of LEED for Homes is structured to place the greatest emphasis on those green features that have the biggest impact on a better built environment.  It takes into consideration that using local materials reduces the transportation penalty of long-distance shipping and that using materials with recycled content reduces the pressure on our landfills.

The standards and requirements recognize the way that regional construction practices and climate can impact construction technology.  They combine prerequisites in key design and construction areas with multiple approaches to a wide range of other issues.  The breath of options allows LEED for Homes to be a consistent benchmark for use nationwide.

By requiring a minimum level of performance in a variety of the its materials, systems, and construction techniques, a LEED-certified home is going to take a smaller chunk out of the environment being built, be better constructed, have lower utility costs, and have healthier indoor air than its neighbor.  All things that make the home more enjoyable to live and be worth more in the marketplace.

It’s not hard to foresee that concerns regarding energy, materials, transportation, and pollution are going to play an increasing role in everyday decisions.  By committing yourself to building a LEED for Homes certified house, you will be helping to address these important issues in a meaningful and concrete (or alternate material) way.