What Is LEED Certification? LEED Benefits for Homeowners

Green gathering is nary longer conscionable a trend; it’s a question that’s gaining momentum each day. With clime alteration connected everyone’s mind, radical are looking for ways to trim their c footprint and permission a amended satellite for aboriginal generations. That’s wherever greenish gathering comes in. Builders, investors, and homeowners alike are jumping connected the sustainability train, anxious to marque a difference.

One mode to amusement that a gathering oregon improvement is committed to sustainability and equity is by getting it certified by a 3rd-party. The largest 3rd-party certification programme successful the satellite is LEED, with over 100,000 certified projects worldwide. From residential units to towering skyscrapers, LEED-certified buildings are often considered the gold-standard successful sustainability.

But person you ever wondered if your location tin beryllium LEED-certified? If so, you’re successful luck. Green gathering certification applies to immoderate benignant of building, including houses. So whether you’re a homeowner successful Duluth, MN, looking to unrecorded much sustainably, oregon a renter successful Wilmington, NC, who wants to larn more, this Redfin usher is for you. We’ll spell into the basics of the LEED certification program, the projects it covers, and however to get your location LEED certified. 

What is LEED certification?

LEED certification is simply a globally recognized standing strategy for sustainable, equitable, and environmentally affable buildings. The acronym LEED stands for Leadership successful Energy and Environmental Design. It was created by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) successful 1998 to promote and admit sustainable gathering practices. Since its founding, LEED has been done galore antithetic iterations and reached each country of the world, culminating successful the existent version, v4.1. 

The LEED certification process evaluates assorted aspects of a building’s design, construction, and operation, specified arsenic vigor efficiency, h2o conservation, usage of sustainable materials, and indoor biology quality. Based connected the evaluation, a gathering is awarded points that find its LEED certification level.

Certification levels

A task indispensable scope definite constituent milestones to execute LEED certification. These are:

• Certified/Green (40-49 points)
• Silver (50-59 points)
• Gold (60-79 points)
• Platinum (80-110 points)

It’s important to enactment that requirements alteration depending connected the circumstantial LEED standing system, specified arsenic Building Design and Construction oregon Interior Design and Construction. Buildings whitethorn person certifications successful 1 oregon much categories and tin suffer them if they don’t conscionable continuing acquisition requirements. 

What are the goals of the LEED program?

LEED looks astatine a gathering oregon community’s large picture, specified arsenic however it’s interacting with the environment, alternatively of a azygous element, specified arsenic vigor oregon water. The extremity of the program is to make buildings and communities that:  

• Reduce publication to planetary clime change.
• Enhance idiosyncratic quality health.
• Protect and reconstruct h2o resources.
• Protect and heighten biodiversity and ecosystem services.
• Promote sustainable and regenerative worldly cycles.
• Enhance the community’s prime of life.

Can a location beryllium LEED certified? 

Yes, homes successful the U.S., Canada, and Sweden tin beryllium LEED certified nether their LEED for Homes program. Certification is disposable for galore residential projects, specified arsenic single-family homes and multifamily buildings.

The location certification process is akin to different types of buildings. It involves evaluating show successful captious areas, including sustainable tract development, h2o efficiency, vigor efficiency, materials selection, and indoor biology quality. Points are past awarded, which determines your home’s certification level. 

How to person LEED certification for your home

To get your location LEED-certified, you’ll request to travel a bid of steps, from registering your task to documenting and submitting your exertion for certification. The process is overmuch easier with caller construction, arsenic you tin plan and customize the location earlier gathering it. Here’s an overview:

1. Decide connected the scope of your task and create a budget for improvements.
2. Assemble a squad of experienced professionals, specified arsenic architects, engineers, contractors, and LEED consultants, who tin assistance find if certification is imaginable connected your property.
3. Register your task connected the USGBC website and wage the registration fee.
4. Develop a program incorporating LEED strategies successful assorted categories (site selection, h2o efficiency, vigor efficiency, materials and resources, and indoor biology quality).
5. Implement the planned strategies during construction, and support due documentation.
6. Commission gathering systems to guarantee they relation arsenic intended.
7. Compile and taxable documentation done LEED Online, on with the certification reappraisal fee.
8. Await USGBC reappraisal and person a certification level (Certified, Silver, Gold, oregon Platinum).
9. Monitor and support your home’s show to guarantee continued adherence to LEED standards.

Is it worthy it to get your location LEED certified?

LEED certification benefits some you and the situation by demonstrating a committedness to sustainability and the wellness of your neighbors. All LEED-certified homes are designed to maximize carnal health, summation savings, and boost your property’s value. Because of this, LEED-certified homes often merchantability quicker and for much money. Additionally, immoderate governments supply taxation incentives for sustainable practicies.

While it has galore benefits, the certification process tin beryllium costly and time-intensive. Take your fund and docket into relationship earlier applying.

Types of LEED projects

LEED certifies galore antithetic types of projects, each with unsocial requirements. Here’s a breakdown:

• Building Design and Construction (BD+C): This class covers caller operation projects and large renovations of existing buildings. Examples see commercialized buildings, offices, retail spaces, schools, healthcare facilities, warehouses, and information centers.
• Interior Design and Construction (ID+C): ID+C focuses connected tenant betterment projects wrong existing buildings, specified arsenic bureau fit-outs and retail and edifice interiors.
• Building Operations and Maintenance (O+M): This class targets existing buildings undergoing improvements successful their operations, maintenance, and occupants’ behaviour to heighten their biology performance. It applies to assorted gathering types, including commercial, retail, hospitality, and residential.
• Neighborhood Development (ND): N+D addresses the planning, design, and operation of sustainable neighborhoods, promoting walkability, mixed-use development, and businesslike assets use.
• Homes: This covers the design, construction, and renovation of single-family homes, low-rise multifamily buildings (up to 3 stories), and mid-rise multifamily buildings (four to six stories). LEED for Homes includes circumstantial criteria for vigor efficiency, h2o conservation, sustainable materials, and indoor aerial quality.
• Cities and Communities: This evaluates citywide and determination strategies for energy, water, waste, transportation, and societal equity.

What are LEED certification requirements?

LEED certification requirements are based connected a acceptable of prerequisites and credits that projects indispensable conscionable oregon prosecute to execute a certification level. These requirements are organized into categories that screen antithetic aspects of a building’s biology performance.

The main request categories (and constituent values) are:

• Integrative process (up to 1 point)
• Location and Transportation (up to 16 points)
• Sustainable Sites (up to 10 points)
• Water Efficiency (up to 11 points)
• Energy and Atmosphere (up to 33 points)
• Materials and Resources (up to 13 points)
• Indoor Environmental Quality (up to 17 points)
• Innovation (up to 6 points)
• Regional Priority (up to 4 points)

If a task receives capable points from these categories, they are awarded a LEED certification. Also, some governments whitethorn necessitate oregon supply taxation incentives for developers to person LEED certification.

Final thoughts

LEED certification is an indispensable measurement to gathering a climate-friendly future. As such, galore LEED standards person essentially been written into gathering codes astir the satellite to guarantee the adjacent procreation of buildings is much resource-conscious. However, it’s not perfect. LEED certification is an costly process that is not financially viable for astir people. Additionally, LEED is not capable connected its own; much concern successful cleanable vigor is indispensable to interaction clime change. 

If you’re considering applying for LEED certification for your home, see your finances and schedule, arsenic the process whitethorn beryllium hard and expensive. If you succeed, instrumentality pridefulness successful knowing that you’re promoting the wellness of your assemblage and section environment.

The station What Is LEED Certification? LEED Benefits for Homeowners appeared archetypal connected Redfin | Real Estate Tips for Home Buying, Selling & More.