WHO IS IT FOR?

LEED is available for:

• Single-family homes and Multifamily Lowrise: Designed for single family homes and multifamily buildings between one and three stories.

• Multifamily Mid-rise: Designed for mid-rise multifamily buildings up to eight stories.

WHY SHOULD I BUILD A LEED HOME?

LEED has become recognized in the commercial building sector as the national benchmark of performance for green buildings and has rapidly gained recognition among the public at large. LEED is designed to serve the residential construction industry. Homebuilders using LEED will be able to differentiate their homes as representing the highest quality of green homes on the market. Furthermore, LEED certification will make it easy for homebuyers to readily identify high-quality green homes.

SUSTAINABLE

LEED residential units provide significant value to consumers through dramatically improving and saving energy, water, resources, generating less waste and supporting human health. In conventional homes, levels of indoor air pollutants can often be four to five times higher than outdoor levels, and with people spending an average of 90 percent of their time indoors, the average American suffers from significant exposure to unhealthy indoor environments.LEED-certified homes are designed to maximize fresh air indoors and minimize exposure to airborne toxins and pollutants. 

VALUE

They’re designed to save costly resources—energy and water. Using fewer resources means lower utility bills each month. Nationwide, the typical household spends about $2,150 on residential energy bills each year, but LEED-certified green homes are designed to use 20 to 30% less energy than a home built to code, with some homes reporting up to 60% savings. Over the seven or eight years the typical family lives in a home, this adds up to thousands of dollars in savings. Green homes are increasingly desirable. More than half of consumers rank green and energy-efficiency as top requirements for their next homes, and LEED certification is a top individual attribute of apartment rentals, second only to location near a central business district. Green homes sell at higher prices and faster than comparable, conventional homes. According to a 2016 report, “What Is Green Worth? Unveiling High-Performance Home Premiums in Washington, D.C.," by real estate appraiser and author Sandra K. Adomatis and the Institute for Market Transformation, high-performing single family and multi-family homes with green features in Washington, D.C. will sell for 3.5 percent more than those without green features.

TRUSTED

To ensure that your home is built to an exacting green standard, each LEED-certified home is inspected and tested by the third party non-profit organization: Green Building Certification Institute. Onsite inspections, detailed documentation review and performance are required in every LEED-certified home—so you can trust that your home is truly green. With proper planning, green homes can be built for the same cost as conventional homes, and they’re resold for more money in less time than traditional homes. LEED homes can qualify for discounted insurance, tax breaks and other incentives. Green homes are built to be energy-efficient, ensuring that they can be comfortably heated and cooled with minimal energy usage. They are individually tested to minimize envelope and duct-work leakage and designed to minimize indoor and outdoor water usage.

FLEXIBLE

LEED works for all building types anywhere. LEED is in over 165 countries and territories. With 2.2 million + Square feet is LEED certified every day with more than 92,000 projects using LEED. 

CERTIFIED:

40-49 points earned

SILVER:

50-59 points earned