What is a LEED home?

A LEED-certified home is a high-performance green building designed and built to achieve the highest point rating possible as defined by the U.S. Green Building Council.

What is LEED for homes?

LEED for Homes is a system developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) for the purpose of rating and recognizing homes built to a more sustainable standard than conventional homes built to code. LEED was originally developed for the purpose of transforming the mainstream building industry by promoting and encouraging best practices for environmental design and construction.

The LEED system rates the environmental performance of a building. It is based on accepted energy and environmental principles and strikes a balance between known established practices and emerging concepts. The rating system evaluates environmental performance from a whole building perspective over a building’s life cycle, providing a definitive standard for what constitutes a “green building.”

Are there different levels of LEED certification?

When a home or community is LEED-certified, it means its design strategies have attained a certain number of points for high-performance and health (of both people and the environment). There are four different levels of certification with 136 total available points:

What makes a LEED Certified home such a good investment?

There are several factors that make LEED Certified homes a great investment:

• Lower utility bills
• Government tax incentives and rebates for energy and water savings
• A healthier, more comfortable environment for occupants
• Reductions in landfill waste
• Increased building durability for lower maintenance costs
• Decreased carbon footprint, which means a better green image
• Increased property and resale value

DID YOU KNOW? Green Certification adds an average 9% price premium to the sale price against other comparable homes.

Want to learn more about how Clarum can help you build the sustainable home of your dreams? Give us a call at 650.322.7069