What does it mean when a house is LEED certified?

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. It is an internationally recognized, third-party rating system for green building design – a standard we’re very familiar with here at Clarum.

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a non-profit organization committed to expanding sustainable building practices. The LEED certification program is the USGBC’s primary vehicle for promoting sustainable 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.

LEED certified home at Hansen Lane Estates in Danville, CA.

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.” 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) in the following areas:

• Sustainable site development – When we consider this factor, Clarum works to minimize a home’s impact on ecosystems and waterways; encourages regionally appropriate landscaping; controls stormwater runoff; and reduces erosion, light pollution, heat island effect, and construction-related pollution.
• Water savings – Clarum homes incorporate smarter use of water. We reduce water use via more efficient appliances, fixtures, and fittings both inside and out, as we well as make water-conscious landscaping choices.
• Energy efficiency – This is a big area of focus for us. Just a few of the ways we ensure our homes are energy efficient include energy use monitoring; efficient design and construction; efficient appliances, systems, and lighting; and the use of renewable and clean sources of energy.
• Materials selection – The Clarum home-building team selects sustainably -grown, harvested, and transported products and materials that are non toxic. We incorporate waste reduction practices along with reuse and recycling.
• Indoor environmental quality – We promote strategies that improve indoor air as well as those that provide access to natural daylight and views and improve home acoustics.

LEED was started by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) in 2000, with its rating systems developed continually by LEED committees through consensus process. LEED applies not only to new construction, but existing buildings as well. Today its influence is remarkable, with almost 9 billion square feet of building space participating.

Part of a long-term environmental solution

We build LEED-certified homes at Clarum. For example, our Hansen Lane Estates in Danville, CA, achieved a LEED Gold Rating.

This is an expression of our commitment to high-performance, energy-efficient construction: we’re continually partnering with firms to research and improve green building technology; we’re members of Build It Green; we’re also members of the USGBC, the organization which started LEED.

Why? Because the both environment and the people who live in a home are worth it.

We believe in designing homes that are healthy and comfortable. The extraordinary energy-efficiency of our LEED-certified homes are cost-effective, saving you tens of thousands of dollars in lifetime costs. It’s a win for the homeowner and demonstrates environmental stewardship and social responsibility.

To learn more about our LEED homes, call Clarum at 650.322.7069.