November 14, 2007
The U.S. Green Building Council now offers a rating system specifically for the certification of residential homes under its Leadership in Energy and Environment Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System program.
USGBC unveiled LEED for Homes at its annual conference in Chicago last week.
Of special interest to concrete home builders will be the points available for energy efficiency and reduced energy use during construction. Steel-reinforced, insulated concrete has been shown to increase efficiency in a home’s energy usage. Likewise, the prefabricated nature of ICF walls reduces construction traffic and other uses of energy on the job site.
The LEED for Homes certification covers production houses, custom-built residences and low-rise multi-family buildings.