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Woodland Commons Green Commitment, LEED® for Homes

Wednesday, November 9, 2016

We are committed to providing residents a healthy building to live in, by using sustainable design, construction and operations practices set forth by the U.S. Green Building’s Council’s (USGBC) LEED for Homes rating system.

As quoted on the USGBC’s website, “A home is more than just shelter: homes are the most important buildings in our lives. We think that every building should be a green building – but especially homes. Why? LEED homes are built to be healthy, providing clean indoor air and incorporating safe building materials to ensure a comfortable home. Using less energy and water means lower utility bills each month. And in many markets, certified green homes are now selling quicker and for more money than comparable non-green homes. Some of the most important buildings in the world use LEED. Shouldn’t the most important building in everyone’s world use LEED, too?”

The LEED for Homes Rating System measures the overall performance of a home in eight categories: Innovation & Design Process, Location & Linkages, Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality and Awareness & Education.

We are undertaking Certification in LEED for Homes with the help of our LEED for Homes provider, Sustainable Comfort, Inc. (greenrater.com), some of the major elements we have used to achieve this certification are as follows:

  • Maximized opportunities for integrated, cost-effective adoption of green design & construction strategies.
  • Avoided development on environmentally sensitive sites.
  • Made use of compact development patterns to conserve land & promote community livability, transportation efficiency & walkability.
  • Minimized indoor demand for water through water-efficient fixtures & fittings.
  • Reduced energy costs for the building by providing energy efficient design and operation.
  • Selected an air-conditioning refrigerant to ensure performance & minimize contributions to ozone depletion and global warming.
  • Increased demand for environmentally preferred products and/or building components that are extracted, processed and manufactured within the region.
  • Promoted a healthy indoor air quality by providing safer materials and proper ventilation.
  • Maintained the performance of the building by educating the occupants about the operations and maintenance of the building’s LEED features & equipment.

Why LEED for Homes?

“A home that achieves LEED certification has been designed to maximize fresh air indoors, minimizing exposure to airborne toxins and pollutants and has the potential to use 20-30% less energy – and some up to 60% less – than a home built to the International Energy Code Council’s 2006 code. Less energy use means lower utility bills every month throughout the life of the house,” states the U.S. Green Building’s Council’s website.

LEED for Homes was designed transform the mainstream homebuilding industry toward more sustainable practices. The program is collaborative and brings together all sectors of the homebuilding industry.

Although there are many other green homebuilding programs available, LEED for Homes aims to achieve a national consistency that defines the standards of a green home based on a consensus standard that can be met by anyone, anywhere in the country.

“The time has come to do more with less. As consumption habits of the developed world begin to overwhelm our planet and impact the entire globe, we have a responsibility to enact solutions and utilize our resources responsibly. That starts on the individual level. It starts at home.” LEED in Motion: Residential, USGBC 2014

For more information on LEED for Homes, please visit: http://www.usgbc.org/cert-guide/homes