LEED® for Homes is the premier national rating system for new home construction. LEED® is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, and LEED for Homes is one of many rating systems developed by the US Green Building Council, a not-for-profit corporation dedicated to market transformation and improving the built environment.

LEED for Homes is a rating system that promotes the design and construction of high-performance green homes, and the benefits of a LEED home are many. A green home consumes less energy and conserves water, thereby reducing the homeowners monthly bills while also reducing the impact on our environment. Using less energy reduces greenhouse gas emissions and lessens the impact on our environment in many ways. Did you know that electric power plants are the second largest user of potable water in the U.S.? It's a fact! Agricultural irrigation is the leading consumer of clean drinking water and the hydration of our cropland accounts for 39% of the drinking water used in this country, while power plants come in a close second consuming 38% of the potable water used by the United States. Efficient plumbing and bathing fixtures, drought-tolerant landscaping and water-conserving irrigation systems help green homes use, on average, 50% less water than standard homes. Green homes offer improved ventilation and lessen our exposure to mold, mildew and other indoor toxins. The building process consumes fewer natural resources, creates less waste, and reduces the amount of volatile organic compounds (VOC's) that your family comes into contact with on a daily basis; simply put, a LEED certified home is healthier and more comfortable for the occupants. Did you know that building a standard 2,500-square-foot home creates approximately 2 tons of construction waste that ends up in landfills? Construction of a green home, however, generates 50% to 90% less waste. Far fewer natural resources are used in the construction of a green home, and many green building materials contain significant recycled content. Some companies, for example, now make carpets and floor tiles from recycled tires and bottles. Green homes can also be constructed with salvaged materials from demolished buildings. Green homes use materials made from rapidly renewable materials, like bamboo, hemp, agrifibers and soybean-based products. And the use of wood that is certified by the Forest Stewardship Council helps promote socially and environmentally beneficial forestry practices.

The table below indicates the average achievements attainable through the use of the LEED for Homes rating system. Green homes are expected to make up 10% of new home construction by 2010, up from 2% in 2005, according to the 2006 McGraw-Hill Construction Residential Green Building SmartMarket Report.

The net cost of owning a green home is comparable to, or even less than, owning a standard home. If first costs are higher, it is often because many architects, homebuilders, engineers, plumbers and other industry professionals just don’t have the knowledge and experience to cost-effectively plan, design and build a green home. Finding a professional familiar with green-building techniques will save you money and ensure you’re getting the best-quality work possible, and that is where Florida Green Building Consultants excel. Month to month, people who live in green homes save money by consuming less energy and less water than code-built homes; generally speaking, these savings offset the incremental increase in first cost, and we often find that the net cost of ownership of a green house is lower than the cost of ownership of a standard home. Over the years, that adds up to big savings! A green home is more durable than most standard homes because of its high-quality building materials and construction processes that revolve around durability planning. Green Homes typically require fewer repairs, again saving the homeowner money and time! A green home is a healthier home, and a healthier home means fewer expensive doctor visits and fewer days of missed work. The resale value of a green home is typically higher than that of a comparable code-built home and the market demand for green homes continues to rise, even in the current real estate market! Additionally, local, state and federal governments, along with local power companies, are increasingly offering tax breaks and other incentives for building green homes or adding green features to your home. Florida Green Building Consultants can help identify the various programs and incentives that are available to you, and the cost savings generated by that benefit alone often exceeds our fees.

LEED is a national third-party certification program that recognizes leadership in green building. The LEED rating systems are derived through consensus; people from all aspects of building planning, design and construction collaborate at great length until a consensus is reached relative to what the USGBC considers to be a "green building". Given that LEED is a national rating system that is applicable throughout the United States, that is a huge undertaking. Once the framework of a LEED rating system is established, the rating system enters a "pilot" stage, and data is collected using real time experiences. The LEED for Homes Pilot was released on September 8, 2005, and subsequently underwent two "public comment" periods. During this phase, anyone interested in voicing their comments were welcomed to do so. The rating system was subsequently revised and the second pilot version was released in February of 2007, and underwent the same process. Once the vetting process was complete, the USGBC released the system for general use. The LEED for Homes rating system was released as a finished product in January of 2008. Once released as a system, the USGBC collects, compiles and evaluates the data extrapolated from vast numbers of projects and begins work on the next version of the rating system. The USGBC is constantly raising the bar to maintain their leadership position, and what was once esoteric ideas, become mainstream. For example, low VOC paint was nearly unheard of just a few years ago, and the companies that did produce it sold it at a premium. It's now available off the shelf at most of the large home improvement centers, and low VOC paint costs little more than standard paint! Now that's market transformation.