LEED for HOMES or National Green Building Standard certification
mwdyer
| Posted in Project Management on
We are a small Design/Build Firm in Metro West Boston and are developing a 2900 sq. ft. spec house in a neighboring town and want to know every one’s opinion on which certification will bring the most “bang for the buck” cost aside. Thanks
GBA Detail Library
A collection of one thousand construction details organized by climate and house part
Search and download construction details
Replies
I'd love for you to check in on my webinar tomorrow but the short answer to your question is, of course, another question.
What do you perceive as "bang"? If it's market recognition LEED-h has the higher profile in terms of stringency and market presence. As far as "buck" goes, the added cost in my market to certify to NAHB green on top of LEED-h or Energy Star is only $150.00 so if you are going for LEED-h you may as well get NAHB green as well.
If you just go NAHB green you won't have the verification cost and the waste stream analysis issues that you may have with LEED-h. Still, it may well be worth it for the market differentiation in that this is a spec house.
Get a quote from your local verifier and discuss what additional measures and documentation will be needed for each program. prices do vary.
I'm doing a house right now with five certifications, NC green, NAHB green, LEED-h, Energy Star and DOE builder challenge. Most folks do Energy Star along with the green certification at a minimum.
Thank you Michael. I signed up for your Webinar right after I posted my question. I am new to Green Building Advisor site and look forward to using the site and what it brings to add to my "tools" as a Residential Architect and Developer.
Like Michael said, it depends what you perceive as "bang". LEED currently has more market recognition but that will most likely change if NAHB markets their program right. As far as LEED certification goes, it will give you great bang since it is widely recognized and even clients that know nothing about green building have most likely heard about LEED. "Buck" is another issue. Going through LEED certification is a lot of additional administrative work and I would definitely recommend hiring an architect/designer that has some experience with it.