What is LEED?

You may be hearing more and more about LEED Certified houses and buildings being built in your state, community, or even neighborhood. And in case you were curious what LEED is, we came across an article that sums up what this green movement is all about.

What is LEED?

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) created LEED as a rating system for green building.

Green building refers to the design, construction, and operation of buildings in an environmentally friendly way. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality. The rating system is specific to the type of project being worked on. Some of the specific programs are LEED-New Construction, LEED-Existing Buildings, LEED-Commercial Interiors, LEED-Core and Shell, LEED-Homes, LEED-Neighborhood Development, LEED-Schools. The rating systems are broken down in to points for each type of credit. Certification levels within the systems are:

•Minimum points: Certified
•Second highest points: Silver
•Third highest points: Gold
•Fourth-maximum points: Platinum

For more information check out the USGBC website.

Barbara Buffaloe, Architectural Studies, College of Human Environmental Studies, University of Missouri-Columbia

If you have a project you would like to consider for LEED Certification, feel free to contact the owner of Southern Cottages House Plans, Michael R. McLeod, Architect and LEED Accredited Professional, for more information.