These days, renovating your home or office is considered a chance to make things more environmentally sustainable. You don’t have to be a sentimental bleeding heart to understand that using less energy, less water and fewer toxic materials while taking advantage of natural sunlight to create a healthy indoor environment is not only good for the bank account but for the occupants as well. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a certification process that encourages the construction of environmentally friendly buildings. Are you renovating? How to get LEED certified is a four step process that buildings need to go through. Learn more here:
The LEED Certification System
The LEED certification system was created by the non-profit organization, US Green Building Council USGBC), as a way to increase awareness of environmental concerns among architects, construction companies and the general public. LEED certification is dependent on a point system that allows the assessment of the environmental qualities of a building. There are different systems for different types of buildings, but compliance results in one of four certification levels: certified, silver, gold or platinum.
What Is Measured For LEED Certification?
There are minimum program requirements that must be met before LEED certification can be applied for. Among others, these requirements include a permanent building, compliance with environmental regulations, meeting minimum occupancy and floor area requirements and sharing of energy and water use data. There are nine main areas measured in the LEED certification process. These include the sustainability of the site, efficient water use, the types of materials used, the quality of the indoor environment, the location, design innovation, regional priority, energy efficiency and awareness and education.
The LEED Certification Process
There are four main steps when it comes to receiving LEED certification. First, you need to register your project. Then you’ll need to submit a completed certification application and pay a certification review fee. The application is reviewed, and if approved, certification is granted. While this a very simplified description of the certification process, these are the basic steps necessary to achieve LEED certification. For specific details pertaining to the process, you can visit the USGBC website.
