LEED® Certified Homes

What Are Some of the Features and Benefits of a LEED® Certified Home?

Air Quality – To dramatically improve indoor air quality, almost all outside air allowed into the home is filtered. This removes dirt, pollen, dust and other contaminants. This also reduces the chance for mold growth and makes the in-home air safer. We also use materials that are low in VOC (volatile organic compounds), which can be unhealthy. Good indoor air quality makes the home more comfortable. Homes following the LEED® standard are well insulated and air sealed. Other benefits include: no hot spots in home, the air is fresh and filtered, and limited exterior noise. LEED® certified homes have closely controlled heating, cooling and humidity systems, with little unwanted temperature variations.

Water Efficiency – Homes certified under LEED® use less water. Plumbing fixtures and appliances are verified to be water efficient, saving money and reducing use.

Energy Efficiency – Energy modeling is used extensively to evaluate the effectiveness of potential improvements, and balance them to provide the most value for the dollar. A detailed energy model is critical to ensuring your HVAC system is properly sized. The program provides third-party insurance that the home will realize significant energy savings with optimum performance of the HVAC system.

Durability – Durability strategies are essential to the design process, and ensures that we follow through in the construction phase of home building. Habitat selects highly durable materials to limit the intrusion of heat cold, water, and other damaging conditions.

Sustainability – LEED® Homes ensures that sustainability of materials is taken into consideration when purchasing decisions are being made. The process provides a tracking mechanism for sustainable features such as rapidly renewable or recycled materials. And finally, LEED for Homes gives owners assurance that the sustainable features were installed.

Quality Control – A key component of the LEED® for Homes program is rigorous third-party verification and documentation. Each LEED® home undergoes multiple on-site inspections and thorough performance testing to ensure the home’s envelope and mechanical systems are properly installed.

Waste Management – By requiring contractors to track and report diversion rates, homes built under the LEED® standard produce less waste during the building process, and a higher percentage of waste is recycled.