Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) and Building Green

Habitat for Humanity, Athens-Limestone County, AL is very involved in a "Green Build" program. After making the commitment to building a LEED ceritify home, we were very pleased that the Habitat for Humanity Internation has also adopted a mission statement that defines an affordable home as a a "green" home.

What is LEED?

LEED is the acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The LEED program provides a way of rating buildings' performance levels and provides a way of guarenteeing to interested parties that a building meets certain standards. The LEED program is a part of the US Green Building Council (USGBC), whose mission is "to transform the way buildings and communities are designed, built, and operated, eabling an environmentally and socially responsible, healthy and prosperous environment that improves the quality of life" (from LEED for Homes Program Review workbook, copyright 2008 by the U.S. Green Building Council. All rights reserved).

Why LEED for Habitat?

With the cost of energy fluctuating wildly, petroleum resources dwindelling, and the numbers of people with respiratory illnesses increasing, the need for an affordable, high-performance, and environmentally friendly home is needed now more than ever.In the past, considering the cost of a new home was usually looking at the purchase price of the house. Now, we must look at the monthly cost of home ownership -- the bottom line -- as the means to establishing the true cost of a home. Many studies have determined that the cost of owning a high performance "green" home is actually LESS on a monthy basis than a traditionally built one, when the cost of monthly utilities are figured in. An additional factor that makes the house even more affordible is the cost of medical services. While this savings is difficult to quantify, a healthier home will decrease doctor visits and medication. Our Habitat families must budget their moneys carefully, and when energy costs are unprodictable, making and sticking to a budget is very difficult if a home is not energy efficient. Since LEED certified homes substantially reduce energy costs for the home owners, the monthly utility bill will change less and make this home much easier to afford.

 

The following links are to documents that we make available to our Partner Families as part of the LEED certification process:

Green Power Operations & Maintenance Best Practices House Facts Energy