May 31, 2011 | Green Home Building/Remodeling, LEED Certification
Now that we finally are LEED Gold Certified, a lot of people have asked me how we got the points to get to the gold level. As a quick recap, LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, a rating system developed by the U.S. Green Building...
May 17, 2011 | Green Home Building/Remodeling, LEED Certification
I just found out yesterday from our LEED for Homes Provider that on Monday, May 16th, he had the certification call with the U.S. Green Building Council. As he had expected, we are certified at the gold level with 94 points! Hooray! I’ll get an email...
May 11, 2011 | Green Home Building/Remodeling, LEED Certification
It seems that some people have a hard time grasping how a larger-than-average home can still get LEED Certified. I’d like to address this issue directly, because it’s not the first time it has come up. First, the LEED for Homes rating system does address...
May 7, 2011 | Green Home Building/Remodeling, LEED Certification
The Minneapolis Star Tribune will be featuring our home, and my work on getting it LEED Certified, in the Sunday Homes section tomorrow, May 8, 2011. The reporter, Lynn Underwood, interviewed me for 3 ½ hours and made several follow-up calls to get the story right. ...
May 5, 2011 | Energy, LEED Certification
Last week, our Green Rater told me about a “pre-approved” Innovation and Design point for LEED for Homes regarding monitoring our electric, gas and water usage over time. All we have to do is sign up for the Building Performance Partnership through Earth...
Feb 3, 2011 | Green Home Building/Remodeling, LEED Certification, Water
Since my last post on “Final LEED Meeting,” a few things have come to light that have delayed our pending certification. As a starting point, we were at 90 points, including the exemplary performance points for our irrigation system and efficient clothes...
Feb 2, 2011 | Energy & Water, Green Home Building/Remodeling, Green Home Living, LEED Certification, Water
As I am scrounging around for another few points to hit the Gold level threshold for our soon-t0-be LEED Certified home, I am advised to do an easy thing, that is worth two points: install aerators in all of our sink faucets (except the kitchen sink). Aerators lower...
Dec 14, 2010 | Green Home Building/Remodeling, LEED Certification
One week ago today, I took the LEED for Green Associates and LEED AP Homes exam. About 15 seconds after I ended the exam, the computer screen changed and gave me my results. As the title of this post suggests, I passed! I have not been able to write about it yet...
Dec 6, 2010 | Green Home Building/Remodeling, LEED Certification
Tomorrow, December 7, 2010, I am scheduled to take the LEED for Homes exam. Right now I am taking a break from studying by writing about studying. (It actually is a break!) The exam will be two parts: each two hours and each 100 multiple choice questions, given at ...
Dec 1, 2010 | Green Home Building/Remodeling, LEED Certification
Last week, I met with our LEED for Homes Provider–Pat O’Malley of Building Knowledge, Inc.–and our Green Rater (Jimmie Sparks from the Neighborhood Energy Connection) to have a FINAL LEED MEETING. Pat asked me my goal: to give everything to him so...
Nov 21, 2010 | Green Home Building/Remodeling, LEED Certification
We are going for one additional point through the Credit Interpretation Request process. This Credit Interpretation Request follows the format required for LEED for Homes: Credit Interpretation Request Relevant credit: AE 1.3 Public Awareness LEED-H Version #: pilot...
Nov 21, 2010 | Green Home Building/Remodeling, LEED Certification
This is my official “Innovative Design Request” for an additional point for our irrigation well. It follows the required structure of all LEED for Homes credits: Innovation and Design Credit Request Relevant category: Water Efficiency LEED-H Version #:...
