Builders of energy-efficient homes are now eligible for a business tax credit up to $2,000. This is retroactive to Jan 1, 2026 when the previous tax credit expired. Since every LEED home receives a HERS rating, this gives builders a great incentive to build green. Learn about this and other incentives for LEED.
Chicago Magazine recently profiled a gut rehab home that achieved LEED Platinum certification, and included a photo tour of the home along with affordable green home remodel. View details at the Chicago Magazine online blog.
See this home for yourself at our tour on May 5!
Delta Institute is partnering with local deconstruction professionals to offer deconstruction training for contractors. In this two-week session, learn the basic deconstruction techniques on a residential structure and expand your career opportunities in the emerging deconstruction industry. Five sessions will be available between March and May. For more information or to apply, click here.
The US Green Building Council has released the LEED Mid-Rise rating system, designed to allow multi-family and mixed-use buildings of 4-6 stories a way to earn LEED certification more affordably than by pursuing the commercially-focused LEED for New Construction (or BD&C) rating system.
Review the LEED Midrise rating system PDF or learn more at the main LEED for Homes page at the bottom under the sub header Pilot Rating Systems. Be sure to review the pilot credit library as well, since many of these are applicable to multi-family buildings.
Chicago’s green consumer magazine, Mindful Metropolis, released their January issue with an article focusing on the first prefabricated LEED home in the city of Chicago. The project, which AES toured in December, is the focus of a two-page cover story discussing the evolution of prefab homes as an affordable green alternative. The magazine has an interview with the architecture team of Jeff Sommers and Kate Votava, of Square Root Architecture, and their plan to replicate prefab homes across Chicagoland. Download the full article.
Another Chicago project was recently in the news, filmed by the ABC (Channel 7) News team. Tom McGrath’s Elemental Building is a gut-rehab project transformed into a high-end LEED Platinum home right in the heart of Bucktown. The project’s first move was to build a solar garage that could provide power for the construction team, and has some innovative reuse of materials. Watch the video.
Have a newsworthy project you’re working on? Be sure you’re on our Project List page and send us information.
LEED for Homes has always required ENERGY STAR (a HERS rating of 85) as a prerequisite, and rewarded increasingly low HERS ratings with more points in the rating system. However, significant changes in the next iteration of the rating system (LEED 2012) will be even more performance-oriented, which should play well to Passive House customers. Especially those customers who want not only energy-efficient performance and good IAQ, but also those that want to go beyond and incorporate broader aspects of sustainability into their homes. This is where Passive House and LEED become intertwined. Read more » »
In a newly-released report, the Alliance for Environmental Sustainability (AES) analyzed data from LEED-certified homes in the Midwest found that the homes averaged 40% less energy use and utility costs annually when compared to conventional homes.
LEED for Homes Case Study Report
From January through June 2010, the Alliance for Environmental Sustainability (AES) collected Read more » »
The first public comment period is open for LEED for Homes changes that will go into effect in 2012. The comment period closes at the end of this year - Jan 14, 2011. You can download the full version at but as a LEED for Homes Provider, AES has distilled some of the highlights for you. This information comes from the LEED for Homes Specialty Update given Nov. 19 at Greenbuild 2010.
Implementation Timetable: (all dates approximate)
First Public Comment: NOW through Jan 14., 2011 download and comment
Second Public Comment: July 1 - Aug 15, 2026 (tentative schedule)
Revisions released for balloting: August 2012
Implementation: Nov 2012
Note: In addition to the public comment periods, ongoing feedback can be given online via the Stakeholder forum at LEEDuser.com
Let’s go through the major changes section by Read more » »
Builders of ENERGY STAR for Homes will need to learn more about Energy Star v2.5 going into effect January 1, 2011, as it leads us to v3.0 as well as Energy Star Indoor Air Quality options. Changes are coming - now is the time to learn how those changes impact your building model for 2011. Especially with the integration of ESv3 into the new LEED for Homes 2012 requirements. Read more » »
This article republished from patch.com
As the first planned green home in Northbrook, the 4,500-square-foot, 2-story, 4-bedroom house will take advantage of the land’s orientation and unique flood, solar, and energy conservation characteristics. The home’s owner and general contractor is Ihab Riad, owner of Green Park Construction, a builder of luxury custom homes. As the first LEED-certified home in Northbrook, Mr. Riad expects to receive a rebate for the building permit fee, given Northbrook’s green building incentive program. Read more » »
