LEED for Homes Checklist courtesy CaGBC
The checklist will help you understand the requirements for each LEED category, and help you decide on your targeted level of certification. It will not only be used for the evaluation of your project, but you can use it for tracking your progress. The checklist will allow you to:
Yes, any homeowner or builder is allowed to submit the application and manage the build without being a LEED AP (Accredited Professional), or even having a LEED AP on your design team. You could receive a point towards certification by having an AP on your design team, but it isn't mandatory. Here is a page to get you started -
How to build a LEED Certified Home
What you need to do first is contact a LEED provider in your region, it is with them that you will make your submission and they will perform a preliminary rating to see if how your design would score. This step allows you to see where your design falls on the point scale, and to see if changes are necessary to help you meet your own targeted goal.
Below are some pages that may be of value depending on how familiar you already are with the rating system. We built the first LEED v4 Platinum house in Canada a few years ago (linked below); in there you can find your way to the video guide we created following its construction, that may be of value to you as well. Also check out the following pages, best of luck!
Tax credits and other financial incentives for energy efficiency upgrades will vary by city, state and province, so any incentives available to you depnds on where you are. This page below may be a help, but since incentive policies change with every new incoming government - at any level from municipal to federal – it's hard to keep it totally up to date but have a look:
Tax incentives and credits for energy efficiency home renovations
I hope you find something of value there, and if you find any for your region we don’t have listed please let us know in the comments section so we can update it. As for energy efficiency upgrades, you are always best to find out where your investment will get the most bang for your buck, so regardless of any government grants, I would suggest you start with an energy audit, you can read about blower door tests and energy audits for renovation upgrades here. And in case you live in Canada, here are a few other pages that might help –
How do I get a free home energy audit in Canada?
Free Energy Audits, Net Zero Home Grants & Interest Free Home Retrofit Loans Canada
We always recommend testing for radon gas contamination in homes as it is a significant health risk if levels are elevated. For sure you will not get accurate reading a gutted house, but presumably you aren’t leaving it like that. Are you in a high risk area? You can see here for radon gas maps to see if you’re in a high risk area. Either you could finish the upstairs and then test it, or, just run with the assumption that you may have it and take the pretty affordable steps ahead of time just in case, read more here –
How to remove radon gas from basements and crawl spaces
Does the house have a basement or is it a crawl space? And what is the floor, is it dirt or poured concrete? I would assume it is not insulated nor would it have a vapor barrier, so just doing a vapor barrier itself puts you halfway to a passive radon stack, in that 6 mil poly vapor barriers are standard fare for radon barriers.
For homes in very high risk areas the more prudent builders may use a radon block membrane for added protection, but at the least a 6 mil poly will go a very long way.
The thing is, as you realize, it is virtually impossible to know ahead of time if a leaky house, or an empty lot where a house will soon sit, will have high radon levels. So best is simply to run with the assumption that it will and put in a membrane. You can see our page here on how to renovate basements so they won't develop mold, that will show you how to insulate a floor and install a radon barrier membrane at the same time.
I hope that helps, feel free to ask additional questions with a more details – current state of basement (stone, block or concrete foundation), ceiling height, if you intend to finish it as living space, and even the climate zone you live in, all this will help better determine what your best path forward is for a healthy and energy efficient home, but an affordably built one too!
Comments (0)
Sign Up to Comment