Thursday, 23 April 2009
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To LEED or not to LEED?
This article can be found here: To LEED Or Not To LEED?So, guess what!? Here’s another topic we would really love to hear your opinions on. (Imagine that!)
We are at the point (and actually a little beyond the point) with some of our projects where we need to make decision whether to try for a LEED certification or to pass. Our strong commitment to creating eco-urban may make this seem like a no-brainer, but the more we talk about it the trickier it gets.
Our conversation has been circling around three things:
First, Which program?
There are over 70 regional green building certification programs in the U.S. according to the USGBC website. With LEED, the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) was the first to establish a comprehensive set of guidelines for rating the sustainability of a building. Since LEED’s formation, there have been quite a few new systems added to the mix. California Green Builder, and Build it Green are two other regional rating systems that are most recognized in California. Add the Energy Star certification and the local utility programs such as SMUD’s and PG&E’s energy efficiency and solar programs and there is an overwhelming amount of certification to be done. That is, of course, if it really makes sense to spend money on all the documentation!Second, what is the trade off between the extra marketability, and the extra cost?
Let’s take B Street West for example. We have applied for the LEED ND pilot program that certifies the project as a whole - it is supposed to verify that the neighborhood we’re creating is an eco-urban place. It broadly rates the location and linkage, neighborhood pattern and design, and the green construction and technology equally with a 106 point scale. With everything included (application fees, consultant analysis, site verification and certification fee…) we are looking at about $1,800 extra a unit. That doesn’t sound too ridiculous, but when we think of all the cool possibilities of what we could do with that same $1,800 a unit, we are just not sure if it is a good trade.LEED ND Certification or Paperstone countertops?
LEED ND Certification or higher efficiency insulation?
LEED ND Certification or a cork living room floor?LEED ND and LEED for Homes
The analysis of the actual houses is not as intensive with the LEED ND program as with other building-specific rating systems. We could then go through the LEED for Homes process to certify that each home is built to LEED standard, which comes with its own set of fees and an even greater requirement to manage the certification process. This could be somewhat redundant due to the green construction and technology analysis that would have already been completed in the LEED ND certification noted above. The process is a 108 point scale that certifies a building Certified LEED with 30 points, Silver with 50 points, Gold with 70 points, and Platinum with 90 and above. A building is certified with 27% of the allowable points. Generally speaking LEED is a slow, cumbersome process- one that Micah estimates can take one person on the construction management team about a quarter of their time to manage the process (This is from experience in the commercial realm with LEED NC). So that could be $88,000 dollars in additional costs beyond the LEED ND certification fees. That makes the total closer to $4,300 per unit.Build It Green’s “Green Point”: An Alternative
An alternative to the LEED for Homes program is the “Build it Green – GreenPoint” rating system. They use a 260 point scale which is comparable to the LEED Homes scale for rating the buildings. They have a lower threshold for “Green” and allow any home scoring 50 points or more into the club. So if you attain 19% of the points you are “green”. We have received a quote from Scott Blunk at Greenbuilt to manage and certify the process as a “Green Rater” through their program. This would cost substantially less, at about $650 per unit. So we could combine the LEED ND with a Build it Green certification for a total of $2,450 per unit.For marketability purposes the LEED certification clearly stands out as the undeniable leader. This is not necessarily due to a better quantitative system but mainly name recognition. LEED does pay more attention to site and neighborhood planning issues than Build it Green does.
Finally, and most importantly, do we really believe a certification guarantees a greener home/neighborhood for our buyers?
There’s been a lot of debate about what LEED does and doesn’t guarantee. LEED has not only unquestionably filled a large need for a universally accepted standard for green building, but has also fueled a new level of demand and media attention to the issues of green building. But that’s not to say it has it’s own set of shortcomings.One major limitation is that LEED is a prescriptive based program and not a performance based program. If our goal is a truly efficient, healthy home in a eco-urban neighborhood a prescriptive method does not necessarily guarantee this. One example of this is the way in which points are allotted. As others point out, there’s a problem when a point system weights a renewable-energy system about equal with a bike-storage room.
On the other hand, there’s also some potential validity to the increase in value for the homebuyer with green-certified house. Will houses with green certification appreciate at higher rates than houses without? If so, certification would certainly help the overall market acceptance and demand for green-built housing which would lead to more and more eco-friendly housing.
Since this post is already getting long, we’ll just refer you to a really well articulated article from 2005 that covers all this and more at grist.org.
So, the jury is still out. Give us your feedback/experience, please!
Micah and Vanessa
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