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 home energy efficiency upgrades vary by city, state and province, so what savings are available to you really depends on where you are. This page may be able to help, but since incentive policies change with every new incoming government - at any level from municipal to federal – its hard to keep it updated but have a look:
Tax incentives and credits for energy efficiency home renovations
I hope you are able to find something of value, and if you find any for your region we don’t have listed please let us know 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 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 are in Canada here are a couple other pages that may 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
Low-E coatings are something we always recommend whether you’re installing double or triple glazed windows. So when you talk about having a Passive House well-designed, Low-E coatings would be a big part of that solution.
They will help reflect heat back in during the winter and help reflect heat back out in the summer. So it will save on heating and cooling costs, and if you don’t use air conditioning, when done right, it can lead to greater interior thermal comfort. We have a page that explains everything you need to know about window selection, have a read here first -
How to choose the best windows for High Performance Homes
There is a lot to it, and it is honestly best left to those who do energy modelling. An example to look at would be our LEED V4 platinum Edelweiss House where we employed a very comprehensive passive heating and cooling strategy in our and we had different coatings on the north windows compared to the south. The south windows were a lower R-value, so they do lose more heat in the night, but the Low-E coating was chosen and applied in a way that they would gain far more heat in the day than they lost, so in the end they offer a net heat gain. north windows will offer virtually no passive heat gain, so you want the highest R-value windows possible to reduce heat loss.
And remember that maximising your southern exposure for passive heat gain needs to include a passive cooling strategy such as overhangs or sun shades to prevent overheating in summer or you'll be spinning your wheels and spending all you heat savings on AC in the summer. That is all explained here in our Passive solar home design video series.
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