Follow the LEED-er
by Alison Gray
“The environment is linked to the economy,” says Scott Terrell, conservation administrator for the Truckee Donner Public Utility District. “We’re certainly trying to keep Lake Tahoe blue; if it turned brown, we’d lose a lot of visitors.”One of the founding members of the Sierra Green Building Association (SiGBA), Terrell cites this relationship as one of the reasons for the rise in environmentally sensitive new construction. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification, set by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC) is the standard for green building. The system has four levels of achievement, ranging from certified to silver, gold and platinum. The Tahoe Center for Environmental Sciences in Incline Village achieved LEED platinum certification this past summer, making it the first building in Nevada to earn such recognition. “Sierra College is building a campus in Truckee that will be LEED silver-rated, possibly gold,” says Terrell. “And the University of Nevada Cooperative Extension, with a couple of other partners, worked on a 4-H camp in the Stateline area that will potentially end up being LEED gold.”While commercial builders and architects are applauded for taking the initiative to go green, many homebuilders want to know how they can do the same. It might help to take notes from Bret Hackett, who, with his wife, Rosie, is building their South Shore home to a LEED gold standard, as part of the LEED for Homes program launched by USGBC this past December. “It is going to be the first LEED certified green home in Lake Tahoe,” says Hackett, founder of Healthy Home Consultants in South Lake Tahoe. Hackett’s house, for which he drew the plans himself, will include features like recycled siding and structural insulated panels when finished this spring. He would have aimed for platinum rating, but due to a shady lot, couldn’t utilize solar panels. To build a home to LEED standards, all of the structure’s design features must work together. Buildings earn points based on eight categories: innovation and design process, location and linkages, sustainable sites, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and awareness and education. “LEED is a very holistic rating system,” Hackett says. While certification is currently only available for new construction, the USGBC and the American Society of Interior Designers (ASID) Foundation are composing the first nationwide green residential remodeling guidelines to be released this March with their new REGREEN program.However, for homeowners who just want to borrow tips from LEED-certified buildings, Terrell and Hackett offer some simple steps to make an existing house greener. “Reduce, reuse, recycle,” says Terrell. “If we do that, we use a lot less energy.”One easy energy-saving solution is to unplug electronics, like cell phone chargers or a DVD player, which still draw current even when not in use. A surge protector makes it convenient turn these devices on or off as necessary. Also, replace incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents, which use only about a quarter the amount of energy. Terrell also advises looking for ways to conserve water, like filtering the runoff from showers and sinks for reuse in toilets. “Water is going to be the next big crisis,” he warns.Going green means going beyond simply saving on utility bills.“A big part of being green is indoor air quality,” says Hackett, “and asking, how healthy is your home?”To make a home healthy, Hackett advises getting rid of all carpets (because of the dirt and pollutants they trap), changing the furnace air filter often, beefing up insulation and using low-VOC (volatile organic compounds) paints, glues and adhesives. He also recommends getting an energy audit. “An energy audit will test how airtight your home is and will also check the efficiency of your forced air heat.” Saving energy, money and the environment seems smart all the way around. For builders and homeowners alike, it’s simply a matter of following the LEED. For more information on creating a green home, visit www.healthyhomeconsultants.net or www.sigba.org. For information on LEED for Homes and the REGREEN program, visit www.greenhomeguide.org or www.regreenprogram.org.
