Engineered Wood Products and the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design for Homes™ (LEED-H) Certification

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Making it’s debut in January 2008, LEED for Homes is the United States Green Building Council’s™ (USGBC) rating system for residential home construction that promotes the design of high-performance green homes. Benefits of a LEED (or any green Verified home) include lower energy and water bills; reduced greenhouse gas emissions; and less exposure to mold, mildew and other indoor toxins. Because the green building market is rapidly changing, LEED-H is currently usable but is undergoing redevelopment. The next version of LEED for Homes is slated for public release in 2011. Four hierarchy levels are available, (bronze, silver, gold, platinum) with a minimum 40 point certification threshold. Available points for engineered wood products are shown in the table below.

Section/Location Points Available Condition
MR Credit 5: Regional Materials 1-2 Use building materials that have been extracted, harvested or recovered, as well as manufactured, within 500 miles of the project site for a minimum of 10% or 20% (based on cost).
MR Credit 7: Certified Wood 1 Minimum 50% (based on cost) of wood-based materials that are FSC only certified. Structural framing, flooring, sub-flooring, wood doors and finishes.
IEQ Credit 4.4: Low-Emitting Materials—Composite Wood and Agrifiber Products 1 Composite wood and agrifiber products used on the interior of the building must contain no added urea-formaldehyde resins.