The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) recognizes “Heather’s Home” at 3900 Lakeshore Drive as receiving a Platinum rating in the LEED for Homes pilot program.  LEED for Homes is a USGBC green homes pilot program that evaluates the environmental features of single and multi-family homes. LEED certified homes are designed to be energy efficient, environmentally sound, resource friendly, and healthy places for their occupants.

This is the first certified LEED for Homes pilot in Texas, and the third Platinum level home in the nation. The home was built by Ferrier Custom Homes. The LEED for Homes certification program will provide national consistency in defining what constitutes a green home. Rising energy and water costs concern many homeowners, and LEED certified homes are energy efficient and consume fewer resources than conventional houses.

LEED for Homes is a national brand that potential homeowners and tenants can look for – to readily identify true green homes. LEED certified homes consume less energy, use less water, and are safe and healthy places for their families to live. All LEED Homes are third party inspected, performance tested, and certified to be higher-performing than conventional homes.

A LEED certified home includes high performance features designed to provide improved heath, safety, comfort, and lower operating costs. LEED certified homes are also more environmentally friendly, more durable, less polluting, and make substantially better use of resources. In addition, the net cost of owning a green home may be no more than the net cost of a conventional home.  

Project features include:

• Passive solar design by North Texas USGBC board member Gary Olp of GGOArchitects

• Walls & roof made of Structurally Insulated Panels

• Durable Galvalume standing seam metal roof 

• Solar hot water heater 

• Drought-tolerant native landscaping practices 

• Energy Star appliances 

• Compact fluorescent lighting 

• Sustainable flooring that included bamboo & PET carpet  

• Low-flow showers & faucets 

• Daikin A/C unit 

• No or low-VOC paints & stains 

• Regional White Ash cabinetry 

• On-site recycling during construction (scrap lumber & sheetrock recycled into landscaping mulch) 

• All trees were protected during construction to ensure their survival

• Rainwater catchment system (used for flushing toilets & landscaping) 

• Dual-flush Toto toilets

Eleven local and regional organizations, called LEED for Homes Pilot Providers , have formal responsibility for rating LEED Homes during the pilot phase.  Ferrier Custom Homes worked with Guaranteed Watt Saver on this project to ensure the LEED for Homes standards were met. A complete list of the LEED for Homes Pilot Providers can be found on the USGBC Web site at: www.usgbc.org/leed/homes.

Heather is a young, single, working woman who is interested in living in a comfortable, energy-efficient, High Performance, green home. She is the office manager for Ferrier Custom Homes and works part time for various children's charitable organizations. For additional information regarding this article, please contact Heather Ferrier at heather@ferriercustomhomes.com.  All comments are the sole responsibility of the author. 

This article was originally posted 2/27/07.