Where to start with a Green Home?

Presentation made to the Miami Valley Chapter of the Sierra Club retreat Feb. 8, 2014

In 2001 the U.S. Green Building Council launched the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification program. The USGBC is a non-profit, consensus based organization that has gathered together some of the best building standards from around the world. The standards are updated by the members of the USGBC every three years or so to keep pace with the evolving standards for the ASHRA  (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air-conditioning) and other standards.

The presentation was an overview of the most recent updates of the LEED for Home standards from the USGBC, the pre-registration requirement checklist for LEED for Homes Registration. Even if you aren’t planning a new home, you will learn from the presentation how to design a sustainable landscape, reduce your water use, improve energy and comfort of your home or office, use regional, reused, recyclable and renewable materials and improve the indoor air quality of your home or office.

The take away was a self guided tour of the LEED projects in Cincinnati, in 3 hours you can tour Cincinnati’s LEED public buildings, including a University of Cincinnati premier LEED project, understand why the Cincinnati Zoo is one of the Greenest zoos in the world and finish your tour at the Moerlein Lager House, the Cincinnati’s Park Board’s first LEED project. On the way you’ll also see the first LEED Platinum Cincinnati Public School, the first LEED Platinum interior of a commercial building and Hamilton County’s renovation of the Times Star Building. The tour is planned for the Spring of 2014, contact chuck@lohre.com for details.