What is LEED?

What is LEED?Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, or LEED, is a certification process that allows builders, designers and operators to perform under an environmentally conscious set of guidelines.

Developed by the non-governmental, non-profit organization called U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), LEED was developed in the early 1990s. Originally comprised of one single standard, it has since grown into an entire system of interrelated standards. To date, more than 7,000 projects in the United States and abroad have implemented the standard.

Requirements

More and more local governments, and even certain projects that fall under federal government jurisdiction, are being required to use LEED standards in their construction and maintenance projects.

Rewards

One of the great aspects of implementing Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is that both local governments and the federal government offer tax benefits and rebates in specific situations.

Versions

There have been several versions of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. Currently, Version 3, also known as LEEDv3 or LEED 2009, is the primary grading system use. It’s comprised of nine rating systems that fall into the categories of design, construction and operation.

LEED version 4 (LEEDv4) was recently released and any project registering to use the guidelines after the summer of 2015 will be required to use LEEDv4.

For more information about LEED, please contact Overland Park Heating and Cooling, Inc.We’re proud to serve the home comfort needs of those in and around Overland Park, KS.

Our goal is to help educate our customers in Overland Park, Kansas about energy and home comfort issues (specific to HVAC systems). 

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