United States. The Green Building Council (Usgbc) announced that more than 20,000 homes in that country have obtained certification through the "LEED for Houses" program, a voluntary national endorsement system that provides guidance and verification of homes that have been designed and built to be energy efficient and healthy for occupants.
"There are green houses and there are LEED houses. This measure shows that the residential market is increasingly recognizing this fact. "LEED for Homes" is moving into the residential market farther and faster in search of high performance and healthy homes that save residents money," said Nate Kredich, vice president of residential market development at Usgbc.
Since the launch of "LEED for Homes" in 2008, more than 20,000 residential units have been certified and there are nearly 79,000 additional units in the pipeline. More than half of all LEED-certified homes are in the affordable housing category.
