How to Get Your Home LEED-Certified

Have your house inspected by a LEED for Homes Provider organization who will send a Green Rater to your house to perform an assessment. Walk through the property with the inspector and ask questions regarding ways in which your house can become more efficient and sustainable. Request and receive a written copy of the inspector's report.

Determine which level of LEED certification you seek to obtain. Four levels exist, Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum, Know that the higher the rating, such as Platinum, the more time, effort and cost you will incur getting your home up to the standards associated with that level's designation.

Review your house's location to meet the sustainable sites portion of the certification. LEED-certified homes meet this criteria by using landscaping, such as trees, grass and ponds. The house should support greening of the community as a whole. Add exterior foliage, grass and trees as suggested by the LEED Green Rater.

Make choices to satisfy the water conservation aspect of being LEED-certified. Opt for energy efficient appliances, such as low usage dishwasher, washing machines and garden hoses. Use rainwater-catching systems to further support water conservation. Low flow toilets and water conservation shower heads are other options to help score points in this category.

Meeting the energy and atmosphere portion requires you to utilize energy efficient appliances. You may need to work with a LEED-certified contractor to get energy systems up to par per the outlines of LEED residential certification.

Choose materials and resources rated as being ecologically friendly, reusable and sustainable for use throughout the house. Swap out chemically compressed or altered material in favor of recycled, natural products at times; the cost of the products and labor will increase the cost of obtaining LEED certification.

Generate clean indoor air by using air filters for heating, air conditioning and ventilation purposes. Install Radon pumps to help expel radon gas to further improve air quality inside the house.

Install indoor window shades to lower cooling costs, use natural day lighting to help reduce energy use and opt for a natural well as opposed to municipal water supplies if possible.