Where to find information about LEED for homes

LEED is increasingly becoming more important in the United States. I just came across a list of 28 cities in the U.S. (and in Vancouver, BC) that require LEED certification, often with "Silver Rating".

Chicago (IL) features a total of 88 LEED certified buildings, followed by Portland (OR) with 73 and Seattle (WA) with 63 buildings (Chicago Tribune, Sep.2009). Much of the information about LEED certified buildings is found on commercial and public buildings. Struggling to find information on small scale residency buildings, I came across a few lists on the USGBC website that include all of the LEED certified buildings to date. So if you are ever in need for finding best case examples, this lists might be a good starting point to look through all buildings that received LEED certification or this one (Oct 20th, 2009). Or you might start by browsing through the LEED project profiles featured at http://www.usgbc.org/.

Looking further through the USGBC website, I also came across a range of PowerPoint presentation files that give good background information about the impact of green buildings, the functionality of green homes, and general info about LEED and the USGBC.

Being interested in green homes, I picked a Platinum rated 2-family house (LEED Project #1391). There's plenty of information to be found on this green development in Chestnut Hill, PA such as floor plans and technical specs as well as photographs and a report, that give a good impression of the newly built projects.