What is a LEED certified home?

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Building large, luxuriously elegant LEED certified custom homes is a key strategic
differentiator for our company.  Virginia Luxury Homes is one of the very few home
builders that  builds large, luxury, green certified LEED and Energy Star custom
homes in the Northern Virginia area and is among the one percent (1%) qualified
builders in the United States.

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We are strong believers in the importance of LEED (Leadership in and Environmental Design) and the Energy Star certifications. While we are not environmental zealots, we do believe building green is the wave of the future in house building. We also believe that it is important for our customers that our company is on the front of new and proven build technologies. We also believe that the  LEED certification process provides “independent, third-party verification” that one of our new custom homes has been designed and built using strategies aimed at achieving high performance in key areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection and indoor environmental quality. It also verifies for our customers that we have been certified for using the best possible build materials and professional workmanship - standards far in excess of the typical builder or county required specifications.

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LEED-certified homes and buildings are resource efficient.  They use less water and energy and reduce greenhouse emissions.  As an added bonus - they save money due to their incredible energy efficiency!

 

It is very difficult to become LEED certified when you build large, beautifully luxurious custom homes as we do.  Part of the reason is that when a home is larger than approximately 2,500 square feet, LEED awards it negative points toward certification in an effort  to discourage building large inefficient homes.  This means that for our homes (the smallest of which is about 5,500 square feet) to achieve the required LEED point total for certification, we must use incredibly high quality materials and workmanship, along with a multitude of  numerous energy, water savings and other resource products and methodologies, in order to successfully achieve LEED certification for our new custom home builds. 

 

The advantage to our customers is that they can be assured that EVERYTHING, including tank-less water heaters, low flow fixtures, highly efficient appliances, special shut off valves, high efficiency HVAC and air ventilation systems, the utmost in insulation efficiency,  and water friendly landscaping methodologies have been employed in our homes.  This is a HUGE advantage to our customers.  In other words, when our company says that we use the very best quality materials and workmanship behind the walls where it is "hidden from view", as well as what you can see in front of the walls  - it is not rhetoric or lip service - instead, we  back it up through independent, third party inspectors.

This is a key differentiator from our competition. While it is our company strategy to build incredibly luxurious, quality, safe, homes that will last for years, many builders will tell you that they also do that.  The difference is that our build strategy is continually “tested” throughout our build process to “ensure that we are REALLY doing this”.  The independent, third-party verifications are in addition to regular county and state inspections. In other words, we MUST PASS inspections by an independent, third-party which are far more stringent than the county – which VERIFY that we are "building in the quality" that we claim we are!  This is your assurance that you REALLY do own a home that does HAVE this type of quality  built in!

Certification occurs through the Green Building Certification Institute, an independent non-profit that was established in 2008 with the support of U.S. Green Building Council. The GBCI includes a network of ISO-compliant international certifying bodies, ensuring the consistency, capacity and integrity of the LEED certification process.

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Participation in LEED gives building owners and operators an agreed upon standard of building, as well as the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings' performance. There are both environmental and financial benefits to earning LEED certification.
 

LEED certified buildings are designed to:

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• Lower operating costs

• Increase asset value

• Reduce waste sent to landfills

• Conserve energy and water

• Be healthier and safer for occupants

• Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions

• Qualify for tax rebates, zoning allowances and other incentives in hundreds of cities

Moreover, an organization's participation in the voluntary and technically rigorous LEED process demonstrates leadership, innovation, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility.

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For more information about LEED, please visit the USGBC LEED Website here.

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We Build Green for Healthier Living

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Virginia Luxury Homes has chosen to become one of the few builders in the U.S. (1%) who are certified and capable of building green LEED and Energy Star homes.  While our home buyers have the option to build green (fully LEED certified, partial green, or no green features) we believe there are many strategic reasons associated with building green:

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1. Reduce the toxic waste that has to be sent to the landfill through deconstruction

2. Opportunity for tax credit savings due to deconstruction

3. Recycle existing usable materials to those who are economically deprived

4. Conserve energy and water resources

5. Reduce harmful greenhouse gas emissions

6. Dramatic reduction or elimination of harmful volatile organic compounds (VOC’s)

7. Filter pollutants from the air being brought into the new house via specialized air ventilation systems

8. A healthier and safer living environment for our home buyers

9. Dramatic reduction in the cost of energy and water

10. Qualification for tax rebates and other incentives

11. Significant improvement to the economic return on investment (ROI) for our home buyers in the event of future resale due to increased sale price, and quicker sale.

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