The Wild Center

Private Residence – a LEED Silver Rating


Saratoga Lake, Town of Malta, New York

This residence incorporates an extensive list of sustainable features that qualifies the home for LEED Silver Certification. Locally-sourced reclaimed wood flooring and cherry wood trim (which was harvested on site) give the interiors a timeless quality, while low E windows provide an abundance of daylight and a visual connection back to the site with lake vistas.  Features such as a geothermal heat pump, high efficiency HVAC, blown in cellulose insulation, and efficient water fixtures, further the sustainability of the home. Additionally, locally-sourced stone pavers, zoned drip irrigation, no mow grass, rain water harvesting, and drought tolerant landscaping are incorporated into the 100% permeable lot, in order to integrate the home into its natural surroundings and reduce the environmental impact of the built structure on its site.

 LEED Silver Rating

LEED Certification is based on 18 prerequisites and 67 credits. The prerequisites are basic performance standards: they are mandatory for every project, and no points are awarded for meeting them.  To achieve certification, builders earn credit points by exceeding the minimum standards of the prerequisites. In total, 136 credit points are available.

 Certification Level  Points Required
 Basic Certification  45
 Silver  60
 Gold  75
 Platinum  90
 Maximum Points Available  136

 

Phinney Design Group’s Private Residence – a LEED Silver Rating

Members of our project team – architect, general contractor, HVAC contractor, green rater from The Center for EcoTechnology, and the homeowner, reviewed the LEED for Homes checklist and specified the design elements that would be included in the project. We are excited that the US Green Building Council has certified this single family sustainable project as LEED Silver.

The LEED for Homes Rating System works by requiring a minimum level of performance through prerequisites and rewarding improved performance in each of the categories below.  The level of performance is indicated by four performance tiers – Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum – according to the number of point earned.  This residence incorporates an extensive list of sustainable features listed in the LEED categories below.

 

 Innovation and Design Process:

 

Location and Linkages:

Sustainable Sites:

 

Water Efficiency:

 

Energy and Atmosphere:

 

Materials and Resources:

 

Indoor Environmental Quality: