The Cincinnati chapter of The American Institute of Architects (AIA) has published the first comprehensive comparison of the two largest, nationwide green building rating systems for homes. The report looks at the U.S. Green Building Council?s LEED for Homes rating system and the National Green Building Standard (NGBS), developed by the National Association of Home Builders (NAHB), and finds them to be largely similar but with key differences on energy performance.
As the report attests, LEED for Homes requires site-tested minimum energy performance, while NGBS does not. At the same time, the report notes that NGBS is less expensive (by about $800) than LEED for Homes and certification generally takes less time. However, the report notes that to make the systems roughly equivalent on energy, you would have to add Energy Star certification to NGBS?and that eats into the cost difference. Ann Edminster, a residential architect and the principal author of LEED for Homes, told
EBN, ?In effect, the cost difference is tied to the performance differences, which makes perfect sense. Set a higher bar and it will cost more, both to achieve it and to verify it.?
AEC Forensics 