Follow the LEEDer: Home Depot and USGBC partner for product database

Follow the LEEDer: Home Depot and USGBC partner for product database Yesterday, news hit the wires the United States Green Building Council has teamed up with Christmas light-recycling , personal wind turbine-selling home improvement mega-retailer Home Depot to launch an online product database (more than 2,500 products available at Home Depot in more than 20 categories ranging from bathroom fixtures to adhesives to appliances) geared towards homeowners and builders trying to rack up LEED points for green building projects. As hinted at by Kredich, the USGBC-Home Depot partnership is about more than simply reducing the headaches of bewildered homeowners on the hunt for LEED-qualifying products. As I mentioned in a post last month, green building represented 17 percent of the overall American residential construction market in 2011 — a massive jump from just 2 percent in 2005 and 8 percent in 2008; the number is expected to rise to as high as 38 percent within the next four years. Of course, reaching LEED for Homes -dom — 45 points for basic certification, 60 points for Silver, 75 points for Gold, and 90 points for the green home building holy grail, LEED Platinum certification — involves an entire lot more than filling a house with materials and products that contribute towards LEED points and prerequisites. Says Nate Kredich, vice president of residential development at USGBC in an official release: The LEED green building program helps homeowners measure green home performance across a diverse selection of categories, and products play an important role in achieving certification. Tongue Follow the LEEDer: Home Depot and USGBC partner for product database Trade News selected by Local Linkup on 09/03/2012