Washington — The LEED for Homes Reference Guide, a comprehensive tool for residential builders using the LEED for Homes Green Building Rating System, is now available for purchase online at www.usgbc.org/store. The Reference Guide offers more than 350 pages of information, resources and standards for the LEED credits covered within the residential green home certification program.

LEED for Homes is a national third-party certification system for leadership in green homebuilding. It was developed by the U.S. Green Building Council through a consensus process that included leading building scientists, home builders, architect, and other diverse representation from the homebuilding community. LEED for Homes rates and certifies green homes based on six sets of criteria, including energy and atmosphere, water usage, sustainable sites, materials and resources, indoor environmental quality, and location and linkages. Additional consideration is given for extraordinary innovation. A comprehensive Reference Guide, instructor-led workshops, and online courses about LEED for Homes are available. Additional information is available at www.thegreenhomeguide.org.

Along with the availability of the LEED for Homes Reference Guide, homebuilders, architects and designers will now have access to a larger pool of local LEED for Homes providers. The network of homes providers recently doubled to meet surging interest. Currently 540 homes have certified under the LEED for Homes rating system and nearly 13,000 projects are under development.

The Reference Guide is available for pre-order and will begin shipping in April 2008.