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LEED v4
Homes
Energy and Atmosphere
Home size

LEED CREDIT

Homes-v4 EAp4: Home size Required

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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Earn 1 point for every 4% decrease in conditioned floor area compared with the ENERGY STAR for Homes, version 3, reference home (Table 1). Buildings that are larger than the reference home lose 1 point for every 4% increase in conditioned floor area. Projects cannot exceed the maximum number of points in the EA section.

Table 1. Conditioned floor area of reference home, by number of bedrooms

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8 or more

Floor area (square feet)

1,000

1,600

2,200

2,800

3,400

4,000

4,600

+ 600 ft2 per additional bedroom

Floor area (square meters)

93

148

204

260

315

371

426

+ 55.6 square meters per additional bedroom

For multifamily buildings, home size includes only in-unit space.
Prerequisite required for projects using the EA prescriptive path
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Addenda

1/1/2015Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Replace Example 3. Multifamily with the following:
A 15 unit multifamily project is 24,000 square feet. It includes four two-bedroom units (1,100 square feet each), three three-bedroom units (1,450 square feet each), and eight studios (750 square feet each) earns 1 point. This project's total in-unit conditioned floor area of 14,750 square feet.

To calculate the reference home size for the project, determine the reference home size for each unit type. The reference home size for studio apartments is 1,000 square feet; 2 bedroom unit's reference home size is 1,600 square feet; 3 bedroom units it is 2,200 square feet. The reference home size for the building is 21,000 square feet. The example home is 6,250 square feet smaller than the reference home size, which equates to being 29.8% smaller, earning the project 7 points.

8 Studio apartments = 8,000 ft2 (8 x 1,000 ft2)
4 Two bed apartments = 6,400 ft2 (4 x 1,600 ft2)
3 Three bed apartments = 6,600 ft2 (3 x 2,200 ft2)

Total reference home = 21,000 ft2

Total in-unit conditioned floor area = 14,750 ft2

Difference in size = 6,250 ft2 (21,000 - 14,750)

Points are calculated as follows:
6250 ft2 / 21,000 ft2 = 29.8% smaller
29.8% = 7 points
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
1/1/2014
LEED Interpretation
Inquiry:

Can living rooms or dining rooms be counted as bedrooms for the purpose of the HSA? RESNET explicitly states that living rooms and foyers should not be counted.

Ruling:

Living rooms, dining rooms, foyers, and other common rooms and walk-through rooms may not be counted as bedrooms. Green Raters have some discretion, but if the room is designed with no privacy it should not be counted as a bedroom.

Updated 8/4/17 for rating system applicability.

Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
11/18/2008
LEED Interpretation
Inquiry:

How should loft spaces be handled in the home size adjuster? This project wants to count a second floor loft space as a bedroom. I feel if that space can only be used as an upper room then it can be considered a bedroom. However, if one has to walk through the space to access other spaces then it cannot be considered a bedroom. Would a loft have to have a closet to be considered a bedroom? What about walls, does a bedroom have to have walls or can it be open to below?Description of loft spaces provided by the project team:The privacy screens for the loft are opaque fabric and operable. The sleeping loft is open to the house unless visual privacy is desired, then the screens are employed. There\'s a smoke detector and an escape window so it meets bedroom code requirements. A single bath is accessed directly from the loft and also serves two additional bedrooms. The design of the sleeping loft was reviewed and accepted by the City of Decatur Building Official.The house is typically occupied by two people who will, in general, live on the first floor. The second floor is for overnight and extended visit guests who will have the option of sleeping in the loft bedroom or the other two bedrooms. The sleeping loft provides an open space feeling and the best views of any space in the house. If I were a guest, I would choose the loft with it\'s eastern views of the sun rising through the trees. I\'ve designed lofts and houses in Atlanta for over 15 years. Open communicating space between living and sleeping spaces is relatively common in contemporary design and is a feature in many of my own designs. In one well received, published and awarded house I designed, the remarkable master bedroom does not have doors and only minimal visual separation from the grand combination of sleeping, living and functional spaces (photo below). Samuel Mockbee\'s Rural Studio in Hale County, Alabama has built numerous affordable houses with bedrooms without doors or even visual separation, the 800 sq. ft. Bryant house is a superb example (photo below. I just visited MoMa\'s "Home Delivery" prefabricated housing exhibit in New York. I was amazed by Richard Horden\'s Micro Compact Home. A 9 1/2\' cube provides living space, kitchen, dining table, storage, shower, toilet and two compact double beds. The O2 student village of micro-compact homes has proven very popular (photos below).

Ruling:

A loft space can be counted if it meets the criteria listed in the Rating System for a bedroom: "for the purposes of this adjuster, [a bedroom] is any room or space that could be used or is intended to be used for sleeping purposes and meets local fire and building code requirements." If all of these criteria are met, it may be counted as a bedroom in the HSA.

Updated 10/1/13 and 8/4/17 for rating system applicability.

Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
See all forum discussions about this credit »

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USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Earn 1 point for every 4% decrease in conditioned floor area compared with the ENERGY STAR for Homes, version 3, reference home (Table 1). Buildings that are larger than the reference home lose 1 point for every 4% increase in conditioned floor area. Projects cannot exceed the maximum number of points in the EA section.

Table 1. Conditioned floor area of reference home, by number of bedrooms

 

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8 or more

Floor area (square feet)

1,000

1,600

2,200

2,800

3,400

4,000

4,600

+ 600 ft2 per additional bedroom

Floor area (square meters)

93

148

204

260

315

371

426

+ 55.6 square meters per additional bedroom

For multifamily buildings, home size includes only in-unit space.
Prerequisite required for projects using the EA prescriptive path
See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Unsubscribe from discussions about Homes-v4 EAp4