The USGBC is holding a second public comment period for proposed updates to the LEED for Homes v2008 program and will accept commentary through Dec. 1.
The proposed updates affect EA credit 1: Optimize Energy Performance. They proposed changing the minimum point requirements so that projects will need to earn a minimum of 13 points in the Energy & Atmosphere section for climate zones 1-5, or a minimum of 9.5 points for projects in climate zones 6-8. Under the changes project will also need to achieve a Home Energy Rating System (HERS) score of 70 or lower (or earn an equivalent number of points in the prescriptive path). Click here for an official summary of the changes.
The USGBC held a first public comment period in August and a collection of the responses, which were largely positive, can be downloaded here.
Those interested in participating in the current public comment period must be a USGBC member in good standing as of Sept. 1, 2013, and must register to vote by clicking here.