Number of LEED homes could grow if savings is emphasized

The ranks of LEED certified homes would grow faster if builders appealed more to homeowner’s desire to save money on utilities, says Paul Fisette, a sustainable building expert at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. “It's an easy sell if the person who is going to do this work can present it in a logical way that the homeowner would be a fool not to do it,” Fisette says. Fisette added that an investment of less than $5,000 would allow the average homeowner to reduce their energy use by 30 percent. Then, the homeowner might choose to go LEED rather than install a granite counter.