"I just got my first BGE bill and I'm very happy," says Kan. "I use AC from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and we don't compromise on the temperature."
Likewise, Rouse has seen energy benefits.
"I just paid my electric bill," says Rouse. "It was $150 for everything, air conditioning, dryer, which I use a lot, everything. In comparison, I have a friend in a condo downtown whose last bill was $450!"
The indoor environmental quality category seeks to improve the air quality within a home by awarding points for increased ventilation and low-emitting paints, coatings and carpets. In Overlook homes, the attic and wall insulation is formaldehyde-free to help ensure that indoor air quality is high.
This category also includes aesthetics, such as how much daylight the home receives and the views it enjoys. From the back, Rouse's home overlooks a stand of mammoth old trees while the front windows offer views of the leaf-shaded rooftops of the older rowhouses beyond.
While marketing and sales data for LEED homes is in its infancy, LEED commercial buildings have a track record that shows that "green living" has become increasingly important to both corporate and municipal owners, who see worker health and carbon footprint as directly affecting the bottom line.
According to a recent study by CoStar Group, a national real estate information firm, LEED-certified commercial buildings rent for an average of $11 more per square foot than non-LEED buildings, and sell for an average of $171 more per square foot than non-LEED buildings. LEED-certified buildings also average higher occupancy rates.
"The LEED certification is a very definable standard, like the Good Housekeeping Seal of Approval," says Kim Schaefer, principle in Terralogos Eco Architecture in Baltimore. But as it's currently implemented, she does not recommend constructing an individual home for LEED certification, unless it's a high-end property with a large budget.
"It is expensive for an individual home, and the certification process is complicated," says Schaefer, who both designs and consults on commercial and government green building projects. "It's really designed for multiple-unit construction, which makes it more cost-effective. But the principles behind LEED for homes is certainly worth it."
Experts say following LEED guidelines can benefit your family's health, through better indoor air quality, and also your financial health in lower energy bills, which ultimately increases the resale value of your home.
