HERITAGE NATURAL FINISHES and LEED
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System* is a third-party certification program and is the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.
The LEED rating system uses points for things like Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, and Indoor Environmental Quality, among many others. By following the LEED standards, you can get more and more points for your building, resulting in a higher LEED certification. The certification levels are Leed Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum.
Our finishes fit into the EQ Credit 4.2: Low-Emitting Materials: Paints & Coatings category. Click here to view the standards on page 67 of their pdf. Our finishes fall into the Clear wood finishes varnish category, which allow for 350 g/L VOC content.
* If you need a certificate of testing for our "LEED Finish" for compliance on a LEED project, let us know and we can send you our latest certificate and documentation. Email us at info@heritagenaturalfinishes.com
The VOC levels of our finishes are listed below:
BeesBlock Oil, Pure Tung Oil, & Pure Linseed Oil -- Zero VOC
Concentrated Finishing Oil -- 198.8 g/L
Liquid Wax End Sealer-- 212.5 g/L
Original & Exterior Finish -- 405.45 g/L
*We do make a custom-order finish that we, for lack of a better name, call our "LEED Finish" that falls just below the 350 g/L mark. It has more solvent than our Concentrated Oil for easier oil penetration but less than our Original or Exterior Finishes to make it below the required VOC level. We can custom blend this for you in sizes from one gallon up to the 55 gallon drum size (no quarts).
As a note, not all VOC's are created equal (see more in a cool techy article below). The intent behind the indoor air quality question is to protect ourselves from breathing too many harmful compounds. Many VOC's used in a variety of products out there, even 'Green' products, are indeed quite harmful. Others, such as the Citrus Solvent we use, are not (unless with excessive exposure). While it is a powerful compound, and needs to be respected as such, there are none of the complications normally associated with more traditional solvents such as Benzene or Formaldehyde.
Using Heritage Natural Finishes can be one piece of the puzzle for helping you achieve a higher rating in the LEED system. We are not LEED experts, but if we can help answer any questions, please don't hesitate to call us at 541-844-8748.
*Visit the USGBC's home page for more information on LEED.
We are also a happy member of ILFI - The International Living Future Institute.