This credit presents teams with several different strategies for protecting indoor air quality. Teams can pursue Option 1 or Option 2 independently (for one point each), or pursue both options for a total of two points.
The IAQ strategies outlined in the LEED Reference Guide can be achieved with varying degrees of difficulty (and cost), depending on your project design and other sustainability and performance goals. Be sure to review and understand the requirements of each strategy within the context of your building before committing to a given option.
What’s New in LEED v4
- Portions of the following LEED 2009 credits have been combined into a single credit: EQc1: Outdoor Air Delivery Monitoring, EQc2: Increased Ventilation, and EQc5: Indoor Chemical and Pollutant Source Control.
- USGBC added additional options for naturally ventilated spaces.
- There is now additional guidance for warehouses, distribution centers, data centers, health care facilities, and residential projects.
- USGBC no longer requires calculating the minimum pressure differential to meet the interior cross-contamination prevention requirements. However, the exhaust rates from the ventilation standard in EQp1: Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance ventilation standard must be used. LEED now requires a minimum exhaust rate of 0.5 cubic feet per minute per square foot (2.54 liters per second per square meter), for spaces that do not have a requirement from this ventilation standard.
- Teams have the option to use filtration media that meet CEN Standard EN 779–2002, Particulate Air Filters for General Ventilation, Determination of the Filtration Performance.
