Having the owner take an active role in developing and maintaining energy efficiency goals for the project can be helpful to the project team. Stating goals in terms of a “minimum acceptable level” and a “specified payback period” is an effective way to articulate goals. For example: “Our goal is a minimum 30% reduction in lighting and HVAC energy usage” or “to implement efficiency measures with paybacks of less than 5 years.”
The owner and project team should determine the project’s energy efficiency goals and include them as part of the owner’s project requirements (OPR) and Basis of Design.
Even if your project cannot earn this credit because of the flush-out requirement, consider adopting a construction IAQ management plan in your green initiatives to ensure a healthy and productive work place and to support the overall intent of the LEED certification.
Provide calculations for the volume of fresh air required during the flush-out, and give a detailed explanation of actions taken to supply the fresh air to the impacted spaces—including data regarding airflow rates, the equipment used to condition and deliver this airflow, and the duration of the flush-out. Project teams often trip up on the documentation required for the flush-out by not providing the calculations listed above.
