Best Practices

Coordinate the collection and submission of all LEED documentation, working with all team members involved in the construction phase of the project. Review all documentation as it comes in.

Review all Design credit submittals as documentation comes in from all the team members. If you are doing a phased submittal, submit all Design credits at the end of Construction Documents.

Decide whether the project will do a phased submittal—with a Design submittal of eligible credits, prior to a Construction submittal. A phased submittal gives you an official opinion on whether you are on track to receive a specific credit, or not.  This gives you a chance to adjust your approach on any rejected credits, and make changes during construction to earn additional credits to meet a certification target.

Orient team members to their exact responsibilities and what they will need to deliver as part of the LEED submittal. 

The LEED AP helps the design team set appropriate LEED credit goals and works with all aspects of the design team helping to ensure that the goals are met.  

It is more helpful to have a LEED AP that is not directly responsible for design as the LEED AP will ideally be assisting all design and construction trades to ensure the LEED process is on track.  It may be difficult for a LEED AP to effectively manage the LEED process if, for example, they are also responsible for the architectural design. 

If project team does not include a LEED AP, consider hiring a LEED AP to assist with the project, or asking one or more team members to become LEED APs. The LEED AP credential should be earned prior to the start of the project. Doing so ensures that person’s availability in assisting with planning before the start of the design. 

Any type of LEED AP—one with or without specialization—can qualify the project for this credit.

Make sure that the Refrigerant Leakage Rate (Lr) values used in your calculations are based on the actual leakage rates experienced in your building. The credit requirements set a default Lr of 2.0% for new equipment.

If your building does not qualify for this credit, you can still use the criteria as guidelines to help you select equipment and refrigerants during future HVAC conversion and/or replacement projects.