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Post your questions on this credit in the forum, and click on the credit language tab to review to the LEED requirements.
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Requirements
A. Forced-air systems:Prerequisites
7.1 Good filters. Install air filters with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) ≥ 8 and ensure that air handlers can maintain adequate pressure and air flow. Air filter housings must be airtight to prevent bypass or leakage. Non‐ducted units such as PTACs and mini‐splits are exempt from this prerequisite per the requirements of ASHRAE Standard 62.2‐2007, section 6.7, Minimum Filtration.Credits
7.2 Better filters (1 point). Install air filters ≥ MERV 10 and ensure that air handlers can maintain adequate pressure and air flow. Air filter housings must be airtight to prevent bypass or leakage.OR
7.3 Best filters (2 points). Install air filters ≥ MERV 13 and ensure that air handlers can maintain adequate pressure and air flow. Air filter housings must be airtight to prevent bypass or leakage.B. Nonducted HVAC systems (e.g., radiative systems):Prerequisites
7.1 Good filters. Install air filters ≥ MERV 8 and maintain adequate pressure and air flow in any mechanical ventilation systems. A home in a climate with fewer than 4,500 infiltration degree-days or a home that uses only passive or exhaust-only ventilation is exempt from this requirement.Credits
7.2 Better filters (1 point). Install air filters ≥ MERV 10 and maintain adequate pressure and air flow for any mechanical ventilation systems.OR
7.3 Best filters (2 points). Install air filters ≥ MERV 13 and maintain adequate pressure and air flow for any mechanical ventilation systems. See all forum discussions about this credit »What does it cost?
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »Frequently asked questions
See all forum discussions about this credit »Documentation toolkit
The motherlode of cheat sheets
LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
A. Forced-air systems:Prerequisites
7.1 Good filters. Install air filters with a minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) ≥ 8 and ensure that air handlers can maintain adequate pressure and air flow. Air filter housings must be airtight to prevent bypass or leakage. Non‐ducted units such as PTACs and mini‐splits are exempt from this prerequisite per the requirements of ASHRAE Standard 62.2‐2007, section 6.7, Minimum Filtration.Credits
7.2 Better filters (1 point). Install air filters ≥ MERV 10 and ensure that air handlers can maintain adequate pressure and air flow. Air filter housings must be airtight to prevent bypass or leakage.OR
7.3 Best filters (2 points). Install air filters ≥ MERV 13 and ensure that air handlers can maintain adequate pressure and air flow. Air filter housings must be airtight to prevent bypass or leakage.B. Nonducted HVAC systems (e.g., radiative systems):Prerequisites
7.1 Good filters. Install air filters ≥ MERV 8 and maintain adequate pressure and air flow in any mechanical ventilation systems. A home in a climate with fewer than 4,500 infiltration degree-days or a home that uses only passive or exhaust-only ventilation is exempt from this requirement.Credits
7.2 Better filters (1 point). Install air filters ≥ MERV 10 and maintain adequate pressure and air flow for any mechanical ventilation systems.OR
7.3 Best filters (2 points). Install air filters ≥ MERV 13 and maintain adequate pressure and air flow for any mechanical ventilation systems.