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Explore this LEED credit
Post your questions on this credit in the forum, and click on the credit language tab to review to the LEED requirements.
Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
Surface at least 60% of the building’s gross exterior wall area (including vertical fenestration) with a “cool-wall material”. For the purposes of this pilot credit, a “cool-wall material” must be opaque to sunlight, exhibit an initial solar reflectance of at least 0.60, and exhibit an initial thermal emittance of at least 0.75. Vegetated walls may qualify as “cool walls” for the purposes of pilot credit compliance.
To avoid disproportionate placement of cool-wall materials on the building face that receives the least sun, no more than 25% of the building’s total cool-wall area may be sited on the wall facing away from the equator; that is, on the north wall in the northern hemisphere, or on the south wall in the southern hemisphere.
Report for each cool-wall material its manufacturer, model, description, initial solar reflectance, initial thermal emittance, and wall area covered as shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Sample documentation of cool wall materials| Material # | Manufacturer | Model | Description | Initial solar reflectance1 (must be ≥ 0.60) | Initial thermal emittance2(must be ≥ 0.75) | Wall area covered (m²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acme | Vanilla White | White acrylic paint field applied to fiber-cement walls at a dry film thickness of ~100 µm | 0.61 | 0.90 | 800 |
| 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
2 Thermal emittance shall be measured in accordance with ANSI/CRRC Standard S100-2021 (https://coolroofs.org/product-rating/ansi-crrc-s100).
In addition, report gross wall and cool wall areas, as shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Sample documentation of cool wall coverage| (A) | Whole-building gross exterior wall area (m²) | 1,000 |
| (B) | Whole-building cool-wall area (m²) | 800 |
| (C) | Whole-building cool-wall area on equator-opposing wall (m²) | 200 |
| (D) | Fraction of gross exterior wall area surfaced with cool-wall materials (D=B/A; must be ≥ 60%) | 80% |
| (E) | Fraction of cool-wall area sited on equator-opposing wall (E=C/B; must be ≤ 25%) | 25% |
Submittals
General
Register for the pilot credit- Participate in the optional LEEDuser pilot credit forum
- Complete the feedback survey:
Documentation/Compliance
- Report for each cool-wall material its manufacturer, model, description, initial solar reflectance, initial thermal emittance, and wall area covered, as shown in Table 1.
- Report gross wall and cool wall areas as shown in Table 2.
Changes
- 4/9/21 - Original Publication
- 7/26/22 - Updated thresholds
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
Surface at least 60% of the building’s gross exterior wall area (including vertical fenestration) with a “cool-wall material”. For the purposes of this pilot credit, a “cool-wall material” must be opaque to sunlight, exhibit an initial solar reflectance of at least 0.60, and exhibit an initial thermal emittance of at least 0.75. Vegetated walls may qualify as “cool walls” for the purposes of pilot credit compliance.
To avoid disproportionate placement of cool-wall materials on the building face that receives the least sun, no more than 25% of the building’s total cool-wall area may be sited on the wall facing away from the equator; that is, on the north wall in the northern hemisphere, or on the south wall in the southern hemisphere.
Report for each cool-wall material its manufacturer, model, description, initial solar reflectance, initial thermal emittance, and wall area covered as shown in Table 1.
Table 1. Sample documentation of cool wall materials| Material # | Manufacturer | Model | Description | Initial solar reflectance1 (must be ≥ 0.60) | Initial thermal emittance2(must be ≥ 0.75) | Wall area covered (m²) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Acme | Vanilla White | White acrylic paint field applied to fiber-cement walls at a dry film thickness of ~100 µm | 0.61 | 0.90 | 800 |
| 2 | - | - | - | - | - | - |
2 Thermal emittance shall be measured in accordance with ANSI/CRRC Standard S100-2021 (https://coolroofs.org/product-rating/ansi-crrc-s100).
In addition, report gross wall and cool wall areas, as shown in Table 2.
Table 2. Sample documentation of cool wall coverage| (A) | Whole-building gross exterior wall area (m²) | 1,000 |
| (B) | Whole-building cool-wall area (m²) | 800 |
| (C) | Whole-building cool-wall area on equator-opposing wall (m²) | 200 |
| (D) | Fraction of gross exterior wall area surfaced with cool-wall materials (D=B/A; must be ≥ 60%) | 80% |
| (E) | Fraction of cool-wall area sited on equator-opposing wall (E=C/B; must be ≤ 25%) | 25% |
Submittals
General
Register for the pilot credit- Participate in the optional LEEDuser pilot credit forum
- Complete the feedback survey:
Documentation/Compliance
- Report for each cool-wall material its manufacturer, model, description, initial solar reflectance, initial thermal emittance, and wall area covered, as shown in Table 1.
- Report gross wall and cool wall areas as shown in Table 2.
Changes
- 4/9/21 - Original Publication
- 7/26/22 - Updated thresholds
In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:
- Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
- Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
- Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
- Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
- Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
- Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.
