SPECIAL REPORT
LEEDuser expert
Trista Little
LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador
WSP USA
Senior Consultant
SPECIAL REPORT
LEEDuser’s viewpoint
Frank advice from LEED experts
LEED is changing all the time, and every project is unique. Even seasoned professionals can miss a critical detail and lose a credit or even a prerequisite at the last minute. Our expert advice guides our LEEDuser Premium members and saves you valuable time.
Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intent
To assess building occupants’ comfort.
Requirements
Establishment
None
Performance
Administer at least one occupant comfort survey to collect anonymous responses regarding at least the following:
- acoustics;
- building cleanliness;
- indoor air quality;
- lighting;
- thermal comfort; and
The responses must be collected from a representative sample of building occupants making up at least 30% of the total occupants.
Document survey results. Develop and implement a corrective action plan to address comfort issues if the results indicate that more than 20% of occupants are dissatisfied.
Perform at least one survey and implement corrective actions. At a minimum, perform one new survey at least once every 2 years.
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
My project is a hotel/library/recreation center with patrons that stay for more than ten hours each week. Do I need to survey these guests?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Can we collect anonymous survey responses but still incentivize individuals to respond by offering a prize?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
What happens if there are many areas of occupant dissatisfaction that require corrective action? We might not have the time to address everything before we have to submit our LEED application.The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
What if the corrective action component of the credit is too costly for us? We don’t want to attempt this credit and then find out we’re not able to earn it because corrective action is too expensive.The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
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.
Get the inside scoop
Our editors have written a detailed analysis of nearly every LEED credit, and LEEDuser premium members get full access. We’ll tell you whether the credit is easy to accomplish or better left alone, and we provide insider tips on how to document it successfully.
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intent
To assess building occupants’ comfort.
Requirements
Establishment
None
Performance
Administer at least one occupant comfort survey to collect anonymous responses regarding at least the following:
- acoustics;
- building cleanliness;
- indoor air quality;
- lighting;
- thermal comfort; and
The responses must be collected from a representative sample of building occupants making up at least 30% of the total occupants.
Document survey results. Develop and implement a corrective action plan to address comfort issues if the results indicate that more than 20% of occupants are dissatisfied.
Perform at least one survey and implement corrective actions. At a minimum, perform one new survey at least once every 2 years.
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.
My project is a hotel/library/recreation center with patrons that stay for more than ten hours each week. Do I need to survey these guests?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Can we collect anonymous survey responses but still incentivize individuals to respond by offering a prize?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
What happens if there are many areas of occupant dissatisfaction that require corrective action? We might not have the time to address everything before we have to submit our LEED application.The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
What if the corrective action component of the credit is too costly for us? We don’t want to attempt this credit and then find out we’re not able to earn it because corrective action is too expensive.The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
LEEDuser expert
Trista Little
LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador
WSP USA
Senior Consultant