View the LEED v4.1 version of this credit »
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Tyler Thumma
7Group
SPECIAL REPORT
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Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
Meet the requirements for both thermal comfort design and thermal comfort control.
Thermal comfort design
Option 1. ASHRAE Standard 55-2010
Design heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems and the building envelope to meet the requirements of ASHRAE Standard 55–2010, Thermal Comfort Conditions for Human Occupancy, with errata or a local equivalent. For natatoriums, demonstrate compliance with ASHRAE HVAC Applications Handbook, 2011 edition, Chapter 5, Places of Assembly, Typical Natatorium Design Conditions, with errata.OR
Option 2. ISO and CEN Standards
Design HVAC systems and the building envelope to meet the requirements of the applicable standard:- ISO 7730:2005, Ergonomics of the Thermal Environment, analytical determination and interpretation of thermal comfort, using calculation of the PMV and PPD indices and local thermal comfort criteria; and
- CEN Standard EN 15251:2007, Indoor Environmental Input Parameters for Design and Assessment of Energy Performance of Buildings, addressing indoor air quality, thermal environment, lighting, and acoustics, Section A2.
- radiant flooring;
- circulating fans;
- passive systems, such as nighttime air, heat venting, or wind flow;
- localized active cooling (refrigerant or evaporative-based systems) or heating systems; and
- localized, hard-wired fans that provide air movement for occupants’ comfort. Provide a narrative describing any thermal comfort strategies not listed above.
Thermal comfort control
Provide individual thermal comfort controls for at least 50% of individual occupant spaces. Provide group thermal comfort controls for all shared multioccupant spaces, and for any individual occupant spaces without individual controls. Thermal comfort controls allow occupants, whether in individual spaces or shared multioccupant spaces, to adjust at least one of the following in their local environment: air temperature, radiant temperature, air speed, and humidity. 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
Can I exempt a public space from the controls requirement? The owner doesn’t want visitors adjusting the thermostat all the time.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.) |
I have a naturally ventilated office with lots of operable windows. Do I need to add any other controls?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.) |
Addenda
May we use a more current version of ASHRAE 62.1 and ASHRAE 55?
Yes, for ASHRAE 62.1, LEED v4.1 projects may use ASHRAE 62.1-2019 or ASHRAE 62.1-2020 in lieu of ASHRAE 62.1-2016 for EQ Prerequisite Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance and EQ Credit Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies. The same standard must be used for both credits.
LEED v4 projects may use ASHRAE 62.1-2013, ASHRAE 62.1-2016, ASHRAE 62.1-2019, or ASHRAE 62.1-2020 in lieu of ASHRAE 62.1-2010 for EQ Prerequisite Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance and EQ Credit Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies. The same standard must be used for both credits.
LEED 2009 projects may use ASHRAE 62.1-2010, ASHRAE 62.1-2013, or ASHRAE 62.1-2016, ASHRAE 62.1-2019, or ASHRAE 62.1-2020 in lieu of ASHRAE 62.1-2007 for EQ Prerequisite Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance and EQ Credit Increased Ventilation. The same standard must be used for both credits.
For ASHRAE 55, LEED v4.1 projects may use ASHRAE 55-2020 in lieu of ASHRAE 55-2017 for EQ Credit Thermal Comfort.
LEED v4 projects may use ASHRAE 55-2013 in lieu of ASHRAE 55-2010 for EQ Credit Thermal Comfort.
LEED 2009 projects may use ASHRAE 55-2010 or ASHRAE 55-2013 in lieu of ASHRAE 55-2004 for EQ Credit Thermal Comfort- Design.
**Updated 7/10/2020 to include ASHRAE 62.1-2016 and ASHRAE 62.1-2019 as applicable standards.**
**Updated 7/25/2023 to update to include LEED v4.1 and ASHRAE 2022/2020 standards**
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.
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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
Meet the requirements for both thermal comfort design and thermal comfort control.
Thermal comfort design
Option 1. ASHRAE Standard 55-2010
Design heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems and the building envelope to meet the requirements of ASHRAE Standard 55–2010, Thermal Comfort Conditions for Human Occupancy, with errata or a local equivalent. For natatoriums, demonstrate compliance with ASHRAE HVAC Applications Handbook, 2011 edition, Chapter 5, Places of Assembly, Typical Natatorium Design Conditions, with errata.OR
Option 2. ISO and CEN Standards
Design HVAC systems and the building envelope to meet the requirements of the applicable standard:- ISO 7730:2005, Ergonomics of the Thermal Environment, analytical determination and interpretation of thermal comfort, using calculation of the PMV and PPD indices and local thermal comfort criteria; and
- CEN Standard EN 15251:2007, Indoor Environmental Input Parameters for Design and Assessment of Energy Performance of Buildings, addressing indoor air quality, thermal environment, lighting, and acoustics, Section A2.
- radiant flooring;
- circulating fans;
- passive systems, such as nighttime air, heat venting, or wind flow;
- localized active cooling (refrigerant or evaporative-based systems) or heating systems; and
- localized, hard-wired fans that provide air movement for occupants’ comfort. Provide a narrative describing any thermal comfort strategies not listed above.
Thermal comfort control
Provide individual thermal comfort controls for at least 50% of individual occupant spaces. Provide group thermal comfort controls for all shared multioccupant spaces, and for any individual occupant spaces without individual controls. Thermal comfort controls allow occupants, whether in individual spaces or shared multioccupant spaces, to adjust at least one of the following in their local environment: air temperature, radiant temperature, air speed, and humidity.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 »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.
Can I exempt a public space from the controls requirement? The owner doesn’t want visitors adjusting the thermostat all the time.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.) |
I have a naturally ventilated office with lots of operable windows. Do I need to add any other controls?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.) |
May we use a more current version of ASHRAE 62.1 and ASHRAE 55?
Yes, for ASHRAE 62.1, LEED v4.1 projects may use ASHRAE 62.1-2019 or ASHRAE 62.1-2020 in lieu of ASHRAE 62.1-2016 for EQ Prerequisite Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance and EQ Credit Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies. The same standard must be used for both credits.
LEED v4 projects may use ASHRAE 62.1-2013, ASHRAE 62.1-2016, ASHRAE 62.1-2019, or ASHRAE 62.1-2020 in lieu of ASHRAE 62.1-2010 for EQ Prerequisite Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance and EQ Credit Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies. The same standard must be used for both credits.
LEED 2009 projects may use ASHRAE 62.1-2010, ASHRAE 62.1-2013, or ASHRAE 62.1-2016, ASHRAE 62.1-2019, or ASHRAE 62.1-2020 in lieu of ASHRAE 62.1-2007 for EQ Prerequisite Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance and EQ Credit Increased Ventilation. The same standard must be used for both credits.
For ASHRAE 55, LEED v4.1 projects may use ASHRAE 55-2020 in lieu of ASHRAE 55-2017 for EQ Credit Thermal Comfort.
LEED v4 projects may use ASHRAE 55-2013 in lieu of ASHRAE 55-2010 for EQ Credit Thermal Comfort.
LEED 2009 projects may use ASHRAE 55-2010 or ASHRAE 55-2013 in lieu of ASHRAE 55-2004 for EQ Credit Thermal Comfort- Design.
**Updated 7/10/2020 to include ASHRAE 62.1-2016 and ASHRAE 62.1-2019 as applicable standards.**
**Updated 7/25/2023 to update to include LEED v4.1 and ASHRAE 2022/2020 standards**
LEEDuser expert
Tyler Thumma
7Group
