balconies and heat island reduction

Hi Sareet,

A balcony would not be considered roof if it's not over enclosed building space nor nonroof (hardscape) surface so it looks like it's excluded from the credit requirements.

Hello, 

I have always looked at balconies in the plan (site) view. If you can see the balcony, then the sun will shine on it, and it will contribute to heat island effect, and therefore should be in the calcs. There was a similar post on the NC page for this credit: https://leeduser.buildinggreen.com/forum/how-calculate-multi-level-decks...

Since this question has come up a few times now, and the Reference Guide doesn't directly address balconies/terraces/etc., I'll inquire with LEED Coach and post the results once I have them.

Thanks Emily. I would just add that if the balcony can be seen in the plan view it doesn't necessarily mean that the sun will shine on it or that it will contribute to the heat island effect. I agree that everything that adds to the heat island effect should be included in the calculations regardless if it's directly addressed in the credit language or reference guide but this might not be a requirement in some cases.

I emailed LEED Coach for some balcony guidance, and have now heard back. Here's what I sent and their response:

We are seeking some clarification for the Heat Island Effect credit. In my previous projects, if there was a balcony, terrace, green roof area, etc. that was not covered by the building (i.e. it is visible in plan view), we included that SF in our calculations and strove to select compliant materials. The v4 Reference Guide does not specifically mention areas such as these, unless they are specifically a roof (over an enclosed space below). If there is a balcony that projects away from the building, but does not provide a roof to an enclosed space for the building, how should it be treated? 

Response:
According to the Certification team, the balconies are considered non-roof and the SR should be included in the calculations.  A balcony or terrace would be considered an architectural structure.  The credit requirements state, "Provide shade with architectural devices or structures that have a three-year aged solar reflectance (SR) value of at least 0.28. If three-year aged value information is not available, use materials with an initial SR of at least 0.33 at installation." Note that only 50% of the non-roof area needs to meet the credit requirements. 

If you run into a major issue when the balconies are included in the calculation, please let us know and the Certification team can take a look at the project-specific issues with you on a call.

Hope that helps people in their related queries.

Hi,I am in the case where the countryard of the building has underground spaces,in particular there are technical spaces (not conditioned) and occupied spaces (conditioned). In other words the building countryards is actually the roof of technical spaces and occupied spaces located in the basement. Do you think they should actually be considered as roof or non roof?

Many thanks in advance.

Hi Fabio, 

If the areas you describe are at grade, I would treat them as non-roof. If they're elevated above the rest of the ground level, I'd treat them as roof.

Hi, our project has a large area of podium that is intended for pedestrian walking or other physical activities and these area covers an enclosed shopping mall that is above-grade.

In this case, the podium shall follow the SRI requirement as a Roof measure? However, stone floor tiles with SRI 82 should be in a very light colour and normally high reflective to light which may result in glare to the pedestrian? Could you share some experience on it? Thanks a lot!