We are working on a Hotel project in Sri Lanka and planning to obtain LEED certification for the facility. Hotel is to be constructed as chalets and the project team has decided to use red color clay tiles for roofing.
The roof is a high sloped roof and the use of a roofing material with a SRI of 29 or above would meet credit requirements.
is it allowable to use the reference SRI value mentioned in the LEED guideline for Red Clay tiles as there is no testing facility available in the country to certify the SRI value of the product?
Louise Schlatter
ArchitectSSOE Group
86 thumbs up
July 5, 2011 - 8:53 am
Hopefully someone can provide for you a more definitive answer for you, but I would say that since you cannot test the material, you should make the attempt to submit the credit using the "Table 1. SRI for Typical Roofing Materials."
Please note that in the Reference Guide just above Table 1, it specifically states: "These values are for reference only, not for use as substitutes for actual manufacturer's data." However, you could note a "special circumstance" due to the fact that this is a project outside the United States, the manufacturer has not tested the material, and testing facilities are not available locally. I am assuming that the clay roofing material is manufactured in Sri Lanka?
As a last resort, you could send a clay tile to a testing facility in another country (China?) or the U.S. Of course, there will be a cost involved, but you might want to get a cost estimate before ruling out this option.
Susann Geithner
PrincipalEmerald Built Environments
1297 thumbs up
July 5, 2011 - 1:32 pm
The credit requirements are very clear on the requirements for the credit. You will need the SRI by the manufacturer or tested by another facility. I know from my own experience that the SRI is usually not available outside North America, which makes it hard for international projects. But considering the circumstances you might be able to use your compliance approach, but this is something you will have to submit as an CIR.
Louise Schlatter
ArchitectSSOE Group
86 thumbs up
July 5, 2011 - 1:54 pm
While I agree that submitting a CIR is your second best option (the first best option being sending out the tile for testing), you may find the testing is cost competitive with submitting a CIR ($500.00). The alternative is to go ahead and submit your "alternative compliance" or "special circumstance" to the GBCI reviewers with your first submittal for review and see what kind of response you get. If they don't buy it after the first review, your only option will be testing anyway. It's a judgment call.