We are working on a large project with a significant amount of site paving. Due to the large amount of paving, achieving the heat island credit is not possible without having the concrete paving meet the solar reflectance values of .33 or above.
Due to the time it took to get testing, the concrete paving began to be installed before the SR test results were received. The test results missed the SR value by a few points.
Short of removal and replacement, any idea on how we would go about "remediating" the installed concrete paving that didn't meet the requiremnets?
emily reese moody
Sustainability Director, Certifications & ComplianceJacobs
LEEDuser Expert
474 thumbs up
August 19, 2022 - 1:20 am
Hi Mike,
Let me ask a few seemingly obvious questions to make sure you've already covered the basics.
I'm guessing you already use the actual credit form to plug in the roof and site reflectance info/SF, and any qualifying shaded areas to see how you fared, and were not able to meet the thresholds needed? The weighted aspect of the calcs can skew some project's results to where they still meet the requirements, though individual areas don't comply with the minimums as written in the Guide. Since you mentioned you have such a large paving area, sounds like it just overpowers the other compliant areas contributing to the calcs.
v4 projects are allowed to use the standard reflectance values like in the past, but it hasn't been confirmed for sure for v4.1. Is your project fully registered under 4.1 and therefore must use this version, or has someone chosen to use the 4.1 update instead of the v4 one (for a v4-registered project)?
If fully v4.1, have you emailed LEEDCoach to see if they can confirm if past LEED Interpretations can still apply?
If the above aspects have been exhausted, the only other thing on my radar is potentially applying a higher reflectivity concrete coating to enough area to comply. I have not personally had this on a project, but I know the products exist and should have several manufacturers as options, depending on what the area is being used for, and probably project location may play into product selection, too.
Mike Bahr
Sustainability EngineerTurner Construction
August 23, 2022 - 9:57 am
Hi Emily, thanks for the response.
Yes, we have used the actual credit form to confirm it is an issue. The problem with the standad SR values is that, for light grey concrete, the standard value doesn't meet the new values required, whether v4 or v4.1
Thanks for the suggestion about coatings - I'll look into that for sure.
emily reese moody
Sustainability Director, Certifications & ComplianceJacobs
LEEDuser Expert
474 thumbs up
August 23, 2022 - 1:21 pm
I would definitely email LEED Coach and ask for guidance on being able to use the previous rulings and default reflectance values on a 4.1 effort, too, before moving to anything else.
Summer Minchew
Managing PartnerEcoimpact Consulting
LEEDuser Expert
169 thumbs up
August 23, 2022 - 1:29 pm
I totally agree with Emily's comments. The LEEDonline form layout can be a little confusing when it comes to determining if a project has met the weighted calculation. When you look at "Summary of Heat Island Reduction Measures Table: Summary of nonroof and roof" as long as the value under "Weighted sum of nonroof and roof measures" in the "Total Weighted Area" column is greater than the value under "Sum of project paving and roof area" in the "Total Standard Area" column you have met the credit requirement.