Hello, I have a question relating to lighting control in dorm rooms:
My understanding of credit 6.1 was that 90% of building occupants needed their own lighting control. The credit discusses task lighting for individual occupant control in offices, but does not explicitly state that task lighting is required in all space types, only that LIGHTING CONTROL is required. I’m working on a dorm project where around 95% of the individual occupant spaces are dorm rooms. The majority of dorm rooms are doubles, with each resident having his/her own light and switch for his/her side of the room. As this is improved control compared to one switch controlling both lights, I had thought this was sufficient to achieve the credit.
I went to officially document the credit yesterday, and the one keynote on the page says “simple on/off switches may only count towards credit compliance for private offices”… I feel like this is intended to draw a distinction in office spaces, and does not address dorm rooms (why would on/off switches count for private offices and not a dorm?) but I’m not sure if LEED is trying to require dimming in dorm rooms (seems kind of unreasonable) or if this is a template issue. Any knowledge is greatly appreciated.
Thanks all!
Jordan
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11477 thumbs up
January 17, 2017 - 2:45 pm
That's a note on the LEED Online form?
Sounds to me like it's just a handy tip and is not trying to exclude dorms. A tip like that cannot speak to all space types.
In this case, a dorm room is a lot like a private office.
See this earlier comment on the forum that I think speaks to the issue.
Jordan Altaras
Electrical EngineerPAE Consulting Engineers
1 thumbs up
January 17, 2017 - 3:00 pm
Thanks Tristan! Yes, the note is on the LEED Online form, but the wording makes it sound like you can *only use an on/off switch for private office, and not other spaces (implying that other spaces require task lighting or dimming). Though like you said, a dorm room does seem to be equivalent to a private office here.
I had read through that other thread, which indicates that each student's space is considered to be an individual space/workstation. One comment mentions needing task lighting, while another mentions that a "switch for a fixture over desk" would suffice. This distinction is what LEED should clarify...
Based on your comment and the other threads, I'll stick to my original understanding and submit this credit for approval. I'll let you know what ends up happening!
Thanks,
Jordan