I am working on a project where we are trying to get this credit and one sentence on the credit requirements is causing us a bit of trouble. The ref guide states that "materials considered fixtures, furniture and equipment (FF&E) are not considered base building elements and are not included", i.e. the no-UF requirement doesn't apply. On our project, most of the composite wood is used for casework, desks, cupboards, etc, which are assembled by a specialist contractor on site. All of these items are technically furniture, so according to the statement above, the no-UF requirement does not apply. Is this correct? It seems a bit odd to me that a very large part of the interior fit-out would simply not be relevant to this credit. Also, if we don't have any other composite wood in the project, does that mean we are not eligible for this credit or would we need to include FFE after all?
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Josh Jacobs
Technical Information & Public Affairs ManagerUL Environment
515 thumbs up
May 4, 2011 - 8:10 am
Eszter,
In your comment you say "most" - to me that means that you have some composite wood in the project that is being used in the base building. If that is correct, then that composite wood that is being used in the base building would need to comply with the credit and not have any added UF. This would get you the point.
Now if you truly want to provide a healthy indoor environment for those that are going to occupy your project following completion, I would suggest that you try and source this type of composite wood for all uses - whether you get the points or not. Also, if the furniture and fixtures that are being built on-site are going in prior to occupancy, using no added UF boards would also help a little if you were going after the IAQ Building Clearance credit (EQc3.2).