So i know I left two questions in the past about this topic, and got no response. So hoping third time is the charm since we got comments back from the design credit review.
The garage lighting is direct-only. The design team could not find anyway to provide indirect lighting, especially since there aren't high-bay fixtures that provide indirect lighting. I provided a reason that we could not provide indirect lighting since that would mean lowering the height of the fixtures, which would not be feasible due to height clearance for the garbage trucks. The reviewer did not agree with that. now we have no choice.
Has anyone ever had to recommend indirect high bay lighting fixtures to a garage before? Does such a thing even exist? Is there still any other way to exempt these fixtures from credit compliance?
Glenn Heinmiller
PrincipalLam Partners
100 thumbs up
November 1, 2023 - 9:07 pm
To me, the idea of getting points for the Lighting Quality credit for a parking garage doesn't make a lot of sense to me. And in any case, I don't see how it is even possible because so many of the requirements only apply to regularly occupied spaces. And in a parking garage, there aren't any. This seems to be the case with either the 4.0 or 4.1 version of the credit
Summer Minchew
Managing PartnerEcoimpact Consulting
LEEDuser Expert
170 thumbs up
November 2, 2023 - 8:17 am
LEED v4 strategies A (luminance) and D (limit direct-only overhead) apply to regularly occupied spaces. LEED v4 strategies B (CRI) and C (rated life) apply to all light sources.
LEED v4.1 strategies 1. Glare Control, 2. Color Rendering, 3. Lighting Control, and 4. Surface Reflectivity apply to regularly occupied spaces.
So whichever version you are working with, a parking garage is not considered a regularly occupied space. "Occupied spaces that do not meet the definition of regularly occupied are nonregularly occupied; these are areas that people pass through or areas used an average of less than one hour per person per day." Reference the EQ overview section of the Reference Guide for examples of regularly occupied spaces.
Edgar Arevalo
Associate19 thumbs up
November 2, 2023 - 10:32 am
Apologies, I forgot to mention this, the building itself is a maintenance garage for public sanitation garbage trucks. So repairs and other maintenanace activities are done in the garage space, which makes it an Auto Service Bay and would be considered a regularly occupied space according to LEED (at least according to the LEED IEQ Space Matrix).
Summer Minchew
Managing PartnerEcoimpact Consulting
LEEDuser Expert
170 thumbs up
November 2, 2023 - 10:45 am
I see. In that case you might want to look to upgrading to LEED v4.1 version for this credit and focusing on achievement for Color Rendering.
Glenn Heinmiller
PrincipalLam Partners
100 thumbs up
November 2, 2023 - 11:25 am
Edgar,
Yes, you definitely want to use the 4.1 version of the credit, which you can do even if the whole project is using LEED 4.0.
https://www.usgbc.org/credits/new-construction-schools-new-construction-...
If you specify all of your fixtures with a CRI of at least 90 CRI you will get one point (make sure the 90 CRI option is available for the fixtures)
You could possibly get another point by meeting the Glare and Controls requirements.
For Glare, you could try using a lensed LED strip light with a lumen output that is low enough that you are below the luminance or UGR limit.
You can also easily meet the Controls requirement, although it seems a little odd to apply it to a vehicle service facility where presumably the users are going to want all the lights on at full, all of the time. This requirement is really meant for conference rooms and classrooms, etc.
Edgar Arevalo
Associate19 thumbs up
November 2, 2023 - 12:03 pm
In LEED v4.1, Color Rendering would kill us. All the proposed lighting fixtures in the project have CRI between 80 and 85. We can't change the lighting fixtures now because we are moving into construction, so I don't know how we would comply with the glare control especially since the luminance limit has gone from 2,500 cd/m2 to 7,000 cd/m2 between 45 and 90 degrees from nadir, and I wouldn't even know what software to use for achieving that Unified Glare Rating value requirement.