Hypothetically, suppose you will have 800 employees who print/fax/copy anywhere between 100-125 pages each, every month. You also have 3 copy rooms... That's a total of 80,000-100,000 copies/faxes/prints generated each month. Divide that by 3 rooms and you get an average of 26,667-33,333 copies per copy room.
Since this is below the 40,000 page limit quoted from Tristan on 07/24/10, can it be assumed that if you met all other requirements in regards to the permanent entryway walk-off systems and MERV 13 filtration, you would NOT have to comply with those listed below for a building attempting this credit for LEED NC 2009?:
- Designated exhaust of all hazardous gas and chemical use areas w/ an exhaust rate of 0.5 CFM/SF, with no air recirculation
- Self-closing doors
- Deck-to-deck partitions or hard-lid ceilings
OR, say you had all requirements above in place with the exception of the designated exhaust. Would each of these be sufficient to achieve this credit?
Allison Beer McKenzie
Architect, Director of SustainabilitySHP Leading Design
LEEDuser Expert
646 thumbs up
August 5, 2010 - 10:14 pm
Sara- we have, in the past, successfully not provided separate exhaust, self-closing doors, etc. For "convenience" printers and copiers that do not meet the definition of "high volume", and simply included a narrative saying that the copiers are low volume. However, I think this may be a case where you are a little bit at the mercy of the reviewer you get and their interpretation of the credit. I wish I could be more definitive!
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11477 thumbs up
August 5, 2010 - 10:43 pm
I would add to Allison's points that while these copiers might not technically be "high-volume," those copiers sound like they'll be operating pretty much nonstop, generating ozone and particulate air contaminants. I would consider implementing the credit requirements to meet the credit intent.
Sara LeMone
LEED APLDC, LLC
21 thumbs up
August 5, 2010 - 11:33 pm
That was worst case scenario. Got a definitive answer from the owner today and they estimate an average of 1 page per employee a day... So just 8,000 per room a month. With that, is it safe to say if we comply with all requirements except the exhaust we will be safe?
Tristan Roberts
RepresentativeVermont House of Representatives
LEEDuser Expert
11477 thumbs up
August 6, 2010 - 12:24 am
I would say so, yes.