I am part of a new construction supermarket project that intends to seek certification under the LEED NC for Retail rating system. Under the Retail rating system, the ‘Controllability of Systems’ credits is combined into a single credit which addresses both lighting and thermal comfort, and the criteria for spaces to be included also differ from LEED NC 2009 requirements. The Retail requirements are to provide individual lighting controls for 90% (minimum) and individual thermal controls for 50% (minimum) of retail employees in office and administrative spaces.
The Retail Supplement to the GBD&C Reference Guide lists the following examples of office and administrative spaces for retail projects: private offices, open-plan workstations, bank teller stations, reception stations, and ticket booths. I am working through determining which parts of a supermarket should be considered ‘office and administrative spaces’. Below is a list of spaces that I believe should be included and excluded. As the rating system is new and relatively untested, I am wondering about others’ experiences or thoughts regarding categorization of spaces for this credit. Any input would be appreciated.
Included: Security Office (private office w/ 1 desk); Computer Office (private office w/ 1 desk); Manager’s Office (private office w/ 2 desks); Cash Office (private office w/ no desks); Customer Service Desk (counter open to sales area, 1-2 workers typically staff, no seated desks)
Excluded: Main Sales Floor, Pharmacy; Café; Deli, Bakery, Produce/Salad, Seafood Prep/Sales Areas; Checkout Area; Receiving Area; Stocking (Back Room) Area; Restrooms; Break Room; Walk-in Coolers and Freezers; Wash Room; Mop Closet
Lauren Sparandara
Sustainability ManagerGoogle
LEEDuser Expert
997 thumbs up
February 15, 2011 - 5:30 pm
Hi Anders,
Your classifications seem correct so far. Whenever I work on this credit, I automatically take out the non-occupied spaces from consideration and the non-regularly occupied spaces. Then, from what's left, I look at determining what is multi-occupant and what is considered "individual workstation".
This can be the tricky step. For a retail coffee project I am working on (using LEED-NC v3), I classified the manager's desk as an individual workstation as well as some of the patron's seating areas as workstations; I also provided task lights for the patrons to help meet this credit.
I think it could be argued, in my case, that the baristas are at a workstation or that the case register is a workstation, but that didn't interact realistic as a lighting option as there is just one big light switch that covers all retail lighting for us in the back storage room.
I am going through all my examples to help clarify my thinking on this topic. In your case, I'd wonder whether or not the pharmacy, cafe, deli, bakery and some other areas you mentioned should in fact have lighting controls to suit the needs and controllability of the workers. I am not an expert in retail design and imagine it might not be deemed practical.
Further, if you're using the LEED 2009 Retail Guide it seems to make the credit more achievable for retail projects by allowing you to only consider the office and administrative spaces. It does not seem to require you at all to address multi-occupant spaces.
So, provide a short answer to your question, I'd suggest your inclusions/exclusions are correct! :)
Lauren