I had commented on the Credit about mercury content in lamps. The response I got said, "...The Reduced Mercury in Lamps credit is no longer a stand alone credit, the Technical Advisory Group is also in the process of revising the performance thresholds."
In both the clean and redlined version of this 2nd draft I see this Reduced Mercury in Lamps credit still as a stand alone credit worth 1-point. Was this response incorrect or is the new draft an outdated version?
Christina Macken
Assistant Project Manager, LEED v4U.S. Green Building Council
141 thumbs up
August 10, 2011 - 12:04 pm
Hi Bill -
In the link to the clean version of the rating system (http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1750), Reduced Mercury in Lamps has indeed been removed as an individual credit. It is now Option 2 of the credit titled MR Credit Purchasing - Ongoing Consumption. The option is worth 1 point. The overall threshold has been lowered and lamps complying with the NEMA Guidelines are no longer exempt from credit calculations.
Bill Swanson
Sr. Electrical EngineerIntegrated Design Solutions
LEEDuser Expert
734 thumbs up
August 10, 2011 - 3:33 pm
I think you intended to link me to EB:O&M https://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=9795
I was looking at the BD+C document
https://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=9793
Page 120 still shows this as an independant Credit. Either way, both versions still show this Mercury in lamp reduction as being worth 1 point. The purpose of my comment was to eliminate this point since less than 10% of the mercury pollution in the lamp's life cycle cost comes from inside of the lamp. A sizable reduction in lamp mercury content is a miniscule reduction in mercury pollution. It would be more benefitial to use this point somewhere else.
20 years ago I would have agreed with this Credit, but fluorescent technology is about maxed out. The market has already changed itself and there is very little mercury in the lamps today. Better to focus on energy reduction to reduce mercury pollution.