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, projects must meet the daylight requirements (via simulation, prescriptive, or measurement options) in 75% of all regularly occupied spaces in order to earn this credit.
Regularly occupied spaces are defined as areas where workers are seated or standing as they work inside a building. The Retail rating system lists the following examples of regularly occupied spaces for retail projects: sales floor, transaction counters, sales desks, workstations, offices, conference rooms, food prep areas, and other areas of administrative support. Non-occupied spaces include all rooms used by maintenance personnel that are not open for use by occupants; for example, closets and janitorial, storage, and equipment rooms.
I am working through determining which parts of a supermarket should be considered regularly occupied. 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.
Regularly Occupied Spaces: Main Sales Floor; Checkout Area; Offices (Security, Computer, Manager’s, and Cash); Customer Service Desk; Pharmacy; Café; Deli, Bakery, Produce/Salad, Seafood Prep/Sales Areas; Receiving Area; Stocking (Back Room) Area; Wash Room
Excluded: Restrooms; Break Room; Walk-in Coolers and Freezers; Mop Closet
Eddy Santosa
Director of SustainabilityDBR Engineering Consultants
376 thumbs up
February 24, 2011 - 9:26 pm
Hi Anders,
I think your category is OK. Since I am not familiar with retail area usage, You may check again for receiving area, stocking area and wash room if it is regularly occupied spaces
Jill Dalglish, PE
Lighting EngineerMKK Consulting Engineers
LEEDuser Expert
440 thumbs up
March 1, 2011 - 11:14 am
I agree with Eddy. One way to evaluate the receiving area, stocking area and wash room is whether or not these are places where workers are "stationed." If a worker spends most of their time in any of these areas (even if they only work a few hours a day), I would say they are regularly occupied. However if a worker spends most of their time in another area and only visits these places for short periods of time, I would consider them not-regularly occupied. I want to emphasize that it is not only the amount of time that a worker spend in the area, but that they have another area that they spend more time in as I have seen comments by reviewers that state that it is not the amount of time spent in the area that defines "regularly occupied."