Residential Building

Hi Scott,

Where in the Reference Guide does it say that you need to provide one thermal comfort control per residential unit? I was trying to find language like this but couldn't find it.

Depending on how many bedrooms you have in your residential units I think it could be argued that you would need more than one control to meet the needs of the occupants. In past projects I've worked on, I've included one thermal comfort control per bedroom I have (or at least controls for 50% of bedrooms) to meet the credit requirements.

Does your apartment have operable windows or are they fixed? Windows could also assist.

You may also need to provide controls for the multi-occupant spaces like Living Rooms, etc.

Of course, if you intend to have the apartments for one person than I think you could make the case to the reviewer that the space truly requires one set of controls.

We are working on a hotel project where there are 200 rooms. each room is to be occupied by two occupants. each room will be mechanically conditioned and thermal comfort system control will be facilitated. can we count this measure as providing controlability to both occupants? for example if we provide the facility to control thermal comfort in all 200 rooms can we take it as providing control for 400 individuals? thanx in advance.

Scott, one residential unit cannot be called a multi-occupant space. Bedrooms need individual controls and living room-like spaces needs multi-occupant controls.

Udana, I believe that if you have rooms with two occupants then you need to have controls for those individual occupants. In total 50% of those occupants would need controls. Another way to say is that you would need one control per bedroom (for instance, one thermostat). I don't know exactly what is meant by "thermal comfort system control will be facilitated". Can the occupants control their own temperature or is it still controlled remotely by a building manager or building system? The important part of this credit is that the individual occupants have controllability.

Scott, what approach did you end up taking on this one?

I am hoping to achieve the credit via a T-stat in each apt unit (common area) and claim operable windows in every bedroom of every unit as the individual controls.

Does anyone know if using operable windows as thermal controlls in the individual BR units will comply for certain?

Operable windows comply but you would have to ensure that the areas of the operable windows meet the requirements of ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2007 paragraph 5.1 Natural Ventilation (with errata but without addenda2). Confirming this requires you to do the calculations.

It sounds like the reviewer is emphasizing the need for thermal control in every bedroom, not just one per residential unit. According to the LEED Reference Guide for v2009, while one thermostat per unit meets the minimum requirement as construction estimation, the reviewer is suggesting that each bedroom be treated as an individual workstation, thus requiring its own control for thermal comfort.

This isn't necessarily a new requirement but a more detailed interpretation of the standard. Ensuring thermal control for all individual spaces within a unit can help address the varied comfort needs of occupants, especially in multi-bedroom units.

You might need to install additional thermostats or controls in each bedroom to fully comply. I recommend reviewing the specific LEED credits and possibly reaching out to the reviewer for further clarification.

Good luck with your LEED certification process!