We have used the low-mercury lamps credit on numerous v3 projects with no problems, even since they lowered the threshold from 90 picograms to 35; the majority of our projects now use either all LED, or pretty close to it.
With the Innovation Catalog guidance for this credit now being cited as the go-by for documentation, I am wondering what exactly they're wanting to see for documentation. They provide the calculator under the "Resources" tab (of course, you have to know to look there, b/c they don't tell you), but don't give instructions as to what is expected when using it as an ID strategy.
Further, if a project is entirely LED, there are issues with the way the credit language is phrased and is not clear on what info will be expected. LED items are not referred to as "lamps", and they have 0 mercury content.
In older efforts with LEDs, we were expected to still fill out the table (which previously came from the EBOM template), with product info, even though the items are not considered "lamps". The weblink also still says "Lamps containing no mercury may be counted only if their energy efficiency at least equals that of their mercury-containing counterparts." Previously, we were expected to spend a fair amount of time finding product info for comparison items that are not part of the project solely for this credit; this proved to be very time-consuming, moreso for larger, more complex projects. I have seen discussion within LEEDUser that this may no longer be required, and yet it's still contained in the requirements...they just don't tell you if you still have to go through that process or not.
Anyway, does anyone know exactly what they're expecting to see for this credit submission for projects that utilize all or mostly LED?
I ask about the "lamp" portion only because on one project in particular, our lighting consultant is pushing back heaving on having to do any documentation at all since it is entirely LED, there are technically no "lamps" in the project, and their mercury content is inherently 0. He feels we should just be able to state this and provide the drawings/lighting schedule and be done with it.
(I've posted this on the v4 NC ID page, too)
Michelle Rosenberger
PartnerArchEcology
523 thumbs up
May 25, 2017 - 12:53 pm
Hi Emily,
FYI I asked the following question on a recent pre-submittal call, "100% of fixtures used on this project are LEDs and therefore achieve low emitting mercury. For documentation, is it sufficient to show a lighting fixture schedule? And include any clarifying lamp information where the schedule may not correspond to installed lamps?". The reviewer responded with "This should be sufficient."
We have not submitted the project yet, so I don't have explicit confirmation. But FYI.
Courtney Royal
Sr. Sustainability ConsultantTaitem Engineering
50 thumbs up
July 19, 2017 - 2:45 pm
Emily and Michelle, I have this exact question for a LEED-CI project right....did you get any feedback from your review?
Thanks!
Courtney
emily reese moody
Sustainability Director, Certifications & ComplianceJacobs
LEEDuser Expert
477 thumbs up
July 19, 2017 - 2:46 pm
I have not yet submitted, but would love to tell my electrical eng that he doesn't have to spend a bunch of hours needlessly searching for equivalent fixtures...Michelle, you have an update yet?
i'm tempted to submit as suggested, and just see what comes back.
Michelle Rosenberger
PartnerArchEcology
523 thumbs up
July 19, 2017 - 3:11 pm
Hi ladies,
I still haven't submitted, but I'm going with the Presubmittal call response. I agree with Emily. Submit it this way and only go back for additional equivalent fixture research if it fails and you need the point.