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Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design

Pre Approved ID Credits for Homes

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LEED for Homes (LEED-H) Forum

Pre Approved ID Credits for Homes

March 23, 2012

I'm wondering if there is a list of all the pre-approved ID credits that qualify for LEED for Homes?

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Can I still earn NPD pre 3?

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Can I still earn NPD pre 3?

March 23, 2012

I am working on a LEED ND Project which involves only commercial office buildings and small retail spaces. The neighborhood around the project boundary is already developed and connected, but the project site has one predeveloped portion and one that is intact, densely vegetated and with some slopes over 15%. We are preserving this contiguous area, and developing only on portions already constructed. Because of that, the street network inside the project is extremely poor, since we have 2 streets connected as a circle surrounding and connecting the buildings (swerving the preserved area) and no valid intersection. Also, to enter and exit the project site we use the same intersection because the green area is bordering one side of the project site. (The other borders of the site are still unconstructed but we can’t invade the neighbor’s land with a street, so we are in a sort of an island in a only-one-way to get in the project site). I am afraid we can’t earn this prerequisite, so my questions are: 1.Can I choose to apply for Option 2 “Projects with no internal streets” in NPD pre requisite 3 – Connected and Open Community although we have this internal circular street surrounding the buildings? 2: To calculate the intersections per square mile can I exclude from the calculations this whole green area (which is around 5.5 hectare) although some parts of it don’t have steep slopes?

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LEED NPD c6 and SLLc1

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LEED NPD c6 and SLLc1

March 21, 2012

Hello, I am working on a 1/2 block Neighborhood Development located within Manhattan. Because of the existing Manhattan grid structure (long blocks), the project is unable to achieve any points under NPD c6 and only 2 of the 5 connectivity points for SLLc1. Do you know if there any sort of exemption/consideration for existing city grid networks?

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Comparison of Standards

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Comparison of Standards

March 21, 2012

I'm trying to work through how much more efficient my project will be over ASHRAE 90.1 2007, and I wondered if anyone had experience with how the standard compares to IEC 2006.

The local building code requires that all new residential buildings be built to 30% better than IECC 2006. If we meet this, can we expect an equivalent improvement over ASHRAE?

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NPD P3: Extra non-motorized connectivity

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NPD P3: Extra non-motorized connectivity

March 21, 2012

Hello all,

After several positive experiences on this forum, I return with another question.

I am working on a project with internal streets. This project has a boundary, and that boundary is intersected every 240 ft or less by a right-of-way. 80% of these rights-of-way are streets that allow vehicle traffic, 20% are nonmotorized. Also, there are more than 140 intersections per square mile within the project boundary. So far, so good, right?

However, there may be extra nonmotorized rights-of-way that also intersect the boundary. Do I have to count those, and mess up my 80/20 ratio in the submittal? Or will these be considered as an extra bonus, enhancing overall connectivity, but not taking away from the fact that the basic technical requirement is met?

Thanks,

Daniel

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Denied Project Information form?

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Denied Project Information form?

March 20, 2012

Has anyone ever had a denied PI form? It isn't an actual credit, so how do you "fix" it? IS an Appeals process actual required, since it isn't a credit or prerequisite? I don't understand the Denial status, instead of the Pending (with request for revision) since it seems like they are asking for a revision of the information, which is easily done. Help!

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LEED Now Recognizes Energy Credits from BREEAM

Good news for European LEED projects just came in, via a USGBC press release stating "U.S. Green Building Council Announces the LEED Green Building Program to Recognize Energy Credits from BREEAM."

Here are a couple key paragraphs:

"16 March, 2012 (Paris, France) – A pivotal LEED International Roundtable meeting of European roundtable members ended in Paris today.  The meeting convened leaders from across Europe to address regional issues in LEED for existing and historic structures in the E.U.  At the meeting it was announced that the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED green building program will now recognize credits from BREEAM, the U.K.’s widely used green rating program. The recognition will begin with LEED for New Construction and the most recent International version of BREEAM.

"Many international green building projects pursue dual certification with both LEED and BREEAM.  Dual certification provides expanded opportunities to recognize and reward green building practices, but it also imposes additional costs and burdens.  At this week’s meeting, European members of the LEED Roundtable shared their technical expertise and experience and rolled out this announcement that sets new precedents and brings sophistication and best practice to the global building industry.

"The use of LEED outside the United States continues to grow rapidly.  At year end 2011, approximately 40% of all square footage pursuing LEED certification existed outside the U.S. The LEED International Roundtable provides a forum for representatives from green building councils and leadership organizations around the world to guide efforts to fulfill the global potential of LEED.  This week’s LEED International Roundtable meeting was attended by roundtable members in Europe and hosted by USGBC in cooperation with FEED, GBC Italia, Polish GBC, Romania GBC, Sweden GBC, Turkish GBC and GBC Finland. For more information about the LEED International Roundtable visit:  http://www.usgbc.org/international."

To learn more, LEEDuser had a Q&A with Scot Horst, senior vice president for LEED and Global Innovation:

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Is this effective immediately?

Yes.

How do projects using LEED Online take advantage of this option?

To use this option, the project team must first receive BREEAM certification. The only way projects using this option can use LEED Online is if they have achieved all of the BREEAM Energy points. If they have not achieved all of the energy points,  a USGBC reviewer will do a crosswalk with their BREEAM documentation to the LEED credits. Projects that have already achieved BREEAM and are pursuing LEED certification may contact Deon Glaser at dglaser (at) usgbc.org for more information.

How does it work? Are all BREEAM credits recognized? Is there a mapping of BREEAM credits to equivalent LEED credits?

We are only recognizing the Energy credits for now and only between LEED 2009 and BREEAM International 2011. We wanted to start small and then continue to build commonality between BREEAM and possibly other systems.  We will watch this closely and see how it goes. If it is successful, we believe it will increase projects for both LEED and BREEAM, thereby increasing market transformation.  And if it is successful we expect to continue the crosswalk among credible systems like BREEAM, HQE and DGNB.

The key point is that we are focusing primarily on project teams and people doing the real work of transformation.   We are recognizing and promoting leadership through this action.

Is there any more detailed information?

There is no algorithm for the crosswalk between BREEAM and LEED since the credits are so different.  Each project needs to be reviewed individually.  The only exception is if all of the energy credits have been achieved.

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Worker Safety on LEED Projects Questioned

A new study out of the University of Colorado–Boulder suggests that LEED buildings are more likely to place construction workers in danger than are their conventional counterparts. While the results of the new study, to be published in April 2012 in the Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, are getting a skeptical view among the LEED community, the authors insist that the effect of design choices on the safety of construction workers should be a stronger consideration for architects.

The study, “Identification of Safety Risks for High Performance Sustainable Construction Projects,” doesn’t show that LEED construction sites are less safe. Nor does a 2009 study in the same journal that it cites, which gathered Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) incident rate data from green and non-green projects. However, the authors of the new study say that they found enough suggestive evidence in the data set from the 2009 study that they wanted to establish just what it is about LEED projects that might be less safe.

The authors of the new study sought to document what LEED credits could be associated with design choices and construction practices that could potentially elevate injury rates. They did this by interviewing members of LEED design and construction teams on Colorado projects.

One of the risks most often cited by these teams was the potential for overexertion through elements introduced to earn LEED credits: larger windows for daylighting, more ventilation systems, more piping installations for water reuse, and more insulation. According to study coauthor Matthew Hallowell, Ph.D., assistant professor at the University of Colorado, critics of the study have seized upon details like this to say it’s simply about “more work” and that having an HVAC contractor stay onsite for an extra week to install more ductwork hardly seems like a dangerous working condition.

Hallowell prefers to focus on other reported risks, however: “It's more time working near excavation, more time working at heights—more time working in dangerous situations,” he says. For example, although inherently hazardous rooftop work is a part of any construction project, Hallowell says that workers installing rooftop solar panels or handling heavy reflective roofing membranes on LEED projects are in those situations for longer periods, putting them at greater risk. On the plus side, the study found that use of low-VOC adhesives and construction air quality management plans should improve worker conditions, and that many LEED credits, such as those involving tracking of materials purchases, should not affect worker safety.

“There is a lot of research out there showing that the decisions made during design have a great impact on safety and health onsite,” Hallowell told me. Meanwhile, he notes, “OSHA places the burden of safety on the contractors. There is a disconnect there.”

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Brendan Owens, vice president of LEED technical development at the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), told me that while the study was surprising to him, USGBC has been working with the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) and wants to find opportunities to increase worker safety as part of the LEED equation. He cautions, however, that LEED shouldn’t try to replicate OSHA regulations and other safety rules.

The biggest safety-related revision coming in LEED 2012, Owens says, will affect non-U.S. projects. There are greater concerns in places “where no worker safety standards currently exist and where no tracking exists as a routine matter.” LEED 2012 will have a minimum program requirement for projects outside the U.S. to document the safety and training activities that are occurring on LEED projects.

Hallowell hopes to see more specific improvements in the future. “It’s not the LEED credit itself but the design methods and construction strategies,” he says. Therefore, he’d like to see credit-specific measures, such as use of walkpads for roofs where slippery reflective membranes are being worked on.

“Should the LEED framework be held responsible for safety issues? No,” says Yancy Wright, director at Sellen Sustainability, who argues that worker training is the key ingredient. Citing vegetated roofs as an example, Wright said, “Anytime you initiate a new construction practice or building system, it introduces tradespeople to new situations, and there is the potential for a higher risk of incident.” Wright’s firm is working on training materials targeting new construction practices occurring on LEED and non-LEED projects.

What are your experiences around safety issues on LEED projects? Are you seeing safer projects, or have there been issues?

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"Stub-outs" and future development (NPDc6)

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"Stub-outs" and future development (NPDc6)

March 13, 2012

Greetings all,

My project is surrounded by adjacent development/redevelopment opportunities - all of which will in time be redeveloped to connect to our street and pedestrian grid, but probably not in the near future, so we have many stub-outs terminating at the boundary. According to the LEED ND Reference Guide, stub-outs are considered "culs-de-sac" and subject to the 10% limitation of culs-de-sac without pedestrian or bicycle connections. Needless to say, because the streets are stubbed so are the sidewalks, for we don't have control of the adjacent properties to develop connections. If the planned street doesn't connect yet to existing external streets, must a pedestrian through-connection still be provided to an existing street regardless? (The fact that they are mentioning the cul-de-sac rule seems to imply this.) Or, is the Reference Guide simply stating that the stub-out be developed to accommodate future pedestrian/bicycle through-connection as well?

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FTEs or Residents for Mixed-use residential project?

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Calculating FTEs

FTEs or Residents for Mixed-use residential project?

March 13, 2012

Our project is 4 floors: first floor with three commercial tenants and top 3 residential. The occupant numbers for the residential is straight-forward based on LEED default values. The tenants are unknown except we know one will be restaurant and two will be retail. We think the FTE values for these spaces are straight-forward based on the default values listed in the reference guide appendix using occupants/sqft, including transients.

My question is how this needs to be reported. For the water use prerequisite, it should be split as residents for residential spaces and FTE for the commercial spaces, correct?

How does this need to be reported for the whole building energy simulation model for the EAp2, Minimum Energy Performance?

Do both of these forms simply take the data entered in the Project Information form?

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