We have an open plan office area that contains 24 workstations. There are 3 thermostats that control the temperature in this open office plan area. I am being told by an MEP, that since each workstation has access to these 3 different thermostats that 100% of the 24 workstations is considered spaces with individual controls. Do you agree?
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David Posada
Integrated Design & LEED SpecialistSERA Architects
LEEDuser Expert
1979 thumbs up
May 24, 2011 - 12:31 pm
No - that does not allow 12 users (50%) to control their thermal comfort conditions independently of other users. This is a fairly common misunderstanding of the credit language.
Individual controls for workstation areas has always been interpreted by reviewers as: the number of controls (thermostats, in this case) needs to be 50% of the number of occupants. The most common way we've seen this provided in open offices is with underfloor air (UFAD) systems where there is one adjustable floor diffuser for every two workstations. This is not an easy or common credit to achieve in large offices.