Hi Marcus,
So I'm confused. LEEDuser's preamble above indicates any project can get this credit, and you're not required to implement anything just analyze.
But I've seen some guidance that suggests that the analysis "to identify and select the building site" must be completed "before site selection." Is this accurate?
My decade of experience with LEED projects is that LEED certification is contemplated after a site is selected. We have never been involved with a project that sought their site based in any part on sustainable issues.
So I had previously assumed that we could solicit site selection information from the Owner during Schematic Design and pair it with the sustainable analysis process to evaluate site opportunities to comply with this part of the credit.
Can we earn this credit with the methodology I've described or is site selection itself really part of the criteria?
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5907 thumbs up
February 28, 2017 - 1:25 pm
I am not aware of any requirement to include the selection of the site in this analysis.
Sounds like your method is OK. This work should be done before schematic design however. The point is to have this analysis inform the creation of the schematic design. The required energy modeling for Optimize Energy Performance is done during schematic design.
Len Sciarra
architect5 thumbs up
July 7, 2018 - 3:48 pm
FYI - there is a separate SITE analysis credit, but for the IP credit associated with the Energy Model, some of the more macro site impacts (solar radiation, wind) should be looked at.
Emily Purcell
Sustainable Design LeadCannonDesign
LEEDuser Expert
370 thumbs up
July 9, 2018 - 9:39 am
That site selection language might be from the CI v4 credit: "Before site selection, analyze project goals to identify and select the building site that will provide the most opportunities and fewest barriers for the tenant improvement project. Assess at least two potential locations or base building options, taking into consideration at least the following..."
Which still runs into the issue Michelle raised, that many CI projects have selected their location well before making LEED decisions, or don't have a choice of sites to begin with (e.g. project owner owns/occupies base building and is fitting out additional floors).