The IEQ Prerequisite 2 of the LEED V2.0 Rating System was designed for commercial buildings, where the banning of smoking (or limiting it to designated areas) is achievable. In a residential apartment building, the owner is much more limited as to what behavioral restrictions can be placed on the residents within their units. Our project is committed to adhering to the intent of this prerequisite by banning smoking in all common areas of the building. Apartments will have negative pressure to prevent the trespass of ETS into the corridors. Tracer gas testing in accordance with the ASHRAE Standard 129-1997 will be performed between the apartments and corridor (at a sampling rate of 10% of the units). We propose that these actions be viewed as sufficient to meet the intent of this credit for a residential setting.
The LEED Steering Committee provided an interpretation of this Inquiry. The Committee believes that this approach could meet the requirements of EQ Prerequisite 2 if the tracer gas testing study is properly designed. The concern was that a variety of factors such as temperature, wind speed and direction, and building height have significant effects on tracer gas test results. Because the applicant wants to test a subset of the residential units, it is important that the study be designed to account for outside influences on tracer gas behavior. By carefully selecting a representative sample of building conditions in the study design, the committee feels that the applicant may be able to demonstrate compliance with the requirements of the prerequisite. Successful results of a well-designed tracer gas testing study will be acceptable to demonstrate compliance with this prerequisite.