The LEED Reference Guide states that prohibiting smoking on residential balconies is a recommended strategy for protecting non-smoking units and balconies. But, it doesn’t explicitly say that smoking must be prohibited. If you do allow smoking on balconies attached to smoking units, ensure that you’re able to achieve and demonstrate proper air sealing using the strategies in the LEED Reference Guide.
LEED Interpretation 10388 confirms that electronic cigarettes are considered a form of smoking. It also updated the definition of smoke to include “smoke produced from the combustion of cannabis and controlled substances and the vapors produced by electronic smoking devices."
Smoking still needs to be prohibited in areas used for business purposes as well as public sidewalks that are within 25 feet of the building. If existing code explicitly prohibits you from extending your no-smoking zone, you should still be able to earn the prerequisite if you provide a copy of the code restriction.
This is acceptable as long as the emergency exit has an alarm. Emergency exits without alarms qualify as building openings and must have signage.
Depending on the materials selected, the lifespan of the building, and its performance, operating energy can have much higher life-cycle impacts than construction or demolition. While the reference standard for this option does include this end use, the LEED credit does not—and it’s because you’re already receiving credit elsewhere in the LEED rating system for reducing operating energy. The scope of this credit is only focused on impact reductions from building materials.
Unfortunately, this is an area of the credit where there’s no flexibility. Both the proposed and baseline buildings have to have a 60-year lifespan in the assessment, since in reality there are likely to be major changes in ownership during that time. This requirement might reduce the benefits of selecting materials that have low replacement rates for some projects, but for others it might be beneficial.
Yes, you can also reference international guidelines to determine eligibility for a historic building designation. However, you’ll also need to hire a historic building specialist to advise on alterations and demolition. That means this option is best suited for projects where there’s a strong commitment to preservation.
The LEED Reference Guide for LEED v4 has a section near the beginning called "Maintaining Consistency in the Application." This is worth reading for a variety of issues, and contains some guidance on consistently defining your project occupancy.
Yes. There is no minimum occupancy requirement as there was in LEED 2009. Even in LEED 2009, a project with no FTEs could be LEED certified, just without earning IEQ credits. There is no limit on earning IEQ credits in LEED v4.
Yes, electric powered equipment that is leased to the project space is allowed to be included in the credit calculation. The cost of leased equipment for this calculation is the cost of the lease contract during the performance period. If leased equipment is included in the credit, all leased equipment (within the credit scope) must be included.