The training program should be in place during the performance period, but there is no explicit requirement for how many hours must be provided during that time. LEEDuser recommends using it as an opportunity to bring staff and contractors up to speed on energy efficiency and sustainable operations at the building, and providing 24 hours of energy efficiency related training to each staff member each year.

All low and no cost measures must be implemented before the end of the performance period to earn this credit. If you’re running out of time, consider extending the length of the performance period for this credit, and for other credits as necessary, so that all prerequisites and credits end within the same 30-day window. By strategically selecting some credits to have a longer performance period, you may be able to avoid having to collect documentation for all data-intensive credits while still meeting the 30-day rule.

The definition of low-cost is up to you, and it’s fair game to include implementation costs in that assessment. If you have a lot of quick payback measures but not enough budget to implement them all, consider establishing a reasonable upper limit for the implementation cost, in addition to taking payback into account. For example, you could complete all low-cost measures that are $2,500 or less to implement. Remember that any low-cost measures that are not completed must be included in your capital improvement plan.

Teams are allowed to define what low-cost means to their project, and many use a combination of the payback period and implementation cost to determine a reasonable threshold. As a widely accepted rule of thumb, measures with a simple payback period of zero to 18 months are considered low-cost, and your team should be prepared to provide justification if the payback threshold is set below 18 months. See the Documentation Toolkit for an example table showing low-cost improvements.

Per the LEED Reference Guide, standard refrigerators, small water coolers, and small HVAC units with less than 0.5 pounds of refrigerant are not considered base building equipment and are exempt from the prerequisite.However, if you have larger versions of these pieces of equipment, like a large refrigerator or larger window air-conditioning unit, that has more than 0.5 pounds of refrigerant, you do need to address those in your refrigerant management plans. The key factor is not so much the equipment type, but the amount of refrigerant.

Always use the actual value for the leakage rate of each piece of HVAC equipment in the project building that has more than 0.5 pounds of refrigerant. You can calculate the actual leakage rate values by tracking the amount of additional refrigerant that has been added during the maintenance activities throughout the performance period. Note that if the actual leakage rate of a piece of equipment is less than 0.5% (i.e. 0%), use the minimum default value of 0.5% in your leakage rate calculation instead of the actual leakage rate.

Yes, even though it is not explicitly requested by the LEED Online form, you are required to include documentation demonstrating that the project has reduced annual leakage to 5% or less, and the total leakage over the remaining life to less than 30%.

Yes, the economic analysis must include both the conversion AND replacement of the CFC-based building systems.

This scenario, which is common to museums, visitor centers, cafeterias, and fitness club, falls under the “special-use space” category. In special-use spaces where visitors are given limited access to lighting controls, you can meet the credit requirements by specifying that building staff will be available to adjust lighting conditions as necessary. Provide a clear narrative describing the details of the space and how building staff are available and instructed to adjust lighting.

Although this requirement not explicitly stated in the LEED Reference Guide, project teams are now being asked to demonstrate that at least two levels of control are provided in multi-occupant spaces (like conference rooms). A single on-off switch is not compliant, and an on-off switch with an occupancy sensor is no longer compliant either. Examples of the most common compliant scenarios for multi-occupants spaces include: two (or more) lighting zones with on-off switches; an on-off switch combined with window blinds; and an on-off switch with a dimmer.