In 2003, as part of their presentation (“Ventilation Myths and Misconceptions”) at the Affordable Comfort conference, Collin Olson and Paul Francisco debuted a software tool they developed called SEE STACK. (If you want to experiment with the software, you can safely click here to download the virus-free executable file and training manual from The Energy Conservatory).

Given the intense interest in the architectural community on health and wellness inside buildings, and in the related WELL building standard, you’ve probably heard someone tell you recently that we spend 90% of our time indoors. Usually this is followed by some assertion that we need to make our products, materials, and interior spaces healthier. (Is anyone reminding us to get outside a little more often?)

I’ve been hearing this statistic so much that I started to wonder if it was an urban legend. It’s not!

Back in 2009 and 2010, LEED professionals were getting busier and busier, but LEED Online, the official documentation platform, was not keeping pace. For a brief moment, LEED Automation appeared to be the answer, with a variety of companies putting forward software to streamline the process, reducing laborious documentation steps to a few clicks.

Today, the field has narrowed to a few platforms. Here are the ones we're aware of.