EAc1: Optimize Energy Performance is, by far, the most important credit in LEED, based on the number of points available. Up to 10 points are at stake here based on how much you’re able to reduce the project’s predicted energy cost. That large amount of points also reflects the great importance LEED places on reducing energy use and forestalling climate change.
This credit requires surveying building occupants to find out if they are satisfied with thermal conditions in the building, as defined by the thermal comfort variables defined in ASHRAE 55-2004. The credit costs little or nothing to implement (although it does take some time), and provides important feedback to building owners and operators.
If you have the internal staff resources and don’t want to pay for an outside service, you can go with a simple self-administered online survey.
It's been a long time coming (since November 2007), but USGBC today opened a second public comment period for LEED for Healthcare!
Sixty-two credits and prerequisites, and almost all have changes, though most are minor and are about aligning LEED for Healthcare with the LEED 2009 rating systems. Some of the more significant ones are:
Like most of the other low-emitting materials credits, this credit is all-or-nothing.
Like the similar credit, EQc4.1: Low-Emitting Materials: Adhesives and Sealants, it shouldn’t cost you anything extra to earn this credit—it will just take some work. Your first priority should be to specify only paints and coatings that comply with the credit’s VOC limits, and enforce those specifications on the jobsite.
This credit requires compliance with a varied group of items that cumulatively help keep pollutants out of the indoor air. These requirements include self-closing doors on janitors' closets, MERV 13 filtration on mechanical equipment, and entryway trackoff systems. Compliance will require the coordination of team members—including the mechanical engineer, architect, plumbing engineer, and contractor—and also impact project design and operations. The basic requirements are:
We've just released a neat new report on what it costs to achieve specific LEED credits. Based on the current LEED-NC 2009 rating system, "The Cost of LEED" draws on the experience of veteran cost estimators to provide prices for specific measures a project team would consider. The report helps a team understand the implications of LEED on the cost of its own particular project, with lists of "standard" approaches compared to "high performance" options, along with cost premiums for those options.
False-flush is a fairly common occurrence with sensor-activated toilet and urinal flushometers. I've had toilets flush three times before I've even used them!
It shouldn’t cost you anything to earn this credit—it will just take a little work (the same is true for the related credit, EQc4.2: Low-Emitting Materials—Paints and Coatings). Your first priority should be to specify only adhesives and sealants that comply with the credit’s VOC limits, and enforce those specifications on the jobsite.