Absorptive ceiling, wall and floor materials will help projects meet RT requirements. Design the placement of absorptive material based on the space programming and layout. For example, the design for a lecture hall should not include absorptive material above the lecturing position, which would absorb the lecturer’s voice instead of reflecting it into the audience.

Appliance and process water uses such as clothes washers, dishwashers, cooling tower make-up, and others, do not need to be included in the LEED water reduction calculations.  However, teams do have the option of earning an additional point for reduced appliance and process water as part of an exemplary performance point, building on the 30%–40% water-use reduction for WEc3: Water Use Reduction.

Meet with the owner, teachers, or principal to review programmatic uses and layout of individual classrooms and core learning spaces.

Finalize acoustics goals, including a decision about whether to attempt EQc9 – Enhanced Acoustical Performance.

Reassess the potential for earning EQc9 – Enhanced Acoustical Performance after the first round of calculations. If the background noise level can be reduced to 40dBA, the acoustics consultant should run some preliminary calculations for EQc9’s STC requirements. You may find that this credit is fairly attainable.

This prerequisite only includes core water uses—bathroom lavatories, water closets, urinals, showers, kitchen faucets and pre-rinse sprays. Janitors’ sinks, pot fillers, and tub faucets can be left out as they are used to fill containers with a fixed water volume regardless of the flow rate. "Kitchen sinks" includes all sinks in public or private buildings that are used with patterns and purposes similar to a sink in a residential kitchen. Break room sinks would be included; commercial kitchen sinks are not included.

Run preliminary calculations to confirm credit compliance. See below for more details.

The baseline for commercial lavatory faucets has been changed in LEED 2009 to 0.5 gpm.  The previous baseline for commercial lavatory faucets was 2.5 gpm. Take note of this more stringent requirement compared with earlier versions of LEED.

Request that proposals provide fee breakdowns for fundamental and enhanced commissioning. This would allow the owner to know the cost differential between the services and consider enhanced commissioning.

ASHRAE Guideline 0 and most commissioning guidelines and process handbooks suggest hiring a CxA before the MEP engineer, if possible, in order to kick off the commissioning process at the beginning of the project, and ensuring the OPR is adhered to throughout design development. However, most RFP processes for commissioning agent begin after the architect and MEP engineer have been hired. The RFP process should involve the architect and mechanical engineer to be sure that it accurately reflects the project’s requirements.