Definitino of LEED certification:

This article explains the LEED Green Building Certification program, providing a summary of what the LEED designation means, how it is achieved, and what factors are considered in awarding a LEED Green Building Certification to a building or construction project.

What is the LEED Green Building Certification Program & How Does it Work?

Sketch at page top and accompanying text are reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss. The sketch above shows a split-level cantilevered raised ranch with chimney and bay windows - a tough house to build tight.

LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is a building energy efficiency rating system promoted for green building practices by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC).

The indoor environmental quality (IEQ) provisions in LEED cite two requirements for LEED designation (below) and provides "Credits" or sources for points towards earning the LEED designation for a building.

The LEED website provides extensive information about this program. We have reviewed that data and provide this more concise explanation for readers who are unfamiliar with the LEED certification program and how it works.

The LEED® green building certification program

 is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system for buildings designed, constructed and operated for improved environmental and human health performance. LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality.

The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™

is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings. ....

LEED provides third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at improving performance across all the metrics that matter most: energy savings, water efficiency, CO₂ emissions reduction, improved indoor environmental quality, and stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their impacts.

Nine LEED Designation Measurements for LEED Building Designation

[Includes comments & references by DF] The LEED designation for buildings is a point or credit-based system that evaluates a building project and assigns "LEED Points or Credits" in nine areas described below. LEED Certification or "Green Building Certification" is issued by an independent third party through the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI).

1. LEED designation & site sustainability
   
    - discourages development on previously un-developed land, minimizes the building's impact on ecosystems and waterways, encourages regionally appropriate landscaping [cactus not grass in Arizona, for example] considers use of mass transit, stormwater runoff control, erosion control, light pollution [reflections and outdoor lighting?], heat island formation [paved parking lots]), and construction-related pollution.
2. LEED designation & water efficiency:
   
   water efficiency credits encourage conservation [water conserving fixtures, low-flow faucets and showers, low-flush toilets -
   
   see TOILET TYPES, CONTROLS, PARTS,
   
   ALTERNATIVE HOT WATER SOURCES, and
   
   WATER QUANTITY USAGE TABLES & WELL FLOW TEST PROCEDURE]
3. LEED designation & energy& atmosphere:
   
   encourages energy use monitoring to reduce energy consumption by the building, appliance efficiency, lighting, use of renewable resources. [S
   
   See ENERGY SAVINGS in BUILDINGS
   
   and SOLAR ENERGY SYSTEMS ]
4. LEED designation & Materials & Resources 
   
   use sustainably grown materials & resources, minimizing material waste during construction
5. LEED designation & Indoor Environmental Quality -
   
   see LEED Indoor Environmental Quality IEQ Provisions
6. LEED designation & Locations & Linkages -
   
   where is the home located and how does it fit into the community; encourages building homes near existing infrastructure, open spaces, outdoor walking
7. LEED designation & Awareness & Education -
   
   educating homeowners/occupants to make maximum use of energy-conserving features
8. LEED designation & Innovation in Design -
   
   "...bonus points for projects that use new and innovative technologies and strategies to improve a building’s performance well beyond what is required by other LEED credits or in green building considerations that are not specifically addressed elsewhere in LEED." - LEED
9. LEED designation & Regional Priority -
   
   " ... environmental concerns that are locally most important for every region of the country, and six LEED credits that address those local priorities were selected for each region." - LEED

Inadequacies of Optional IAQ Credit Categories Specified in LEED - White Paper from AIHA

LEED Indoor Environmental Quality IEQ Provisions

1. Provide minimal outdoor air in accordance with ASHRAE standard 62.1
2. Eliminate or control tobacco smoke from the indoor environment

LEED Designation Credits for IAQ

1. IAQ management during construction: LEED Credit 3.1:
   
   protect HVAC duct interiors from dust, debris, moisture during construction and control dust inside the building.
2. IAQ testing requirements: LEED Credit 3.2:
   
   IAQ testing before the building is occupied, including a "one time" air flush of the building before testing [this approach may improve test results but it does not address pollutants from continuously - emitting sources nor even from incompletely out-gassed new construction materials --DF].
   
   [AIHA (see below) has raised questions as well regarding the testing protocols and methods used for this purpose.]

In April 2010, in the article "How to Put the IH in LEED, Green buildings Need Industrial Hygienists' IAQ Expertise", Dale Walsh, writing in the American Industrial Hygiene Associations's magazine The Synergist, author Walsh directs attention to a forthcoming (2010) White Paper for Green Building, produced by the Occupant Air Quality Project team of the AIHA Green Building Working Group.

The white paper, "Indoor Air Quality in Green buildings", will, according to Walsh, focus on the inadequacies of two optional credit categories in the LEED specification: the construction IAQ management plan credits (the "3" series described just below), and the low-emitting building materials credits (the "4" series also described just below). The white paper's goals:

• Clarify the value of the single-event building air flush-out
  
   prior to testing and describe the conditions under which it might be appropriate.
• Discuss the history of Credit 3.2 option B
• Show that the current LEED requirements for indoor air testing in buildings are poorly defined
  
   regarding sampling methods and timing of sampling, and that the specified pollutants and their allowable levels are often inappropriate.
  
  [Readers should also see MOLD TESTING METHOD VALIDITY, MOLD LEVEL IN AIR, VALIDITY,
  
  and CULTURES to "Test for Mold" for compelling examples of the overwhelming importance of indoor air mold sampling methodology and the importance of documenting building conditions in understanding the enormous variation in test results that will be found when monitoring indoor air quality - DF]
• Discuss the appropriateness of using outdoor air-related total VOC content limits 
  
  for controlling indoor air quality, along with alternative approaches.
• Discuss other issues that negatively affect IAQ,
  
  including the shedding of fibrous duct lining [see FIBERGLASS HAZARDS and FIBERGLASS INSULATION MOLD], poor access to building ventilation systems for maintenance [see Air Filter Location], and the location of sewer vents [see SEWER GAS ODORS] and other outdoor pollutant sources near outdoor intakes.

Here we include solar energy, solar heating, solar hot water, and related building energy efficiency improvement articles reprinted/adapted/excerpted with permission from Solar Age Magazine - editor Steven Bliss.

LEED Building Research

• "How to Put the IH in LEED, Green buildings Need Industrial Hygienists' IAQ Expertise", Dale Walsh, The Synergist, April 2010 p. 25-26. Walsh directs attention to a forthcoming (2010) White Paper for Green Building, produced by the Occupant Air Quality Project team of the AIHA Green Building Working Group. Dale Walsh, Walsh Certified Consultants, Inc., Las Vegas NV, 702-468-4782 dwalsh@walshcih.com
• U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), U.S. Green Building Council, 2101 L Street, NW Suite 500. Washington, DC 20037 - http://www.usgbc.org/ Customer Service: 1-800-795-1747 (outside the United States, call 202-742-3792) Quoting from the USGBC website:
  
  The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) is a Washington, D.C.-based 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization committed to a prosperous and sustainable future for our nation through cost-efficient and energy-saving green buildings. USGBC works toward its mission of market transformation through its LEED green building certification program, robust educational offerings, a nationwide network of chapters and affiliates, the annual Greenbuild International Conference & Expo, and advocacy in support of public policy that encourages and enables green buildings and communities.
  
  The LEED® green building certification program is a voluntary, consensus-based national rating system for buildings designed, constructed and operated for improved environmental and human health performance. LEED addresses all building types and emphasizes state-of-the-art strategies in five areas: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials and resources selection, and indoor environmental quality.
  
  LEED Professional Credentials (LEED AP and Green Associate) recognize professionals who have demonstrated a thorough understanding of green building techniques, the LEED green building rating systems, and the certification process. The LEED Professional Credentials program is administered by the Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), which was established with the support of USGBC to allow for objective, balanced management of the credential program.
  
  The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™ is a third-party certification program and the nationally accepted benchmark for the design, construction and operation of high performance green buildings.  LEED provides building owners and operators with the tools they need to have an immediate and measurable impact on their buildings’ performance.
• Green Building Certification Institute - (GBCI) GBCI.org Green Building Certification Institute,  Washington DC 20037, 1-800-795-1746, International Calls: +1-202-828-1145. Quoting from GBCI:
  
  The Green Building Certification Institute (GBCI), established in January 2008, provides third-party project certification and professional credentials recognizing excellence in green building performance and practice. GBCI administers project certification for commercial and institutional buildings and tenant spaces under the U.S. Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating Systems™ addressing new construction and ongoing operations.
  
  GBCI also manages the professional credentialing programs based upon the LEED Rating Systems including the LEED Green Associate and LEED AP credentials.
• Best Practices Guide to Residential Construction, by Steven Bliss. John Wiley & Sons, 2006. ISBN-10: 0471648361, ISBN-13: 978-0471648369, Hardcover: 320 pages, available from Amazon.com and also Wiley.com.
  
  See our book review of this publication.
• Decks and Porches, the JLC Guide to, Best Practices for Outdoor Spaces, Steve Bliss (Editor), The Journal of Light Construction, Williston VT, 2010 ISBN 10: 1-928580-42-4, ISBN 13: 978-1-928580-42-3, available from Amazon.com
• "Energy Savers: Whole-House Supply Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Whole-House_Supply_Vent.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11880?print
• "Energy Savers: Whole-House Exhaust Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Whole-House_Exhaust.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11870
• "Energy Savers: Ventilation [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Ventilation.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
• "Energy Savers: Natural Ventilation [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Natural_Ventilation.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
• "Energy Savers: Energy Recovery Ventilation Systems [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Energy_Recovery_Venting.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy energysavers.gov/your_home/insulation_airsealing/index.cfm/mytopic=11900
• "Energy Savers: Detecting Air Leaks [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Detect_Air_Leaks.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
• "Energy Savers: Air Sealing [copy on file as /interiors/Energy_Savers_Air_Sealing_1.pdf ] - ", U.S. Department of Energy
• Appliances and Home Electronics, - energy savings, U.S. Department of Energy
• BASEMENT MOISTURE CONTROL [PDF] U.S. Department of Energy
• Building Pathology, Deterioration, Diagnostics, and Intervention, Samuel Y. Harris, P.E., AIA, Esq., ISBN 0-471-33172-4, John Wiley & Sons, 2001 [General building science-DF] ISBN-10: 0471331724 ISBN-13: 978-0471331728
• Building Pathology: Principles and Practice, David Watt, Wiley-Blackwell; 2 edition (March 7, 2008) ISBN-10: 1405161035 ISBN-13: 978-1405161039
• Historic Preservation Technology: A Primer, Robert A. Young, Wiley (March 21, 2008) ISBN-10: 0471788368 ISBN-13: 978-0471788362
• Building Pathology, Deterioration, Diagnostics, and Intervention, Samuel Y. Harris, P.E., AIA, Esq., ISBN 0-471-33172-4, John Wiley & Sons, 2001 [General building science-DF] ISBN-10: 0471331724 ISBN-13: 978-0471331728
• CRAWL SPACE MOISTURE CONTROL [PDF] U.S. Department of Energy
• Energy Recover Ventilation Systems for buildings, U.S. Department of Energy
• Energy Savings Methods: Whole House Systems Approach, U.S. Department of Energy
• Historic Preservation Technology: A Primer, Robert A. Young, Wiley (March 21, 2008) ISBN-10: 0471788368 ISBN-13: 978-0471788362
• LOG HOMES: MINIMIZING AIR LEAKAGE [PDF] U.S. Department of Energy
• Log Homes: Controlling Moisture in Log Homes, U.S. Department of Energy
• MOISTURE CONTROL in BUILDINGS [PDF] U.S. Department of Energy
• MOISTURE CONTROL in WALLS [PDF] U.S. Department of Energy
• Quality Standards for the Professional Remodeling Industry, National Association of Home Builders Remodelers Council, NAHB Research Foundation, 1987.
• Quality Standards for the Professional Remodeler, N.U. Ahmed, # Home Builder Pr (February 1991), ISBN-10: 0867183594, ISBN-13: 978-0867183597
• Natural Ventilation for buildings, U.S. Department of Energy
• R-Value of Wood, U.S. Department of Energy
• Spot Ventilation for houses, U.S. Department of Energy
• Slab on Grade Foundation Moisture and Air Leakage, U.S. Department of Energy
• Straw Bale Home Design, U.S. Department of Energy
• VAPOR BARRIERS or VAPOR DIFFUSION RETARDERS [PDF] U.S. DOE - how vapor barriers work, types of vapor diffusion barriers, installing vapor barrier
• VENTILATION for ENERGY-EFFICIENT BUILDINGS [PDF] Purpose of ventilation, ventilateion strategies, etc.
• Weather-Resistive Barriers, how to select and install housewrap and other types of weather resistive barriers, U.S. DOE
• Whole House Ventilation Systems, U.S. Department of Energy
• Whole-House Balanced Ventilation Systems, U.S. Department of Energy
• Whole-House Exhaust Ventilation Systems, U.S. Department of Energy
• Whole-House Supply Ventilation Systems, U.S. Department of Energy
• "Conserving Energy and Heating Your Swimming Pool With Solar Energy", U.S. Department of Energy
• Solar Collector Efficiency Study: "Comparative study of air heating solar collectors", J. Naga Raju, Instrumentation and Services Unit, Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore 560012, India, International Journal of Energy Research, Volume 15 Issue 6, Pages 469 - 471, 14 Mar 2007: Abstract
  
  Three types of conventional solar air heater are designed such that their heat absorbing areas and the pressure drops across them are equal for equal air mass flow rates per unit collector area. The results of thermal performance tests conducted simultaneously on these collectors, under the same environmental conditions, are presented.
• "Solar Collector and Storage Kit Made with Tire Inner Tubes", Investigators: Moaveni, Saeed , Tebbe, Patrick
  Institution: Minnesota State University - Mankato, August 15, 2008 through August 14, 2009, National Center for Environmental Research, US EPA, Quoting from the proposed study:
  
  Approach:
  
  A number of collector designs will be considered. Each design will be analyzed and tested for thermal performance, and ease of assembly. Once the most cost effective design with the best thermal performance is identified, an easy-to-assemble solar collector kit will be created. Because the proposed project makes use of solar energy, it reduces the need to burn dry-wood to heat water, and as the result it reduces pollution and the consequent hazards to human health and the environment.
  
  The proposed project is to be carried out by engineering students from Minnesota State University, Mankato (MSU) in collaboration with students at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology (KNUST) in Ghana as an integral part of our design curriculum.
  
  Expected Results: An easy-to-assemble solar collector kit that can be distributed in Ghana. The proposed solar design will reduce impacts on the environment and directly benefits human health and diminishes resource consumption. The proposed system will be designed for small initial cost (less than $50). It requires no additional long-term cost to operate and maintain.
• Solar Disinfection of Drinking Water: "Final Report: Enhanced Photocatalytic Solar Disinfection of Water as Effective Intervention Against Waterborne Diarrheal Diseases in Developing Countries", National Center for Environmental Research, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Investigators: Dionysiou, Dionysios D. , Bandala, Erick R. , Castillo, Jordana , Dunlop, Patrick , Pelaez, Miguel A, Institution: University of Cincinnati , NIBEC, School of Electrical and Mechanical Engineering , Universidad de Las Américas-Puebla, Research Category: Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development , P3 Challenge Area - Water , P3 Challenge Area - Materials & Chemistry
  Quoting from the above report (http://cfpub.epa.gov/ncer_abstracts/index.cfm/fuseaction/display.abstractDetail/abstract/8841/report/F)
  
  Conclusions:
  
  Photocatalytic enhanced solar disinfection using NF-TiO2 was responsible for complete inactivation of E. coli in those reactors exposed to both solar and visible light radiation. The presence of NF-TiO2 enhanced the disinfection rate efficiency of E.coli when compared to those experiments where no photocatalyst was used. Practical application of dye solutions as dosimetric indicator appears as very useful for determining the solar radiation dose necessary for waterborne pathogen deactivation.
  
  Solar water disinfection (SODIS) is a simple, environmentally friendly and low cost point-of-use treatment technology for drinking water purification. However, bacterial re-growth after short storage (24 h) of SODIS treated water has been observed. Seeking for improvements of SODIS performance, reduction of irradiation time and avoidance of bacteria re growth, solar based-Advanced Oxidation Technologies (AOTs), such as solar TiO2 photocatalysis, are promising enhancements to SODIS.
  
  Unfortunately, one of the main problems with the use of conventional TiO2 for solar applications is its limited capability to absorb only the radiation in the UV range, which is only about 5-8% of the total solar radiation. In this study, we employed novel nanotechnological procedures to synthesize visible light activated nonmetaldoped TiO2 (i.e., nitrogen-doped TiO2) with high surface area and immobilized on appropriate support materials that were used in novel photocatalytic reactors for water purification in rural zones in Mexico as a case study.
  
  In combination with visible light activated TiO2, we also propose to incorporate in our process the V trough solar collector which has never been applied to solar photocatalytic processes in the past, but has much simpler geometry and demonstrated in preliminary results performance comparable to other types of solar collectors. Because of its simpler geometry, the V trough solar collector is much less expensive and is attractive to applications is developing countries. This overall process for water purification was denominated “Enhanced Photocatalytic Solar Disinfection” (ENPHOSODIS).
  
  A complete inactivation of the bacteria was achieved when using ENPHOSODIS under solar and visible light at three different NF-TiO2 catalyst concentrations. Under dark conditions, no difference in the bacteria count was observed and no inactivation of E. coli was observed when employing visible light only. pH was an important influence on the bacteria resistance to solar radiation.
  
  E. coli was able to survive for longer radiation periods at pH 7 and 7.5 than at lower or higher pH values (i.e., 6, 6.5 and 8). An azo dye, acid orange 24 (AO24), was explored for the development of a UV dosimetric indicator for disinfection. Complete color removal was found to be equivalent to that when water submitted to ENPHOSODIS treatment, under the proposed conditions, will get enough energy to deactivate completely the viable helminth eggs present.
  
  Different configurations of immobilized TiO2 photocatalytic reactors were tested under real sun conditions. Experiments under full sun and cloudy conditions showed that these photo reactors are capable of disinfection with an optimum configuration of internal and external coating along with a compound parabolic collector.
  
  NOTE: The perspectives, information and conclusions conveyed in research project abstracts, progress reports, final reports, journal abstracts and journal publications convey the viewpoints of the principal investigator and may not represent the views and policies of ORD and EPA. Conclusions drawn by the principal investigators have not been reviewed by the Agency.
• "Side by Side Testing of Eight Solar Water Heating Systems", ETSU S/P3/00275/REP/2, DTI Pub URN 01/1292, Contractor, The Energy Monitoring Company Ltd., C Martin, M Watson, 2001
  This study compared the amount of energy that eight modern solar water heating systems could produce over an average year. Document: http://www.berr.gov.uk/files/file16826.pdf

...

Continue reading at LEED Building Designation & IAQ or select a topic from the closely-related articles below, or see the complete ARTICLE INDEX.

Or see these

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• VENTILATION in BUILDINGS - home
  • BALANCED VENTILATION, HEAT COST SAVINGS
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  • FRESH AIR VENTILATION RATES & STANDARDS
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Citations & References

In addition to any citations in the article above, a full list is available on request.

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