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| FAQ - LEED Q: What is LEED?
A: LEED stands for "Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design" and is a Green Building Rating System created and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council. Details are available at their website: https://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CategoryID=19 Q: What does LEED apply to?
A: LEED has traditionally been applied to commercial structures. There are several "flavors" available: LEED for New Construction (LEED-NC); LEED for Existing Buildings (LEED-EB) for buildings that are more than 2 years old and which were not certified under LEED-NC; LEED for Core and Shell (LEED-CS) is used where the building owner will complete the main building structure, but not the interiors of the individual leased spaces. Finally (April 2007) there is LEED for Commercial Interiors (LEED-CI) for tenants for apply to their individual leased space buildout. LEED-CS and LEED-CI are designed to be "companion" systems - LEED-CI can only be earned in buildings which meet overall building LEED criteria. LEED-CS assures that those overall building (Core and Shell) criteria are met, thus paving the way for LEED-CI certification. Q: Is there LEED for residences?
A: As of spring 2007, the only residences that can be LEED certified are commercial multi-unit dwellings. Individual homes will be certified via the LEED for Homes certification, scheduled for release in the latter half of 2007. LEED for Homes must be earned by the builder, during construction of the home. Q: Will there be a LEED for existing homes?
A: That is slated for future development, contingent on the lessons learned from the LEED for (new) Homes certification. There is no ETA for an existing homes certification. The LEED website lists alternative certifications that homeowners can seek, such as Energy Star and Built Green. Q: What does LEED address?
A: LEED is more comprehensive than many other certifications, which tend to focus largely on energy and water use reductions. LEED gives points (various points are needed to attain the four certification levels - Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum) for minimizing site disturbance, construction waste, volatile organic compounds (VOCs) released during construction and operations, and for indoor air quality, recycling, heat island reduction, landscaping, use of infill, urban locations, and proximity to public transportation, and of course for energy and water reductions. Q: How do I go about pursuing a LEED certification?
A: This takes a little advance work. First you need to determine if New Construction or Existing Building or other certification is most suitable. Then an initial examination should be conducted, using the appropriate LEED Checklist (see above link) to identify the number and type of points targeted. If the point level for the minimum certification level ("Certified") cannot be achieved, or is deemed prohibitively expensive to achieve, then LEED certification will not be possible. However points can almost always be achieved, contingent on available budget and priorities. If it is determined that sufficient points can be earned to gain LEED certification, then if the costs of doing so are budgeted, the certification can be pursued. Q: What if my building can't qualify?
A: Again, this is usually a budgetary matter - any building can be certified if sufficient funding is available. But assuming that the costs of renovation/compliance are deemed too high, one can still identify and implement those strategies defined by LEED that will enhance the quality and efficiency of the building, and reap the benefits of those. By doing such a partial implementation, the building would be closer to getting certified down the road, should budgets or priorities change. Q: What is the cost of getting LEED-certified?
A: This is a wide open area. There is an application fee ($600) and a review fee ($0.25/sq. ft, with a $1250 minimum and $12,500 maximum) both payable to USGBC. Typically a LEED Accreditied Professional (LEED AP) is engaged as a consultant, and the fee for that will vary, but can be several tens of thousands of dollars. Finally the cost of meeting the requirements (documenting procedures and purchases, providing training, upgrading equipment and infrastructure, commissioning the building, etc) can be a widely varying cost, especially for existing buildings. Q: Is LEED Accredited Professional required?
A: No, but one is highly recommended. Third party LEED-APs are available for hire, or a current member of the building owner's staff can seek LEED-AP status. Q: If a LEED-AP is not required, why should I get one?
A: A LEED-AP is highly recommended to assure that the certification points sought are properly identified, implemented, and documented. Failure to do these correctly could result in a large additional expense and delay in getting certified. In addition, using a LEED-AP qualifies for 1 point towards certification. Q: What is a good LEED certification strategy?
A: LEED is best pursued for new construction prior to building design. By taking LEED criteria into account from the design stage, LEED features can be designed in at the lowest possible cost, and with the greatest benefit and payback. Retrofitting LEED features is never as advantageous as having them designed in from the start. For existing buildings, the best time to target LEED certification would be during an upgrade or renovation. Barring that, an audit of point possibilities and expense would determine the feasibility of seeking certification for an existing building. Q: Does GeoStar Solar have any LEED-APs on staff?
A: Yes, Energy Education and Outreach VP Bill Blomberg is a LEED-AP. This page was last modified on Thursday, September 03, 2009 | |
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