LEED 2012: Te Evolution of LEED LEEDing THE WAY
It doesn’t seem that long ago that we were ringing in the New Year and trying to remember to use 2012 in our dates instead of 2011. Time has flown by and soon the USGBC will roll out the next generation of its green building rating systems. Some of us have been watching the progress closely while others have taken more of a “wait and see” attitude toward the changes that will occur when the new rating system is introduced in November. So what is on the horizon for LEED 2012? Last month, I covered the wide-sweeping changes in store for the Materi- als and Resources category. This month, I will provide a preview of the rest of the LEED 2012 rating system.
PREREQUISITES AND CREDITS LEED 2009 for New Construction and Major Renova- tions contains eight prerequisites and 56 voluntary credits worth a total of 110 points. Organized into seven categories, teams are required to abide by all eight prerequisites and accumulate enough points to satisfy one of four certification levels. The next iteration of LEED increases the number
of prerequisites. The first public comment document contained 15 prerequisites, and the third draft contains 13. While the number of prerequisites will not be final- ized until the close of the last public comment period and the balloting process is complete, we know that the requirements for any building to become LEED cer- tified are becoming more stringent. The current draft rating system contains 46 voluntary credits eligible for the same 110 total points. Many of the voluntary cred- its are the same as in LEED 2009, but some have been revised and others are entirely new. The credit cat- egories have been expanded to include Location and Transportation, and one credit point currently remains outside of the category organization. This category is Integrative Process, which is worth one point for teams following an integrated delivery process.
LEED 2012 CATEGORIES Here’s a look at the changes being made to each catego- ry in the LEED 2012 for New Construction rating system:
INTEGRATIVE PROCESS Through the Integrative Process credit, LEED 2012 recognizes teams who utilize a cohesive and compre- hensive delivery process, while accounting for the bal- ance between high levels of building performance and cost-effectiveness. This balance is struck by analyzing building systems and their interrelationships. This process must start at the earliest phase of the project before key decisions are made regarding design and building form. The integration of the project team and their combined and collaborative work is then required to be carried out and documented throughout the delivery process.
LOCATION AND TRANSPORTATION The USGBC has drawn on its experience with LEED for Neighborhood Development to create the Location and Transportation section. This new category contains one prerequisite and six voluntary credits worth a total of 16 points. The easiest way to earn all of the avail- able credits in this category is to locate your building inside of a development that has received Platinum level status under the LEED for Neighborhood Devel- opment rating system. Projects not fortunate enough to be located in one of these exemplary neighbor- hoods can work to achieve the same number of points by evaluating the criteria of the five other credits. Proj- ect teams can earn points for being located on a high priority site or within a dense urban environment with a variety of amenities. There are also credits available for sites in close proximity to quality transit, sites that link the community to a bicycle network or sites with reduced amounts of surface parking.
The remaining categories of the LEED 2012
rating system are the same as in previous versions, but the requirements of the prerequisites and credits within the categories have, in many cases, been made more stringent.
SUSTAINABLE SITES Many of the credits found in the Sustainable Sites category have been relocated to the Location and Transportation category. One new credit has been added for teams performing an assessment of the site, focusing on topography, hydrology, climate, veg- etation, soils, human use and human health impacts. The remaining credits pertaining to site development, stormwater (now called rainwater) management, and reduction of heat islands and light pollution have remained largely unchanged.
WATER EFFICIENCY LEED 2012 includes three prerequisites in the Water Efficiency category: Outdoor Water Use Reduction, Indoor Water Use Reduction and Building Level Water Metering. New voluntary credits are also available for conservation of cooling tower makeup water and inclusion of metering capabilities for two or more water subsystems.
ENERGY AND ATMOSPHERE The Energy and Atmosphere category now includes a prerequisite for building-level energy use metering. The category’s total point allocation has also been reorganized and now places an increased emphasis on enhanced commissioning. New credits have been added for projects that include advanced energy me- tering or demand response technologies.
INNOVATION
While not significant, there have been changes made to the Innovation category as well. Teams can still earn a credit point for having a LEED Accredited Profes- sional working on the project and up to two points for demonstrating exemplary performance in an existing credit within the rating system. To achieve the remain- ing balance of the available points, a team must either demonstrate innovation using strategies not already addressed by the rating system or demonstrate achievement and earn up to three credits available within USGBC’s Pilot Credit Library.
The LEED 2012 for New Construction rating
system is scheduled to be in place after November 2012. While it contains significant changes, it also demonstrates USGBC’s commitment to the continuing evolution of the built environment. LEED continues to be a dominant force in the building market, and as the rating system evolves, so does the need to fully un- derstand and embrace the changes. Building owners and project teams will need to adapt to these changes in the next several months and prepare for the new standards if they want to continue to deliver success- ful green building projects in the future.
Thomas Taylor, a 30-year veteran of the construc- tion industry and noted expert on sustainability, is the general manager of St. Louis-based Vertegy. His recent book, “Guide to LEED 2009: Estimating and Precon- struction Strategies,” provides step-by-step information about the LEED 2009 for New Construction process. To learn more about Vertegy or Taylor’s new book, visit
www.vertegyconsultants.com for more information.
www.metalarchitecture.com June 2012 METAL ARCHITECTURE 9
By Thomas Taylor
MATERIALS AND RESOURCES As outlined in my last column, significant changes have been made to the credit language of the Materi- als and Resources category. Additionally, a new pre- requisite exists for construction and demolition waste management planning, which was formerly addressed in a voluntary credit in LEED 2009.
INDOOR ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY Two major changes have occurred in the IEQ category. The first is the way in which a team must document its use of low or no volatile organic compound (VOC) emitting products within the building envelope. LEED 2012 requires a team to look at the composition of the assemblies within the building and document the VOC content of each portion of an assembly as a percent of the total. The second change is the addition of a credit that awards teams that design and construct the build- ing to meet or exceed certain acoustical standards depending on the building type.
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52