LEED EB Certification: Fad or Strategy for the future?

LEED Existing Building Certification:
Fad or Strategy for the future?

William M. Dillard & Jason Alphonso

Did you know?

In the United States alone, buildings account for

• 65% of electricity consumption

• 36% of energy use

• 30% of greenhouse gas emissions

• 30% of raw materials use

• 30% of waste output (136 million tons annually), and

• 12% of potable water consumption

So is all this excitement about LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design ) developed by the USGBC (United States Green Building Council) a passing fad or opportunity for reducing your Total Ownership Costs ®. Our company has been focused on saving energy in buildings since the early 70’s. Through my participation in ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, Air Conditioning Engineers) where I served as Chairman of the Society Energy Management Committee in the early 80’s to today, our focus has been to provide clients emphasis on the three legged stool of successful building operations…..that being Healthy, Productive, Efficient indoor environments.

If you were in the building ownership business 1980’s energy became the nation’s primary focus when oil approached $40 per barrel. (The equivalent of where energy costs are today adjusted for inflation.) There was a great stampede of focus on energy efficiency including the mandated regulations by the Jimmy Carter administration titled EBTR….Emergency Building Temperature Regulations. Thanks to Jimmy Carter, “Thermostat Police” became the butt of many jokes during those interesting times. As $40 dollar oil subsided….so did our interest in building energy efficiency. Many building owners returned to making first cost decisions and along the way a new issue emerged in the building industry….Indoor Air Quality. The Indoor Air Quality issue began surfacing after the pendulum of energy efficiency took us too far to the right….creating a phenomenon known as “sick building syndrome” We were so focused on reducing energy in buildings we failed to realize that we could make buildings too tight, reducing ventilation too much. Additionally, we weren’t paying enough attention to the types of materials and furnishings we were putting into buildings. As a result ASHRAE began developing ASHRAE Standard 62 Standard for acceptable indoor environments. The Standard in its current form 62.1-2007 provides a series of prescriptions for healthy indoor environments using a menu of engineered strategies that balance ventilation; filtration, lighting, ventilation pre-treatment, and building envelop treatment while taking into consideration the impact on energy usage by such systems. Couple this with the work of USGBC in the area of sustainable design and operation of existing buildings and we are beginning to gain traction on making a real difference in impact that buildings play in our environment.

We’ve come a long way since the energy crisis of the Carter Days. Is the USGBC LEED process a passing fad? We certainly don’t think so. The dynamics of the world-wide energy picture is much different today than it was in the early 80’s. So what’s the message with respect to the USGBC-LEED effort? It is NOT about the process….it really is about the Green Movement and about making our buildings more energy efficient. Green and LEED is about doing the right things and having a bench marking system to measure results. By far our largest opportunity to have an impact on our environment and our economy is to focus efforts on making our existing building inventory more energy efficient. That’s why MSI has chosen to start this Blog on a focus on Existing Buildings. Jason will highlight the LEED Existing Building process and prioritize the various strategies so that you can see how LEED Existing Building can be used as a guideline for energy conservation and improved sustainability in your buildings. If you need more information contact myself Bill Dillard or Jason Alphonso and we will be glad to assist you. Additional sources of information on this subject are available through ASHRAE, BOMA, USGBC, and AEE.

Remember this if you don’t remember anything else about this article…..conserving energy and water in your buildings is the right thing to do……it reduces the impact the building has on the environment and creates a more sustainable future for all of us. You don’t need the USGBC or the LEED process to do the right things when it comes to energy or water conservation.

What can LEED-EB do for your building

What can LEED-EB do for your building?

Here is a scenario – You manage/own a (or a few) 10 year old building(s) in Central Florida. You have already heard everybody talk about how their new building is LEED certified. You already know sustainable design is the new industry buzz word with BOMA, ASHRAE, SMACNA, AEE, NEBB and other professional organizations all singing the same tune. Your tenants, building owners and property managers are all asking you what you are doing to ensure your existing building is sustainable……

LEED Green Building Rating System™
To help answer this question, the USGBC developed the LEED Green Building Rating System™. This system allows you to evaluate your buildings performance based on four levels of certification:

• Certified: 32 – 39 points
  
• Silver: 40 – 47 points
  
• Gold: 48 – 63 points
  
• Platinum: 64 – 85 points

An existing building can earn LEED certification levels by satisfying all the prerequisite requirements & must attain a certain number of points. All first-time certification applicants go through what is called Initial Certification. When a building previously certified under a LEED for New Construction rating pursues a LEED – EB rating the process is known as recertification. Based on the first scenario I presented, you being the owner/manager of 10 year old building and given the fact that LEED NC is relatively new, your building in all probability is heading for initial certification. Pretty easy so far……..right?

The credit rating system consists of five (5) different categories, namely, Sustainable Sites (SS), Water Efficiency (WE), Energy & Atmosphere (EA), Materials & Resources (MR) and Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ). As mentioned earlier each of these categories has prerequisites which have to be addressed if a LEED-EB certification is pursued. So what does each of these categories mean?

Sustainable Sites (SS)
The category for Sustainable Sites (SS) addresses site related issues. Important prerequisites in this category are soil erosion control and using the age of the building to determine LEED-EB eligibility. Credits to be earned in this category range from site connectivity, choice of alternative transportation for employees/residents, storm water management, reducing heat island effect (in simple terms – reducing thermal gradients between developed and underdeveloped site area) and reduction in light pollution.

Water Efficiency (WE)
To quote LEED-EB reference guide – US Buildings consume a total of 5 billion gallons of potable water per day just to flush toilets. The Water Efficiency (WE) provides clear cut guidelines of how you can preserve this valuable resource. Prerequisites in this category involve meeting certain minimum water efficiency in all plumbing fixtures combined with responsible discharge water compliance. Credits in this category could be won through effective landscaping and irrigation practices combined with innovative waste water strategies.

Energy & Atmosphere (EA)
Energy & Atmosphere (EA) is the category considered to be a low hanging fruit in the LEED-EB process. Providing existing building commissioning, minimum energy performance and ensuring the use of the eco-friendly refrigerants are the prerequisites in this category. Minimum energy performance requires the building achieving an ENERGY STAR ® EPA rating of at least sixty seven (67). The credits to be earned are through building operations and maintenance, performance measurement, additional ozone protection, use of on-site and off-site renewable energy and documenting sustainable building cost impacts.

Materials & Resources (MR)
LEED-EB also gives importance to the Materials & Resources (MR) you use in the construction, operation and maintenance of your buildings. Through source reduction and waste management coupled with toxic material source reduction you can achieve prerequisites in this category. Credits in this category include optimize use of alternative and IAQ compliant products, applying sustainable practices to construction, demolition and renovation and use of sustainable cleaning products.

Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ)
Finally, another low hanging fruit in LEED-EB is the Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) category. Prerequisites in this category include proper ventilation and exhaust systems, tobacco smoke control, asbestos and PCB removal. Asbestos, PCB and PCB combustion products are carcinogenic (cancer causing) in nature. LEED-EB ensures their complete removal from the building to ensure healthy indoor air quality. Use of day lighting, optimized ventilation, green cleaning, indoor chemical and pollutant source control are some of the available credits in this category.

We hope this blog will serve as an introduction to the LEED-EB process. LEED-EB is also coming out with the guideline which specifically targets operation and maintenance in an existing building. Watch out for a future blog for information about LEED-EB O& M practices. LEED-EB serves as a guideline to sustainable existing buildings. The LEED- EB Checklist (available on the LEED-EB page) provides a quick check for a list of available credits. With a little help from your friends at MSI, Inc. you will be able to quickly determine which credits are within your reach. And even if LEED-EB certification is not your goal – our experts will be happy to suggest energy efficient, sustainable practices which will bring you one step closer towards greening your building.



About the author: Jason Alphonso is a professional mechanical engineer in the State or Florida, a certified energy manager registered with the Association of Energy Engineers (AEE), and a LEED Accredited Professional. He can be contacted at jalphonso@msifla.com.*LEED - Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System