An Overview of LEED

Question 1

Levels of LEED Certification

Answer 1

Four Levels - Certified, Silver, Gold, Platinum

Question 2

LEED NC

Answer 2

LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations - applies to entire commercial buildings such as offices, retail stores, hotels, institutional facilities such as libraries and churches, and residential buildings with four or more habitable stories.

Owner should occupy no more than 50% of the building, otherwise LEED CS applies.

Question 3

LEED CS

Answer 3

LEED for Core & Shell Development - Compliment to LEED for Commercial Interiors; covers core building elements such as structure, building envelope, and HVAC systems.

Question 4

LEED S

Answer 4

LEED for Schools - used for K-12, pre and post-secondary educational facilities.

Question 5

LEED HC

Answer 5

LEED for Healthcare - used for inpatient, outpatient, and long-term care facilities

Question 6

LEED R-NC

Answer 6

LEED for Retail: New Construction - adapted to the needs of retail development

Question 7

Five Categories of LEED Rating System

Answer 7

Building Design & Construction
Interior Design & Construction
Residential Design & Construction
Community Design & Construction
Operations & Maintenance

Question 8

LEED CI

Answer 8

LEED for Commercial Interiors- certification of non-owned tenant spaces

Question 9

LEED R-CI

Answer 9

LEED for Retail: Commercial Interiors - non-owned commercial interior retail space certification

Question 10

LEED EBO&M

Answer 10

LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance - designed to encourage sustainable maintenance, cleaning, and operation of existing commercial structures.

Question 11

LEED H

Answer 11

LEED for Homes - Single family homes and low-rise (3 stories or less) residential construction

Question 12

LEED ND

Answer 12

LEED for Neighborhood Development - emphasizes elements of site selection, design, and construction that create vibrant, walkable, mixed-use neighborhoods.

Question 13

Frequency of LEED Rating System Updates

Answer 13

LEED Rating Systems are updated every two years

Question 14

LEED Steering Committee

Answer 14

Oversees the development of the rating systems and coordinates the efforts of the technical advisory groups (TAGs) that focus on specific practice areas.

Question 15

TAG

Answer 15

Technical Advisory Group - develops a specific practice area of the LEED rating system

Question 16

Five TAGs

Answer 16

Sustainable Sites TAG
Water Efficiency TAG
Energy and Atmosphere TAG
Materials and Resources TAG
Indoor Environmental Quality TAG

Report to the LEED Steering Committee

Question 17

Design of each LEED rating system

Answer 17

100 point scale with 10 possible bonus points for innovative design.
Credits are weighted by their importance and environmental impact.

Question 18

Regional Priority Credits

Answer 18

Projects may receive up to four extra points for addressing the six credits identified as most important by each of the eight Regional Councils. Credits are further broken down by each council into specific environmental zones.

Question 19

MPRs

Answer 19

Minimum Program Requirements - eight basic characteristics that all projects must posses to be eligible for LEED certification.

• Comply with environmental laws
• Be a building
• Use a reasonable site boundary
• Comply with minimum Full Time Equivalent (FTE) occupancy and floor area requirements
• Comply with minimum occupancy rates
• Comply with reasonable timetables and rating system sunset dates for registration and certification
• Allow USGBC access to whole-building energy and water usage data
• Meet a minimum building area to site area ratio ( > 2% of project area)