Definitions Flashcards
Evapotranspiration
Evapotranspiration is the loss of water by evaporation from soil and transpiration from plants
Hard costs
Prices of hard assets that are direct construction costs
Examples: land, equipment, building materials
Soft costs
Expenses that are not considered a direct construction cost.
Examples: Engineering fees, architect fees, legal fees
Evapotranspiration Rate
The amount of water necessary to grow a plant
Eutrophication
The ecosystem’s response to excess chemicals from fertilizers or sewage
What are bio-based materials?
Products meeting the Sustainable Agricultural Standard
Heat Island Effect
Absorption of heat by dark, non-reflective pavement and buildings, and its radiation to surrounding areas
Montreal Protocol
International treaty that agreed to:
1) Phase out CFCs by 2010
2) Phase out HCFCs by 2030
Potable Water
Meets or exceeds EPA’s standards for drinking water quality and is approved for human consumption.
Process Water
Used for industrial processes and building systems.
Ex: Boilers, cooling towers, clothes washers and chillers
Non-process (Regulated) Energy
1) Lighting
2) HVAC
3) Service Water Heating
4) Chillers
5) Boilers
Emittance
The ratio of emissivity between the object being reviewed and a perfect blackbody.
(between 0 and 1)
Ex: This objects emittance is .1 of a blackbody.
Emissivity
The measure of an objects ability to emit infrared energy. From 0 (mirror) to 1 (blackbody).
Ex: This objects emissivity is .5 overall.
Albedo
Ability of a surface to reflect sunlight (0 to 1)
Also known as reflectance.
What are Diverse Use spaces?
Spaces that have multiple uses.
Ex: Supermarkets, Pharmacy (w/ grocery), Gym (w/ childcare), Community facilities
(with 100+ full time jobs may be counted 2x)
Hydrozone
The practice of clustering plants with similar water needs in an effort to save water.
Graywater
Untreated water that has not come in contact with toilet waste. Governed by Uniform Plumbing Code
Ex) Bathtubs, showers, bathroom sinks, laundry machines but NOT kitchen sinks or dishwashers
Blackwater
Wastewater from toilets and urinals
Process Energy Examples
Office equipment, computers, laundry washing and drying, kitchen cooking and refrigeration
Heat Island
Difference in thermal gradient between
developed and undeveloped areas
Solar Reflectance Index (SRI)
Ability of a surface to reject solar heat, on a scale of 0-100.
A combination of reflectance and emittance
What are inherently non- emitting materials?
Naturally occurring materials and products that are made from inorganic materials (e.g., granite)
emit either very low or no VOCs
What is district energy system?
Are networks of hot and cold water pipes, typically buried underground, that are used to efficiently heat and cool buildings using lessenergythan if the individual buildings were to each have their own boilers and chillers
What is gerrymandering?
A gerrymandering example would be the LEED project boundary excluding unreasonable sections or creating unreasonable shapes just to comply
with the credits or prerequisites
What is blowdown?
The removal of makeup water from a cooling tower or evaporative condenser
recirculation system to reduce concentrations of dissolved solids
Net metering
Selling excess energy generated by onsite renewables back to the utility
What is Certified Wood?
Wood certified by the Forest Stewardship Council (FSC). Must have a Chain of Custody (COC) Certificate
What is PBT?
Persistent, bioaccumulative, and toxic
What is native or adapted vegetation?
Plants indigenous to a locality or cultivars of native plants that are
adapted to the local climate, not considered invasive species or noxious
weeds
Revenue-grade meter
A measurement tool designed to meet strict accuracy standards
required by code or law.
Densely occupied space
An area with a design occupant density of 25 people or more per 1,000 square feet
Extended producer responsibility
Measures undertaken by the maker of a product to accept its own and sometimes other manufacturers’ products as postconsumer waste at the end of the products’ useful life.
SCAQMD
South Coast Air Quality Management
District.
For low emitting adhesives,
sealants, finishes, coatings, stains and sealers
Clean waste
Nonhazardous materials left over from construction and demolition
Green Seal
Verifies that the product meets a Low Emitting standard for interior paints, coatings and aerosol adhesives
What is co-generation?
It is the production of heat and electricity from a single fuel source.
What is pre-consumer recycled content?
Material diverted from the waste stream during the manufacturing process.
(Manufacturer waste, never owned by a consumer)
What is post-consumer recycled content?
Waste material generated by households or by commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the product, which can no longer be used for its intended purpose (consumer waste)
Basis of design
Documents the reasoning and decisions made during thedesignphase of a project.
What is closed-loop cooling?
A system that is designed to remove the heat inside the enclosure without letting ambient air inside it. It is the ideal solution to protect sensitive electrical equipment against dust and precipitation.
What is an infill site?
A site where at least 75% of the land area has been previously developed
What is attendance boundary?
The limits used by school districts to determine what school students attend based on where they live
What is commissioning?
Commissioning is the process of verifying
that energy systems are installed, calibrated and performing according to the owner’s project requirements, basis of design and construction documents.
What is the 40/60 rule?
Project teams can determine which rating
system to use based on:
1) if the rating system is less than 40% applicable to the project, do not use
2) if the rating system is 60% or more applicable to the project, use that rating system
3) if the rating system is between 40-60% applicable to the project, the project team should assess the situation and choose appropriately
What does the Construction Carbon Calculator measure?
The Construction Carbon Calculator measures the embodied carbon of the construction process.
What is color rendering index?
A measurement from 0 to 100 that indicates how accurately the hues are from an artificial light source, as compared with an incandescent light.
What is light pollution?
Light pollution is wasted light that produces glare or is directed up toward the sky or away from the building.
What is open space?
Open space is defined as the project’s property area minus the development footprint.
What is bioremediation?
Bioremediation is the use of living organisms to remove pollutants from water.
What are Total Suspended Solids?
Total suspended solids, which are particles that are too buoyant to settle out of water by gravity, is a measurement of storm water quality.
What is tertiary treatment?
Tertiary treatment is the highest form of water treatment, and removes phosphorus and nitrogen from wastewater.
What is the intent of Minimum Acoustic Performance?
To provide classrooms that facilitate teacher-to-student and student-to-student
communication through effective acoustic design
Built Environment
All the man-made surroundings that are needed for human activity from roads, to buildings, to neighborhoods.
In the US, what is the percentage of carbon emissions from buildings?
38%
What are the top 4 percentage benefits of a green building?
1) 33% lower Carbon Dioxide
2) 27% Higher Occupant Satisfaction
3) 26% Energy Reduction
4) 13% Lower Maintenance Cost
What is Regenerative Design?
A type of building design that creates no waste and provides more output than consumed input.
Built environment contributes to what percentage of greenhouse gas emissions?
67%
What are the three major concepts of Green Building?
1) Systems Thinking
2) Life Cycle Thinking
3) Integrated Thinking
What is Systems Thinking?
All buildings are composed of different interrelated systems that form a whole and each of them has an impact on the others
What are the 5 Building Systems?
1) Resources
2) Materials
3) Energy
4) Building Occupants
5) Information
What is an Open system?
System that constantly consumes other items, uses them, and produces waste at the end.
What is a closed system?
System that does not produce any waste product at the end by circulating the same media.
Feedback Loop
The flow of information within a system that allows the system to take action.
Positive feedback loop
Occurs when a product of a reaction leads to an increase in that reaction.
Negative feedback loop
Occurs when a change brings an additional change in the opposite direction.
Ex: Reaching a certain temperature causes the AC to come on to go back to the set temperature.
Prius Effect
Users can respond to something only if they have real time information about it.
Cradle to Grave
Investigating materials from their extraction to their disposal
Cradle to Cradle
A closed loop system where a product becomes a part of another product after its useful life through recycling or reusing.
Cradle to Gate
Investigating material from their extraction to when they arrive to the factory, excluding use and disposal
Embodied Energy
Total energy consumed in all stages of a products life cycle. The more embodied energy the higher the damage to the environment.
Manufacturing, transportation, installation, etc.
Life Cycle Assessment
Evaluates all the environmental effects of a product during its whole lifetime.
Life Cycle Costing
Assesses a product’s total cost by evaluating both purchase and operating cost.
