Glossary Terms Flashcards
Adapted plant
Vegetation that is not native to a particular region but that has characteristics that allow it to live in the area
Basis of Design (BOD)
The information necessary to accomplish the owner’s project requirements, including system descriptions, indoor environmental quality criteria, design assumptions, and references to applicable codes, standards, regulations, and guidelines
Blowdown
The removal of makeup water from a cooling tower or evaporative condenser recirculation system to reduce concentrations of dissolved solids
Brownfield
Real property or the expansion, redevelopment, or reuse of which may be complicated by the presence of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant
Chain of Custody (CoC)
A procedure that tracks a product from the point of harvest or extraction to its end use, including all successive stages of processing, transformation, manufacturing, and distribution
Clean waste
Nonhazardous materials left over from construction and demolition. Excludes lead and asbestos
Commissioning (Cx)
The process of verifying and documenting that a building and all of its systems and assemblies are planned, designed, installed, tested, operated, and maintained to meet the owner’s project requirements
Commissioning Authority (CxA)
The individual designated to organize, lead, and review the completion of commissioning process activities.
Densely occupied space
An area with a design occupant density of 25 people or more per 1,000 square feet
Development footprint
The total land area of a project site covered by buildings, streets, parking areas, and other typically impermeable surfaces constructed as part of the project
Employment center
A nonresidential area of at least 5 acres with a job density of at least 50 employees per net acre
Floor-Area Ratio (FAR)
Density of nonresidential land use, exclusive of parking: total building floor area / total buildable land area available for nonresidential structures
Green power
A subset of renewable energy composed of grid-based electricity produced from renewable energy sources
Green vehicles
Vehicles achieving a minimum green score of 45 on the ACEEE annual vehicle rating guide
Greenfield
Area that has not been graded, compacted, cleared or disturbed and that supports (or could suppot) open space, habitat, or natural hydrology
Hardscape
The inanimate elements of the building landscaping. It includes pavement, roadways, stonewalls, wood and synthetic decking, concrete paths and sidewalks, and concrete, brick and tile patios.
Industrial process water
Any water discharged from a factory setting. Before this water can be used for irrigation, its quality needs to be checked. Saline or corrosive water should not be used for irrigation.
Infill site
A site where at least 75% of the land area, exclusive of rights-of-way, within 1/2 mile of the project boundary is previously developed.
Interstitial space
An intermediate space located between floors with a walk-on deck, often used to run the majority of the utility distribution and terminal equipment, thus permitting convenient installation, maintenance, and future modifications
Landscape water requirement (LWR)
The amount of water that the site landscape area(s) requires for the site’s peak watering month
Life-cycle inventory
A database that defines the environmental effects (inputs and outputs) for each step in a material’s or assembly’s life cycle. The database is specific to countries and regions within countries.
Low-impact development
An approach to managing rainwater runoff that emphasizes on-site natural features to protect water quality, by replicating the natural land cover hydrologic regime of watersheds, and addressing runoff close to its source.
Makeup water
Water that is fed into a cooling tower system or evaporative condenser to replace water lost through evaporation, drift, bleed-off, or other causes
Master plan boundary
The limits of a site master plan. The master plan boundary includes the project area and may include all associated buildings and sites outside of the LEED project boundary.
