By Steve Rizer
Expect documentation times to take longer than normal when pursuing certain credits through version four of the Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED v4) rating system, which the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) rolled out in Philadelphia last week.
When trying to achieve certification through LEED v4, “one of the challenges is that some of the documentation is going to take more time on some of the credits because they’re new credits and people are unfamiliar with the credits,” Lynn Simon, LEED Fellow and senior vice president of Thornton Tomasetti, told reporters during the new version’s official launch. “On the other hand, there are some credits that take less time to document because they’ve been streamlined” in LEED v4.
Having participated in a LEED for Commercial Interiors v4 pilot project in San Francisco (more information on that project can be found at the following site: http://www.thorntontomasetti.com/blog/post/35-Our-San-Francisco-Office-Is-Going-For-The-Greenest), Simon also warned project teams that “there are some things you have to be a little more aware of early on in the process, and that’s different from LEED before.”
As an example, Simon pointed to a credit for daylighting in LEED v4. “We have a building that has amazing big windows, and there’s lots of daylight, but one of the things we found that’s different is that when you record your daylight, if you’re doing measurement versus simulation, … you actually have to do two measurements taken five months apart, so if you’re going to do that credit, you have to really [understand] how that’s impacting your schedule [and] how it’s impacting your certification because it’s not just doing it as the project’s finished; you have to think about it when you take your original reading and when you’re taking your final reading five months later.”
Also included in Part I of ConstructionPro Week's Greenbuild 2013 conference coverage (ConstructionPro Network member access):
- Additional Changes to Expect in LEED v4
- High Hopes for the New USGBC-UL Partnership
- Expert Discusses the Next Generation of LEED Measurement and Verification
- Exhibitor Briefs Featuring the Air Barrier Association of America, American Society of Landscape Architects, BuildingIQ, the Construction Demolition and Recycling Association, GreenWizard Inc., and others
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