USGBC LEED-Green-Associate - LEED Green Associate GAFRE Exam (LEED GA)

Pervious paving, also known as permeable paving, allows water to pass through it, facilitating the recharging of aquifers. This type of paving reduces runoff by allowing water to soak into the ground, which can help replenish groundwater supplies and reduce the impact on nearby water bodies. References: LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook, U.S. Green Building Council resources

Daylighting and natural ventilation are strategies that can be used together to save energy and improve occupant experience in a building. Daylighting uses natural light to illuminate the interior spaces of a building, reducing the need for artificial lighting and improving the visual comfort and well-being of the occupants. Natural ventilation uses outdoor air to provide freshair and cooling to a building, reducing the need for mechanical ventilation and air conditioning and improving the indoor air quality and thermal comfort of the occupants1 . References: LEED v4 Green Associate Candidate Handbook1, LEED v4 BD+C Reference Guide

The water use reduction for a project is determined by finding the difference between the baseline conditions and the calculated installed case. The baseline conditions are the water use of the project if it were designed to meet the minimum requirements of the Energy Policy Act of 1992 or a local equivalent, whichever is more stringent. The calculated installed case is the water use of the project based on the actual fixtures and fittings installed or specified. The water use reduction is calculated as a percentage of savings from the baseline conditions. The LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook states that one of the strategies for achieving water efficiency is to “calculate water use reduction by comparing a building project’s water use with the water use baseline calculated for the building after meeting the Energy Policy Act of 1992 fixture performance requirements” [1, p. 14]. References: LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook, [Water Use Reduction | U.S. Green Building Council]

Integrated Project Planning and Design is a prerequisite for healthcare facilities under LEED v4. The intent is to maximize opportunities for the adoption of cost-effective integrated green design and construction strategies as early as pre-design1.

LEED v4 | HPAC Engineering1

An owner who wants to update the interior materials of the office while promoting a healthier indoor work environment using LEED strategies can specify low-emitting materials as one of the strategies to achieve this goal. Low-emitting materials are materials that have low or no emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) or other pollutants into the indoor air. VOCsare organic chemicals that can evaporate or vaporize at room temperature and can adversely affect the indoor air quality (IAQ) of a building and the health, comfort, and productivity of the occupants. Some sources of VOCs in buildings are paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants, flooring, furniture, and cleaning products. Specifying low-emitting materials can reduce the exposure and risk of VOCs for the occupants and improve IAQ12. References: LEED v4 Green Associate Candidate Handbook1, LEED v4 BD+C Reference Guide2

According to the LEED credit library, the Energy and Atmosphere category for Building Design and Construction: New Construction and Major Renovation has 6 prerequisites and 11 credits, with a total of 33 possible points. The prerequisites are:

Fundamental Commissioning and Verification (required)

Minimum Energy Performance (required)

Building-Level Energy Metering (required)

Fundamental Refrigerant Management (required)

Construction Activity Pollution Prevention (required)

Advanced Energy Metering (required)

The credits are:

Enhanced Commissioning (2-6 points)

Optimize Energy Performance (1-18 points)

Advanced Energy Metering (1 point)

Demand Response (1-2 points)

Renewable Energy Production (1-3 points)

Enhanced Refrigerant Management (1 point)

Green Power and Carbon Offsets (1-2 points)

CIRs are intended for technical clarification:

“Project teams may send a credit interpretation request at a cost of $220... Credit interpretation rulings are the reviewers’ responses to these requests... If a project team encounters unclear issues, they should send a credit interpretation request.”

They must be submitted through GBCI and are reviewed by third-party reviewers—not by project members themselves.

LEED Operations & Maintenance focuses on:

“Green Cleaning – the use of environmentally preferred cleaning practices and materials after occupancy…”

It’s a post-occupancy strategy to maintain indoor environmental quality.

Low-emitting materials are those that have minimal or no emissions of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and other harmful pollutants that can affect indoor air quality (IAQ)1. Specifying and installing low-emitting materials at the source can help prevent the negative effects of indoor pollutants by reducing the exposure of occupants and workers tothese substances2. Some examples of low-emitting materials are paints, coatings, adhesives, sealants, flooring, furniture, and insulation that meet the criteria of third-party certification programs such as Green Seal, Greenguard, or SCS3.