LEED

I have decided to answer a question here that's a little difficult to answer off the cuff.

I am writing an exam this week to become LEED certified, which means nothing to people outside the building industry...yet. It is gaining more and more awareness, though, and I believe that it will become common knowledge in the next few years.

The first question to answer is "What does LEED mean?"

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.

This is a program first developed in the States, and has been re-developed to suit the Canadian context. It is a point based system whereby buildings can be designed and built to a higher level of energy efficiency and to be less environmentally impactful...both during construction and during their operational lifetime. The more points a building achieves, the higher rating it gets.

Some samples of the points that a building can achieve are (there are a total of 70 points available):

Site Selection: Avoid development of inappropriate sites and reduce the environmental impact from the location of a building on a site.

Construction Waste Management - Divert 50% From Landfill: Divert construction, demolition and land clearing debris from landfill disposal.

Ventilation Effectiveness: Provide for the effective delivery and mixing of supply air to support the safety, comfort and well-being of occupants.


Why are you getting LEED certified?

There are a few reasons.
1. I believe that this is going to be mainstream soon, and clients are going to expect designers to have the required level of knowledge to design their buildings a level of certification. By being certified, it says "I know what we need to do to get you what you want."

2. It jives with my hippy sensibilities.

3. I get to put the letters LEED-AP behind my name.


Why do clients want to do this?

That is a good question. It isn't mandatory right now, though it is in some states. It costs extra money up front. There is no immediate monetary incentive.

There have been studies to show that over the life-cycle of the building, say 50-100 years, that introducing energy-efficient features now, will have a turn around time for pay-back that is much shorter than the life-cycle of the building. Therefore it saves money in the long-term.
Plus, it looks good for some organizations to say they've built their building to a higher standard.


So, I write my certification exam in a few days. I've been studying for it for about 4 months, off and on. There is a ton of information to know, so I have no idea if I am prepared or not. It's not cheap to write this exam, but so long as I pass it, the firm I work for will pay for it.

Wish me luck.