Adding up Points for LEED - a numbers game for SIPs

The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) has established a national benchmark for rating building performance and implementing green measures. It's known as LEED, which stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. A building rated under LEED, usually overseen by a LEED AP (Accredited Professional), has been exceptionally designed and is certified and proven to meet high environmental and energy standards above the normal jurisdictional codes and regulations of life, safety and energy efficiency. Each project is third party inspected, painstakingly documented and further reviewed by USGBC representatives.

The requirements are many and have been broken up into 5 major categories:

• Sustainable Sites (SS)
• Water Efficiency (WE)
• Energy & Atmosphere (EA)
• Materials & Resources (MR)
• Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ)

There are minimum requirements that must be achieved in each of the five categories called prerequisites. These all must be met in order to be rated, and careful review is highly suggested before setting out to design and build a LEED rated project. Certification (26-32 total points) is often times very easy to reach with only minor modifications to the design specifications and common sense attention to construction procedures. Additional measures must be implemented to achieve the next highest level of Silver (33-38 total points). There is then Gold (39-51 total points), and the highest and most difficult rating level; Platinum (52-69 total points).

Structural Insulated Panels, or SIPs, is a product that is becoming more popular with it's high energy saving potential and value in construction material and labor costs. A common marketing trend is to promote the many points that are achievable by using said product, and the common adage Caveat Emptor still applies. Keep in mind that the USGBC never has, and never will, promote a particular brand of product, but will endorse a building method or application, such as SIPs.

When rating a particular product that will be implemented into a building application being constructed for LEED credits, we have to consider two points of view that I refer to as Direct Application, or Indirect Application.

Direct Application is the ability to achieve points by just the very utilization of the product based on the manufacturer's specifications, spelling out in detail, the particular requirement for that application. For instance, a toilet that uses 0.8 gallons of water will help to meet the Water Efficiency 3.1 requirement based on the specs. Of course, additional calculations must be compiled to include all the plumbing fixtures, but just the implementation of these water efficient fixtures will help to meet the requirement.

Indirect Application is the ability to achieve points based on the performance and further testing, or modeling of the particular building system or application. For instance, the energy saving quality of insulation will not be achieved unless it is installed properly and furthermore, tested and inspected after installation. At which time, the requested point/points will be achieved. This testing requirement is why LEED has earned the reputation of the premier building rating system and has brought higher values to projects that are rated LEED. It is also why it is highly criticized.

SIPs are a good example of a product which will achieve a certain amount of credits based entirely on it's composition (Direct Application) and, also can be very beneficial in helping to achieve many more credits if applied correctly and based on it's performance (Indirect Application). The following is a breakdown of how SIPs can earn credits in a typical commercial project under the New Construction (NC) LEED heading.

Direct Application:

• MR4.1 - Recycled Content - Based on cost and 10% (min) of the total value of all material used. 1 Point
• MR4.2 - Recycled Content - Based on cost and 20% (min) of the total value of all material used. 1 Point
• MR5.1 - Regional Materials - Based on cost and 10% (min) of the total value of material. 1 Point
• MR5.2 - Regional Materials - Based on cost and 20% (min) of the total value of material. 1 Point
• MR6 - Rapidly Renewable Material - Based on cost and 2.5% (min) of the total value of all materials and products. 1 Point
• MR7 - Certified Wood - Based on 50% (min) of all wood must be Forest Stewardship Council Certified. 1 Point
• EQ3.2 - Air Quality Testing - Based on Formaldehyde and other contaminants not found prior to occupancy. 1 Point
• EQ4.1 - Low Emitting Materials in Adhesives & Sealants - Based on field applied mastic with zero VOCs. 1 Point
• EQ4.4 - Low Emitting Materials in Composite Wood & Agrifiber Products - Based on no added urea-formaldehyde. 1 Point

Indirect Application:

• EA1 - Optimized Energy Performance - Based on energy cost savings & building performance. 10 Points
• EA2 - On-Site Renewable Energy - Based on high energy efficiency and utilizing renewables to generate 12.5% (min) of energy need. 3 Points
• EA5 - Measurement & Verification - Based on implementing a plan to monitor energy efficiency. 1 Point
• MR2.1 - Construction Waste Mgmt - Based on diverting 50% (min) from landfills. 1 point
• MR2.2 - Construction Waste Mgmt - Based on diverting 75% (min) from landfills. 1 point
• EQ7.1 - Thermal Comfort - Based on design of building envelope and HVAC to meet high standard. 1 Point
• EQ7.2 - Thermal Comfort - Based on performance of building envelope and HVAC to meet high standard over time. 1 Point
• ID2 - LEED Accredited Professional - Based on the utilization of a LEED AP on project team. 1 Point

Total LEED credit potential utilizing SIPs: 28 Points

Every project has the potential to be LEED Certified and utilizing SIPs will aid in this endeavor, however, common sense is the key and when it comes to finding LEED credits, creativity is the name of the game.