Guide to theLEED® Green Associate™

V4 Exam

GUIDE TO THE

LEED® GREEN

Associate™ V4 ExamMichelle Cottrell, LEED AP BD+C

Cover design: Wiley

Th is book is printed on acid-free paper.

Copyright © 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc. All rights reserved.

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey.Published simultaneously in Canada.

No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any formor by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, scanning, or otherwise, except aspermitted under Section 107 or 108 of the 1976 United States Copyright Act, without either the prior written permission of the Publisher, or authorization through payment of the appropriate per-copy feeto the Copyright Clearance Center, 222 Rosewood Drive, Danvers, MA 01923, (978) 750-8400, fax (978)646-8600, or on the web at www.copyright.com. Requests to the Publisher for permission should beaddressed to the Permissions Department, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030,(201) 748-6011, fax (201) 748-6008, or online at www.wiley.com/go/permissions.

Limit of Liability/Disclaimer of Warranty: While the publisher and author have used their best eff ortsin preparing this book, they make no representations or warranties with the respect to the accuracy or completeness of the contents of this book and specifi cally disclaim any implied warranties of merchantability or fi tness for a particular purpose. No warranty may be created or extended by sales representatives or written sales materials. Th e advice and strategies contained herein may not be suitable for your situation. You should consult with a professional where appropriate. Neither the publisher nor the author shall be liable for damages arising herefrom.

For general information about our other products and services, please contact our Customer CareDepartment within the United States at (800) 762-2974, outside the United States at (317) 572-3993 orfax (317) 572-4002.

Wiley publishes in a variety of print and electronic formats and by print-on-demand. Some material included with standard print versions of this book may not be included in e-books or in print-on-demand. If this book refers to media such as a CD or DVD that is not included in the version you purchased, you may download this material at http://booksupport.wiley.com. For more information about Wiley products, visit www.wiley.com.

LEED® and USGBC® are registered trademarks of the U.S. Green Building Council. Th e publisher is notaffi liated with the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) or the Green Building Certifi cation Institute™ (GBCI) and does not administer LEED Professional Exams™ or the LEED green building certifi cationprogram. Th e publisher does not claim any endorsement or recommendation of its products or services by USGBC or GBCI.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data:Cottrell, Michelle. [Guide to the LEED Green Associate Exam] Guide to the LEED Green Associate V4 Exam / Michelle Cottrell.—Second edition. pages cm—(Wiley series in sustainable design) Revised edition of: Guide to the LEED Green Associate Exam. Includes index. ISBN 978-1-118-87031-0 (paperback), ISBN 978-1-118-87024-2 (ebk), ISBN 978-1-118-87027-3 (ebk) 1. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design Green Building Rating System—Examinations—Study guides. 2. Sustainable construction—Examinations—Study guides. 3. Sustainable buildings—Design and construction. I. Title. TH880.C68 2014 720’.47076—dc23

2014025603Printed in the United States of America

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

v

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction xiii

PART I: RAMPING UP 1

CHAPTER 1 UNDERSTANDING THE CREDENTIALING PROCESS 3

The Tiers of the Credentialing Process 3LEED Green Associate 3LEED Accredited Professional with Specialty 4LEED Fellow 4LEED Professional Certifi catesTM 5

The Exam Registration Process 5

Register! 6

Schedule! 6

Why Earn LEED Credentials? 6

Quiz Time! 7

Online Resources 8

Notes 8

CHAPTER 2 INTRODUCTION TO THE CONCEPTS OF SUSTAINABLE DESIGN 9

The Benefi ts of Green Buildings 10Th e Triple Bottom Line 11

Systems Thinking 12Feedback Loops 12Leverage Points 13

Life‐Cycle Approach 13

Do Green Buildings Cost More? 15

Contents

vi CONTENTS

Quiz Time! 15

Notes 17

CHAPTER 3 INTEGRATIVE PROCESS 19

The Project Team Members 19

The Traditional Approach 20

The Integrative Approach to Design and Construction 21Discovery 21Design and Construction 24Occupancy, Operations, and Performance Feedback 26

Quiz Time! 27

Online Resources 28

Notes 29

CHAPTER 4 THIRD‐PARTY VERIFICATION 31

USGBC® and GBCI™ 31Roles and Responsibilities 32Th e Policies of USGBC and GBCI 32

Quiz Time! 34

Online Resources 36

Notes 36

CHAPTER 5 THE LEED GREEN BUILDINGCERTIFICATION PROGRAM 37

LEED for Building Design and Construction (BD+C) 38LEED for New Construction and Major RenovationsTM 38LEED for SchoolsTM 38LEED for HealthcareTM 39LEED for Core & ShellTM 39LEED for Retail: New ConstructionTM 40LEED for Data CentersTM 40LEED for Warehouses and Distribution CentersTM 40LEED for HospitalityTMy 40

LEED for Homes 40LEED for Homes: Homes and Multifamily LowriseTM and LEED forHOMES: Multifamily MidriseTM 40

LEED for Interior Design and Construction (ID+C) 41LEED for Commercial InteriorsTM 41

CONTENTS vii

LEED for Building Operations and Maintenance (O+M) 41LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance 41

LEED for Neighborhood Development (ND) 42LEED for Neighborhood Development: PlanTM and LEED forNeighborhood Development: Built ProjectTM 42

The Categories of LEED 42

Prerequisites and Credits 43Credit Weightings 45

Quiz Time! 45

Online Resources 48

Notes 49

CHAPTER 6 ESSENTIAL LEED® CONCEPTS 51

LEED‐Online 51

Minimum Program Requirements 52MPR 1. Must Be in a Permanent Location on Existing Land 52MPR 2. Must Use Reasonable LEED Boundaries 53MPR 3. Must Comply with Project Size Requirements 53Boundary Types 53

The Steps to Certifi cation 54Devising a LEED Work Plan 54Th e Certifi cation Process 55LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations & MaintenanceTM 57Th e Time Frames of Certifi cation Reviews 58

Special Projects 59

Quiz Time! 59

Online Resources 63

Notes 63

PART II: DIVING IN: THE STRATEGIES ANDTECHNOLOGIES OF LEED® 65

CHAPTER 7 LOCATION AND TRANSPORTATION 67

Location 67Strategies 69

Transportation 71Strategies 71Documenting Transportation Strategies 74

viii CONTENTS

Neighborhood Pattern and Design 75Strategies 76

Quiz Time! 77

Online Resources 80

Notes 80

CHAPTER 8 SUSTAINABLE SITES 81

Site Design and Management 82Strategies 82

Rainwater Management 86Strategies 86

Heat Island Effect 90Strategies 90

Quiz Time! 92

Online Resources 95

Notes 95

CHAPTER 9 WATER EFFICIENCY 97

Indoor Water Use 100Process Water 100Strategies 100

Outdoor Water 103Strategies 104

Quiz Time! 106

Online Resources 108

Notes 108

CHAPTER 10 ENERGY AND ATMOSPHERE 109

Commissioning 109

Minimum Energy Performance  110Process Energy versus Regulated Energy 111

Refrigerants 115

Existing Buildings 115

Strategies to Satisfy EA Prerequisites and Credits 115Energy Demand 116Energy Effi ciency 118Renewable Energy 124Ongoing Energy Performance 124

Quiz Time! 126

CONTENTS ix

Online Resources 129

Notes 130

CHAPTER 11 MATERIALS AND RESOURCES 131

Conservation of Materials 132Strategies 132

Environmentally Preferable Materials 133Strategies 137Calculating Green Building Products for LEED 138

Waste Management 142Strategies to Reduce Waste during Construction 143Strategies to Reduce Waste during Operations andMaintenance 144

Quiz Time! 145

Online Resources 150

Notes 150

CHAPTER 12 INDOOR ENVIRONMENTALQUALITY 151

Indoor Air Quality 152Strategies for Designing for Good IAQ 153Strategies for Improving IAQ during Construction 154Strategies for Improving IAQ during Operationsand Maintenance 154

Thermal Comfort 158Strategies 158

Lighting 160Strategies 162

Acoustics 162Strategies 162

Quiz Time! 164

Notes 168

CHAPTER 13 INNOVATION AND REGIONALPRIORITY 169

Innovation 169

Regional Priority 171

Quiz Time! 172

Online Resources 173

Notes 173

x CONTENTS

PART III: STUDY TIPS AND APPENDICES 175

CHAPTER 14 STUDY TIPS 177

Preparing for the LEED® Green Associate™ Exam:Week Seven 177

p g

Practice Exam Approach 178

The Testing Center Environment 178

Exam Structure 179When at the Testing Center 180Exam Scoring 180Aft er the Exam 181

Online Resources 181

APPENDIX A RATING SYSTEMS OVERVIEW 183

APPENDIX B MINIMUM PROGRAM REQUIREMENTS (MPRS) 185

Notes 186

APPENDIX C LEED® CERTIFICATION PROCESS 187

APPENDIX D MAIN CATEGORY SUMMARIES 189

APPENDIX E TRADE‐OFFS AND SYNERGIES 193

APPENDIX F SAMPLE LEED FOR NEW CONSTRUCTION™ SCORECARD 195

APPENDIX G SAMPLE CREDIT 197

SS Credit Open Space 1971 Point 197

Notes 197

APPENDIX H REFERENCED STANDARDS 199

APPENDIX I ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS 207

APPENDIX J ANSWERS TO QUIZ QUESTIONS 211

Notes 220

INDEX 221

SAMPLE FLASHCARDS

xi

Acknowledgments

To all my students and readers, thank you so much for all the feedback, sugges-tions, and insight for the second edition of this study guide. Your questions and eagerness to learn continues to inspire me.

I would like to thank each of the image contributors, as the exam prep series would not be the same without your added visual integrity. Each of you helped to maintain my excitement about the book, as the readers will appreciate as well. Preparing for the exam with the added help of your images will greatly help them to remember the strategies of the rating system.

Melissa Mayer, Editorial Assistant, at John Wiley & Sons—I enjoyed the opportunity to work with you and look forward to continuing my writing eff orts with Wiley. You were incredibly supportive and motivating—for that I cannot thank you enough. Amanda, Kerstin, Amy, and Nancy—your support during production has always made the process streamlined and enjoyable. Th ank you, Lisa Ryan at Stellar Searches, for helping me with yet another index!

A tremendous thank you to my family and friends for all of your support, motivation, interest, and patience. I really cannot thank you all enough!

Mom, thank you for taking care of Izzy while I was on the road, for always sending me home with your delicious meals, and for all the surprises aft er I fi n-ished each chapter.

Th is past year has been incredibly enlightening, as I am always on a quest to better myself and grow. I have been fortunate enough to reconnect with a very special person from my past who has not only been extremely supportive and motivating, but makes me strive even harder to meet my goals, both personally and professionally. Juan, this is just the beginning of our next chapter together. . . .

xiii

Introduction

Guide to the LEED ®Green Associate V4 Exam is the resource to prepare for theLeadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED ® ) Green Associate exam. Th is exam prep guide provides a road map to studying for the LEED Green Asso-ciate exam as administered by Green Building Certifi cation Institute (GBCI™). Guide to the LEED Green Associate V4 Exam is aimed at those professionals seekingknowledge about the basic knowledge and understanding that is required in order to pass the exam and earn the LEED Green Associate accreditation.

As a means to introduce myself, I am a LEED consultant and an education provider, focused on sustainable design and building operation concepts. I have traveled the country helping many students to prepare for the LEED Green Asso-ciate and LEED Accredited Professional (AP) exams. Th e LEED Green Associate class typically is a one‐day seminar and reviews all of the information as pre-sented in this book. During this class, I share my LEED project experiences and study tips in order to help make sense of this challenging information and present it in a logical format to help streamline the studying eff orts for my students. Th is book breaks down the diffi cult information to be retained into a coherent and straightforward approach, as compared to simply repeating what would be found in the study reference material outlined by GBCI.

EXAM PREP GUIDE STRUCTURE

Guide to the LEED Green Associate V4 Exam is organized into three parts as amethod to break down the information to comprehend. First, an introduction is needed to review the concepts and processes, in order to then understand the next part, the technologies and strategies to implement. Finally, the appen-dices include charts and diagrams summarizing the critical information, as well as other resources to narrow down the amount of information to be studied as preparation to sit for the LEED Green Associate exam. Th e composition of the book is as follows:

Part I: Ramping Up is composed of the following information: ■ Chapter 1 : Understanding the Credentialing Process ■ Chapter 2 : Introduction to the Concepts of Sustainable Design ■ Chapter 3 : Integrative Process ■ Chapter 4 : Th ird‐Party Verifi cation ■ Chapter 5 : Th e LEED Green Building Certifi cation Program ■ Chapter 6 : Essential LEED Concepts