LEED Certification

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Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design I worked on a portion of a building with such certifications and rules to follow. The project was different in many ways yet same old construction. It utilized geothermal well points to exchange heating and cooling with heat pumps, I don,t think there were even any boilers for heating. Exhaust and intake air was exchanged through heat wheel type system. energy efficient lighting with light sensors for rows next to windows which would switch off lights when the lumen set point was reached. Parking lot lighting, metal halide, which incorporated motion sensors to switch the heads from low light level to high light level when sensor was activated. Construction cardboard had to be recycled, you know everything comes in a box. Motion sensors in bathrooms for lights and sinks. Dual flush capacitices for toilets, up for one and down for two.
 
A lot of planning goes into these buidings from start to finish. My daughter just got done giving the news to a builder that his painter had used the wrong type of paint to have a building certified. She hasn't told any horror stories about electricians but insulators and HVAC contractors have been mentioned.
 
Does it make sense for a journeman electrician to get leed certified in an effort to advance ones career? I would think it makes sense for an EC to be leed certified but are there any benefits from having the emloyees certified?
 
buddhakii said:
Does it make sense for a journeman electrician to get leed certified in an effort to advance ones career? I would think it makes sense for an EC to be leed certified but are there any benefits from having the emloyees certified?
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For the the EC well sure thats a Resume' stuffer for sure. Required, well if you live in a green neighborhood? Well the peer pressure might be the cause and the effect here. If you can afford to get it, go for it, your employee's need to be informed and aware of it. Here's my take on it.

The Owner and the Designer have to apply from the beginning to get the project LEED quailified,
then they get it certified, via inspections ( I think thats right )

With New construction its just spec'd or designed in, (just install this)
frankly its almost a no brainer. In this case it'd be a just a high end install.

In refit /upfit (whatever), it's also usually spec'd., you'll have to state here's why your using this,
doing that, IE back to you'd have to make your employee's attentive.

LEED is not "code minimum" its usually "grand maximum"!
There will be more applications for all trades, ie more of everything,
better install of materals and usually a greater everything. It frankly doesn't effect us electrically other than install more sensors/dimmers or sudo smarter circuitry.

To gain an LEED certification the guide lines are set (as stated above- but not just limited to what was listed) there is usually is alot of the things that are not left untouched as to the big picture.

This stuff /project is inspected and the company thats doing the inspection is qualified to do the inspection.
 
I'm taking my LEED exam this afternoon. I think it makes more sense for engineers and architects to become certified. Most of the requirements are more design related than construction related. The ones that are construction related don't tend to be electrical. For example, recycling waste materials, using low emitting woods and paints, etc.

Here is a checklist of some of the credits and requirements needed for new construction (there are other LEED rating systems for existing buildings and other things.)

http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=3998
 
meeting the LEED requirements drive up the construction cost and all the owner gets is a plaque. In my opinion, it's a waste of money for the plaque.
 
I think its a great certification to possess. It can only help you in your career and the test was very difficult, Or in my opinion it was.. I used diff resources but Clean Edison worked the best for me to pass the exam. They had private tutors as well
 
I took the and passed the LEED exam in December. If you are in the field, I wouldn't see a need for it. However, if you are in the office as an estimator or PM, it will come in handy, especially on design build projects. I took the New Construction version. After March 31, you can no longer take the traditional format. LEED is switching over to three certification levels at that time.
 
I've just passed my exam this past Saturday...All I can say is I'm glad that is over. If anyone is planning on going for this...Mar 31, 2009 is the cut off for the current LEED standards...I believe they will re-vamp the whole accreditation in the next revision.

I'm also involved in a project going for LEED certification...and I'm having the most difficult time with one of the credits...
 
ron,

For the current format, I used an exam-prep website that had multiple practice exams. It really helped me to get an idea of what the test makers are looking for. There was quite a bit of memorization involved, combined with thinking about how different aspects of the design process affect other aspects. It is not something you can drop in an ace without preparation, but it is not extremely difficult either.

LEED accreditation is definitely more beneficial for those on the design side, but those in the field need to know what's allowed in terms of materials, etc, so it can't hurt.
 
ron said:
legato,
Any incite into the best stuff to study with the current format?
Do you have to memorize how many points for different items? Or it is a thinking type of exam.
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Hi,

I recommend at least reading the v2.2 guide, skimming the usgb and gbci websites as they ask some questions pertaining to info there...
Lastly and most importantly, I took practice exams upon practice exams...

The site that has some great practice exams are:
https://www.greenexamprep.com/user_account/login.php

I suggest knowing all Ashrae standards and be very familiar with all credits and their requirements. The site above is a pay site, but I think it is well worth the small investment.

Hope this helps!
 
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