LEED V4 ASK THE EXPERTS: INDOOR

ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY
The following questions were answered during the LEED v4 live
webinar even. Learn more and view the recorded event
Could you provide a com parison between the LEED 2009 and LEED v4
scorecards for IEQ?
The points between the LEED 2009 and LEED v4 rating systems are fairly similar for the IEQ
credit category. The number of prerequisites, with the exception of Healthcare, remained the
same for all rating systems but LEED v4 includes less credits because the credit requirements
were consolidated for several concepts including ventilation and source control, low-emitting
materials, thermal comfort, and lighting.
For New construction, the IEQ credit category has 15 possible points for LEED 2009
and 16 possible for LEED v4.
For Core and Shell, the IEQ credit category has 12 possible points for LEED 2009 and
10 possible for LEED v4.
For Schools, the IEQ credit category has 19 possible points for LEED 2009 and 16
possible for LEED v4.
For Healthcare, the IEQ credit category has 18 possible points for LEED 2009 and 16
possible for LEED v4.
For New Construction in Retail, LEED 2009 and LEED v4 both have 15 possible points.
For Commercial Interiors, LEED 2009 and LEED v4 both have 17 possible points.
For Commercial Interiors in Retail, the IEQ credit category has 17 possible points for
LEED 2009 and 16 possible for LEED v4.
For Operations and Maintenance, the IEQ credit category has 15 possible points for
LEED 2009 and 17 possible for LEED v4.
For the BD+C and ID+C rating systems, the lighting-related credits and Indoor air quality
assessment are worth more in LEED v4. Thermal comfort and low-emitting materials are
worth less. For O+M, the daylight and views credit is worth more in LEED v4.
The summary of changes from LEED v2009 to LEED v4 can be found here.

How did the HVAC-related requirem ents change from LEED 2009 to LEED v4?
The main changes for ventilation include:
Updated ASHRAE standard 62.1-2007 to ASHRAE standard 62.1-2010
For BD+C and ID+C projects, the Minimum Indoor Air Quality prerequisite now
includes the monitoring requirements previously included in the credit Outdoor Air
Delivery Monitoring.
Increased ventilation and source control strategies were consolidated into the new
Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies credit.
The main changes for thermal comfort include:

Updated ASHRAE Standard 55-2004 to ASHRAE Standard 55-2010

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Thermal comfort- verification is no longer included in the BD+C and ID+C rating
systems.
Thermal comfort design and controllability have been combined into one credit.

How are the Acoustic Performance requirements for New Construction projects
different than the Schools acoustics prerequisite and credit?
Both rating systems address acoustic design strategies to minimize HVAC background noise
and sound transmission, and to optimize reverberation time. The Schools rating system
includes the ANSI Standard S12.60-2010, which is a standard specific to classroom acoustics
while the New Construction and ID+C rating systems only reference the 2011 HVAC
Applications ASHRAE Handbook and AHRI Standard 885-2008. The Schools Minimum
acoustic performance prerequisite also includes requirements for exterior noise, which are not
addressed in the New Construction and ID+C rating systems.
The Acoustic Performance credit in the Healthcare rating system includes healthcare-specific
references: the 2010 FGI Guidelines for Design and Construction of Health Care Facilities and
the reference document on which it is based, Sound and Vibration Design Guidelines for
Health Care Facilities. The credit also addresses minimizing background noise and sound
transmission (sound isolation), and optimizing reverberation time (based on acoustical
finishes), in addition to speech privacy and site exterior noise.
For the Low -Em itting Materials credit, do you need to track the volum e of all
paints/coatings and adhesives/sealants products for com pliance with the
credit?
If pursuing Option 1. Product category calculations, if all paints and coatings comply with the
emissions criteria and the VOC content requirements, you do not need to track the volume of
paints and coatings used. Similarly, if all adhesives and sealants comply with the emissions
criteria and the VOC content requirements, you do not need to track the volume of adhesives
and sealants used. To use the VOC budget, as was required in LEED 2009, you would need to
track the volume used.
If pursuing Option 2. Budget calculation method, if all paints, coatings, adhesives, and
sealants comply with the emissions criteria and the VOC content requirements, you do not
need to track the volume used.
To use the VOC budget, you would need to track the volume used for all wet-applied
products. In addition, in all cases for Option 2, you do need to determine the surface area of
the product applied, based on the manufacturers documentation for application.
Note: the Low-Emitting materials calculator currently requires the volume to be entered in all
cases. We are currently updating the calculator to resolve this issue and hope to have a newer
version available in the next few months.

I'm familiar with outdoor BUG rating related to glare and trespass. How is
quality of light addressed for indoors?
We have one credit that addresses light for indoor spaces, the Interior Lighting credit. This
credit addresses lighting controllability for the occupants as well as many strategies to

address lighting quality, including light fixture luminance, color rendering index of the light
sources, lamp life, direct overhead lighting, and surface reflectance and surface illuminance.

Is mid lighting level 30 to 70 a fixed level or a dimming range?

With regards to Interior Lighting credit, Option 1. Lighting control, a fixed midlevel is
acceptable, dimming is not required. The fixed midlevel value must be between 30 and 70
percent of the maximum illumination level.

Do we need to send the data to USGBC from the installed outdoor m onitors?
For the LEED v4 BD+C and ID+C rating system, the Minimum Indoor Air Quality prerequisite
requires monitoring devices for the ventilation system. There is no requirement to send any
relevant, collected data to USGBC.

Has the example presented earlier regarding 75% reduction in allergy and
asthma rates been put into a report or case study that we can sh are with
clients?
More information on the LEED v4 Beta project mentioned, Lake Mills Elementary School, is
available here.

For EQ credit Quality views, the credit guidance for view type 3 "U nobstructed
views" states that the space qualifies if there are no perm anent interior
obstructions present in the area. If you have an office building with curtain
walls and colum ns present anywhere in occupied space within the distance of 3
tim es the vision glazing head, you could not com ply with the View Type 3?
Yes, in most cases if there are columns present in the regularly occupies space you would not
comply with view type 3 but depending on the size of the columns and their location, you
may be able to apply for a special exception.

Are there any changes in EQp1 specifically related to spaces that use both
natural and mechanical ventilation, when the kitchen area is in the cross over
area between natural and mechanical?
In LEED 2009, naturally ventilated spaces were not required to meet the exhaust ventilation
requirements in ASHRAE 62.1-2007 because of the lack of clarity in the ASHRAE standard.
For LEED v4, the referenced standard is ASHRAE 62.1-2010 which requires all kitchens to
have exhaust ventilation, even if they are naturally ventilated.

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W hy are VOC levels now being required for materials at the building exterior?
In the Low-Emitting Materials credit, Schools and Healthcare projects have an additional
requirement for exterior applied products. Exterior applied products were first required in the
LEED 2009 Healthcare rating system. These additional requirements are added for these
project types to minimize the risk of exposure for construction workers, staff, patients,
students, and the surrounding community. Because healthcare and schools construction
projects often involve expansions of existing, occupied buildings or new construction
adjacent to operating buildings, potential contamination of indoor air is a common problem.

Question about acoustic credit: the STC requirem ent for office/corridor seem s
onerous since these partitions are often glass and always have a doorway. It
also seems to hinder daylighting since glass office fronts and doors seldom
offer high STC. Sound-rated doors can be very costly in a project with
hundreds of offices. How are people approaching this?
Good question, we dont currently have a set of case studies/project examples for the new
Acoustics Performance credit but hopefully as more projects pursue LEED v4 we will build up
this information. There are potentially some tradeoffs between the Daylight and Quality views
credits and the Acoustic Performance credit.

For retail, can the no sm oking signage be in common areas a s opposed to

individual store entrances?
Potentially, it would depend on the layout of the retail complex, the location of the building
entrances, the content on the exterior smoking signage, and the smoking policy for the entire
complex.

Can you expand more on the GBCI LEED and W ELL Building institute
partnership and how it has influenced changes to LEED IEQ credits?
Due to the timing of when the LEED v4 rating system was developed and balloted, the LEED
v4 IEQ credits were not influenced by the WELL Building standard. The Green Business
Certification Inc. (GBCI) administers the LEED certification program as well as the WELL
Building certification. They are working to align the certification process where it is
appropriate to streamline the certification process for projects pursuing both LEED and
WELL. More information on GBCI and International Well Building Institute (IWBI)
collaboration is here. We think the WELL and LEED rating systems complement each other.
GBCI is working to align the certification process where it is appropriate to streamline the
certification process for projects pursuing both LEED and WELL. As you know, GBCI building
standards are also ever evolving through LEED (and WELL) professionals' feedback and
lessons learned so you can expect future revisions to the LEED IEQ credit category to
incorporate lessons learned and best practices from LEED and WELL projects.

Could you share the 12 LEED credits that overlap with W ELL?

The WELL Building Standard, available for download on the International WELL Building
Institute website, includes an appendix on the similarities between the WELL features and the
LEED v4 credits.

Ive run into several products that are inert because they are cementitious and
have no VOC. How can I dem onstrate this to GBCI and not have the product
rejected? For exam ple glass tiles are 100% inert and have no em itting
components.
The low-emitting materials credit allows products that are inherently nonemitting sources of
VOCs (stone, ceramic, powder-coated metals, plated or anodized metal, glass, concrete, clay
brick, and unfinished or untreated solid wood flooring) to be considered fully compliant with
the general emissions evaluation without any VOC emissions testing if they do not include
integral organic-based surface coatings, binders, or sealants. To demonstrate compliance for
these products to GBCI, include documentation confirming they do not contain integral
organic-based surface coatings, binders, or sealants.

For air filters used in dwelling units. Do we have alternate credits to high
MERV filters since they tend to have a large pressure drop for air handlers?
Option 1 of the Enhanced Indoor Air Quality Strategies credit requires MERV 13 (or Class F7)
filtration for mechanically ventilated projects. Option 2 may be pursued without Option 1 and
offers alternative indoor air quality options such as, exterior contamination prevention,
increased ventilation, carbon dioxide monitoring, and additional source control and
monitoring.

W hat happened with the credit Construction indoor air quality management
plan- before occupancy?
The credit was renamed to Indoor air quality assessment.

W ere there any changes to the construction indoor air quality management
plan- during construction credit in LEED v4?
Yes, the credit was renamed to Construction indoor air quality management plan, and you
must now prohibit use of tobacco products inside the building and within 25 feet of building
entrance during construction.

For daylight credit in O+M only the measurement requirement is allowed. W hy

were the other com pliance options rem oved?
LEED 2009 included simulation and prescriptive options but we found most O+M projects
were using the measurement option. The measurement option is more appropriate for the

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O+M rating system as it reflects existing conditions of the buildings and is performance rather
than design-based.