LEED certification
GreenBIM Engineering’s LEED consulting services supports you to achieve LEED Green Building goals and maximize the LEED score achievable for your project.
LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) rating systems are developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC). The USGBC is a balanced, consensus-based nonprofit organization with more than 18,000 member companies and organizations representing the entire building industry.
Green building practices can significantly reduce or eliminate negative environmental impacts through efficient, market-leading design, construction and operation practices. As an added benefit, green operations and management reduce operating costs, improve building marketability, increase worker productivity, and reduce potential liability resulting from indoor air quality issues.
For more information on the LEED rating system, read our full LEED introductory page here.
GreenBIM services for LEED certification
GreenBIM Engineering works with the project team to optimize credits selection, produce reports, verify on-site implementations and manage LEED online submission in order to achieve LEED certification with the highest possible level.
Phase 1 - Feasibility Study
Early stage, GreenBIM’s team establishes an early LEED diagnosis of the project based on the basic information received, preliminary drawings (if available) and site condition.
The consultant will perform a full review of the available documentation of the project, including drawings, equipment schedules and technical datasheets available.
The documentation review includes:
- General project information: project narrative, type of spaces anticipated, etc.
- Floor plans / layout drawings
- Lighting drawings and equipment schedule;
- Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) drawings and equipment schedule;
- Materials’ specification sheets for exterior walls, interior walls and glass;
- Previous environmental studies performed for the site (if any)
- Other documents (if needed)
Following the documentation review, the consultant will establish a diagnosis of the project. This diagnosis will provide clarifications about project capability to achieve LEED credits and prerequisites. If needed, the consultant will propose alternatives to meet the level of certification and advice if the project could potentially go beyond to achieve a higher level of certification.
GreenBIM’s team will provide sustainable design kick-off documentation to all relevant members of project team involved in the project Design. The objective of the documentation is to present the LEED scorecard, to define LEED credit requirements, and the solutions to be considered by the Design team to meet LEED requirements.
The kick-off documentation allows to provide a general understanding of LEED to the local project team. GreenBIM Engineering will then support the design team and the client to integrate retained LEED requirements into the projects specifications and design documentations.
The consultant will perform a full review of the available documentation of the project, including drawings, equipment schedules and technical datasheets available.
The documentation review includes:
- General project information: project narrative, type of spaces anticipated, etc.
- Floor plans / layout drawings
- Lighting drawings and equipment schedule;
- Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) drawings and equipment schedule;
- Materials’ specification sheets for exterior walls, interior walls and glass;
- Previous environmental studies performed for the site (if any)
- Other documents (if needed)
Following the documentation review, the consultant will establish a diagnosis of the project. This diagnosis will provide clarifications about project capability to achieve LEED credits and prerequisites. If needed, the consultant will propose alternatives to meet the level of certification and advice if the project could potentially go beyond to achieve a higher level of certification.
The consultant will prepare a LEED scorecard with attempted credits & prerequisites.
Following the detailed documentation review and the analysis each LEED credit’s achievability, the consultant establishes a target LEED scorecard and an action plan to achieve the desired level of Certification.
Phase 2 – LEED Design Phase services
Phase 3 - Energy Modeling and Daylight simulation
The process of LEED energy modeling and its iterations consists of:
- Documentation review of all relevant design drawings for the project
- Creation of a 3D model on Autodesk Revit for the whole building according to architectural drawings.
- Definition of spaces (type, schedule, number of occupants, lighting power density, equipment power density) and thermal zones (heating and cooling set points, outdoor air requirements, etc.).
- Definition of building envelope thermal characteristics (windows, exterior walls, roof, etc.)
- Whole building energy simulation on DesignBuilder v7 in compliance with LEED EA prerequisite “Minimum Energy Performance” and EA credit “Optimize Energy Performance”.
- Proposed Model: The consultant will create a design case building model that represents the current design. This case is built according to the project’s design documents (architectural, electrical, HVAC, process equipment). It establishes a base on which the consultant and the project team can evaluate building performance of current design and alternative energy saving strategies. This model simulates the architectural, mechanical, lighting and electrical design of the project on an hourly basis (8,760 hours per year) based on local weather data and utility rates.
- Baseline Model: The consultant will build a baseline case according to the specifications of ASHRAE 90.1-2010 for the appropriate building type and then determines the annual energy cost of baseline. To achieve LEED for New Construction v4, the applicant project must be designed such that its total annual energy cost is 5% lower than the baseline case. LEED for New Construction (NC) v4 provides up to 18 points for the EA credit “Optimize Energy Performance” depending on the extent to which the applicant projected annual energy cost is reduced in comparison with the baseline case.
The consultant will perform a daylight simulation compliant with EQ credit “Daylight”, Option 2 “Simulation: Illuminance calculations”. The model will need to demonstrate that 75% or more of all regularly occupied spaces achieve daylight will be between 300 lux and 3,000 lux for 9 a.m. and 3 p.m., both on a clear-sky day at the equinox.
Calculations will be performed as follow:
- Using typical meteorological year data, or an equivalent, for the nearest available weather station.
- Selecting one day within 15 days of September 21 and one day within 15 days of March 21 that represent the clearest sky condition.
- Using the average of the hourly value for the two selected days.
Phase 4 – LEED Construction phase services
Phase 5 - LEED submittals preparation and submission
When clarifications need to be provided for cases specific to the project and subject to interpretation, GreenBIM’s team issue Credit Interpretation Rulings (CIR) to the GBCI in otder to clarify the achievability of specific credits of prerequisites to the project.
GreenBIM’s team submits all the LEED design credits documentation prepared and submit on LEEDonline the USGBC’ Design Phase Review.
If needed, GreenBIM ‘s team is responsible for clarification to the USGBC’s reviewer until validation of the design phase.
GreenBIM’s team submits all the LEED construction credits documentation prepared and submit on LEEDonline the USGBC’ Construction Phase Review.
The consultant is responsible for clarification to the USGBC’s reviewer until validation of the construction phase.
Phase 2 – LEED Design Phase services
During the design progress, GreenBIM’s team review the updated drawings until finalization in order to assess and validate the compliance for LEED certification.
Once the detailed design and drawings are issued, GreenBIM’s team performs a final assessment of the compliance with LEED requirements and goals established for each credit and prerequisite.
If issues arise during the design due to budget or other constraints, GreenBIM’s team works to find alternative solutions / LEED credits to target in order to meet the desired LEED certification level.
GreenBIM performs a review of the whole as-built documentation package, that will be used to create the LEED submittals documentation.
Phase 4 – LEED Construction phase services
Before construction starts and once final drawings are issued, GreenBIM shares the documentation required for all stakeholders to be informed of the LEED requirements ahead of the construction start.
GreenBIM provides the project teams and contractors with the construction process plans including LEED Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) management plans, LEED Construction Waste Management Plans.
For projects targeting materials-related credits, GreenBIM’s team review the materials product cutsheets provided by the contractors to ensure LEED compliance.
For more informations about the LEED requirements and credits, visit their website here.
