Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) is a paradigm for producing more environmentally friendly structures (LEED). LEED accreditation encourages the design of structures that are not just environmentally friendly and energy-efficient and also suitable for residents. It is a set of regulations for designers and architects that is always changing.

What are green building rating systems? 

They are basically reference tools or a set of rating systems, that are used to assess a structure or building’s impact on the environment, it’s performance, and sustainability. LEED is the best building rating system there is.

It is the most widely used green building rating in the world. Available and functional for every type of building there is, it creates a framework for creating highly efficient, effective, durable, healthy and cost- saving green buildings that will offer social and environmental benefits to achieve more sustainability in design.

Even though it is difficult to evaluate how much the LEED program has accomplished its sustainability goals, its influence on the building industry cannot be overstated due to its environmentally sensitive requirements.

Tens of thousands of buildings throughout the world have received LEED certification, and it has developed into a standard for the design and construction of eco-friendly homes and buildings. It also acts as a badge of honor for the groups who achieve it.

LEED

LEED stands for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) created this voluntary rating system in 1998 to evaluate and certify the sustainability of newly constructed and future buildings, as well as the areas around them.

This widely used rating system changes as greener, more energy-efficient building techniques appear and as the social and environmental effects of construction projects are better recognized.

The most recent LEED version is v4. It reaffirms the importance of decreasing energy demand both before and after project completion and takes into account how structures like homes and buildings can help nearby communities and the earth as a whole.

LEED Certification

You might have questioned what the round LEED plaque that is displayed on the sides of some buildings symbolizes. This plaque displays the structure’s LEED certification, which the Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) grants to structures that meet or surpass specific environmental standards. LEED certification is attainable for a wide range of construction types, including residences, schools, malls, and commercial structures.

In general, structures that have earned an LEED certification were designed with energy efficiency in mind. However, because the GBCI awards certification based on a sophisticated and credit-based rating system, buildings can pursue any number of a wide range of sustainability goals.

An LEED-certified building, for instance, can gain points for its water-efficient design. It can be built with environmentally friendly materials, or it might be placed close to a public transportation hub to lessen the need for private vehicles. LEED accreditation supports building initiatives that integrate well with the local ecology or take measures to protect wildlife and biodiversity.

In addition to promoting the bare necessities for a building’s occupants, the LEED rating system pushes designers and architects to make structures that reduce particular dangers that could otherwise be disregarded or missed. By utilizing bird-safe patterned glass and other design elements, a credit for decreasing bird mortality near high-rise buildings has recently been added to the LEED grading system.

A building’s overall sustainability is influenced by these elements as well as more visible ones as location, waste, light, water, materials, energy, and environmental effect. Each is taken into consideration while rating the design of a structure.

Green Buildings

The concept of “green building” is broad and starts with the understanding that the construction industry can have a substantial impact on the local environment and the residents who live there every day, both positively and negatively.

Green building seeks to maximize positive effects while minimizing negative ones across the course of a structure’s whole life cycle. The traditional building design goals of cost, utility, strength, and comfort are actually advanced by it. Project teams now have a stronger framework for including the three pillars of sustainability (people, planet, and prosperity) in their work as a result of the scope’s expansion.

The traditional building design considerations of economy, usefulness, durability, and comfort are expanded upon and complemented by the green building practice. In addition to maximizing resource conservation throughout the building’s lifespan, green building also refers to environmental protection and pollution reduction, enabling occupants to make use of space in a healthy, comfortable, and effective manner, and fostering a harmonious relationship between humans and the natural world. Low consumption, high efficiency, economics, environmental protection, integration, and optimization are the main goals of green building technology.

Importance of Green buildings

Building sustainably has several advantages, including those that are social, economic, and environmental. On the other hand, contemporary sustainability programs demand an integrated and synergistic design for both new construction and the renovation of old facilities. This method, sometimes referred to as sustainable design, incorporates each green practice used with a design goal into the building life cycle, resulting in a synergy between the practices. Some of the benefits of green buildings include:

Energy Efficiency

In green buildings, energy-saving techniques are routinely applied. This comprises embodied energy, which is used to extract, process, transport, and install construction materials, as well as operating energy, which is used to provide services like heating and power for equipment.

High-performance buildings use less operating energy as a result, making embodied energy considerably more significant. It could make up as much as 30% of the total energy used throughout the life cycle.

To minimize operating energy consumption, designers include features that reduce air leakage via the building envelope (the barrier between conditioned and unconditioned space). They also demand high-performance windows and more insulation for the floors, walls, and ceilings. Passive solar building design is a typical strategy utilized in low-energy dwellings.

Designers orient windows and walls, and they place awnings, porches, and trees in order to shade windows and roofs in the summer while optimizing solar gain in the winter. Additionally, strategically placed windows can improve natural light and decrease the need for artificial lighting during the day. Solar water heating further reduces energy expenditures.

Water Efficiency

Key goals of sustainable building include lowering water usage and preserving water quality. One serious problem with water use is that, in many places, the aquifer that supplies the water cannot keep up with the demand. Facilities should rely more on water that is gathered, used, filtered, and reused on-site as much as is practical. Designing for dual plumbing that reuses water for toilet flushing or using water for car washing can help safeguard and conserve water over the life of a building. By using water-saving devices like low-flow showerheads and ultra-low flush toilets, waste water can be reduced.

Materials Efficiency

In place of common building materials with high levels of energy consumption and carbon/harmful emissions, materials with reduced embodied energy can be utilized. Slag, production waste, and aggregates can be used to replace typical concrete mixes in high performance self-healing concrete, while alternatives with reduced pollutive waste yields also entertain the idea of upcycling.

Comparing embodied energy can also be used to determine the effectiveness of different building materials. If produced sustainably, wood emits less CO2 than concrete and steel manufacture, just as steel production may be made more sustainably by technological advancements (such as EAF) and energy recycling/carbon capture.

The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) also advises employing recycled industrial items in construction projects, including foundry sand, coal combustion products, and demolition waste.

Provision of Sufficient Ventilation

Indoor air quality aims to reduce volatile organic compounds (VOCs), also known as air pollutants like microbiological contaminants. During the design and construction phases, using building materials and interior decoration products having zero or low VOC emissions will improve IAQ. The majority of maintenance and cleaning items as well as building supplies emit gases, some of which are hazardous. These gases may have a negative impact on occupants’ productivity, comfort, and health. By avoiding these materials, a building’s IEQ will increase.

Waste Reduction

Green design also aims to use less water, energy, and material waste. One of the construction’s goals should be to reduce the quantity of waste that ends up in landfills. Well-designed buildings also aid in minimizing the amount of waste generated by the residents by offering on-site alternatives like compost bins to minimize the amount of garbage going to landfills.

When a building reaches the end of its useful life, it is frequently demolished and dumped in a landfill. Gathering things that are normally viewed as “waste” and reclaiming them as useful building materials is a technique called deconstruction.

LEED Ratings System For Green Buildings

The LEED certification ratings system awards four grades based on the overall sustainability of a building, with points starting at 40 and going up to a maximum of 110. The degree of accreditation attained by a building increases as more points are earned.

The four LEED certification levels are:

40-49 points: Certified

50-59 points: Silver Certification

60-70 points: Gold Certification

>80 points: Platinum Certification

Point system for LEED Certification 

A building’s planning stage must first satisfy the precondition requirements for its specific building type in order for it to receive any kind of LEED certification. All buildings must comply with these fundamental standards before certification can even start.

The designer of a building can select the credits they want to work toward and the LEED certification level they want to aim for once the prerequisites have been satisfied. The USGBC compiles hundreds of possible credits across nine impact areas in its online LEED credit library.

The categories for LEED credits are:

• Integrative Approach

• Place and mode of transportation

• Sustainable locations

• Water conservation

• Environment and energy

• Resources and materials

• Environmental conditions indoors

• Regional priorities and innovation

Some of these credits are worth more points than others when they are converted into points. For instance, a building could obtain points under the Location and Transportation category if bicycle facilities were installed within 200 feet of the main entrance, electric vehicle charging stations were installed in at least 5% of parking spaces, and the building was close to public transportation (up to six points depending on service frequency).

Importance of LEED Certification

Apart from the obvious benefits of designing buildings in ways that are sustainable and that minimize the impact of the built environment on the natural world, LEED certification is heralded as a badge of honor for most organizations. 

An LEED plaque on display is not just proof of having constructed an energy-efficient and eco-conscious headquarters. LEED certification indicates a company’s broader attitude toward environmental, social, and governance concerns. As sustainability becomes a bigger priority for workers, investors, and employers, being seen as green gives companies an advantage when it comes to hiring new talent, increasing brand awareness, and driving investment.

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