LEED Certification. Free Help, questions and guide to those seeking certification.
LEED Green Associate
This rating system is applicable to new construction designed for, but not
limited to, commercial and institutional projects such as government buildings,
office buildings, laboratories, and high-rise residential buildings.
Free 7 Page LEED GA
Credit Submittals Study Cheat Sheet
Free 17 Page Detailed LEED GA
Credit Study Guide
Free 20 High Probability LEED GA
Questions
Preview
SS P1: Construction Activity Pollution Prevention
a) Project drawings documenting erosion and sedimentation control measures.
b) Provide compliance path (NPDES compliance or local Erosion Control
Standards).
c) Erosion and Sedimentation control narrative.
SS C1: Site Selection
a) Confirm that the project site does not meet any of the prohibited criteria
and note special circumstances.
SS C2: Development Density & Community Connectivity
Development Density
a) Site plan showing project site and surrounding sites and buildings.
b) Project site and building area.
c) List site and building areas within the density radius.
Community Connectivity
a) Site plan showing project site and the locations of the community services
within a 1/2 mile radius.
b) Project site and building area.
c) List of community services within the 1/2 mile radius.
Preview:
Green Construction LEED Certification
Green construction is something increasingly deemed worthy of recognition by society in the form of various programs and incentives to encourage green construction practices and products. The desire to reward green projects implies a need to track them. And that has led to the creation of new monitoring and counting systems in the form of certifications and accreditations. Armed with those forms of recognition, government agencies as well as private stakeholders are able to offer rewards and incentives both for projects that involve public funding and for private projects that may be subject to local permitting, compliance or other regulatory or community oversight. The most robust and rapidly growing program that captures at least some significant portion of green building activity is the LEED certification program administered by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). USGBC is a private, nonprofit organization with a mission to "...promote buildings that are environmentally responsible, profitable and healthy places to live and work." To accomplish this, the LEED program creates a protocol by which builders can qualify for credits ultimately toward some level of LEED certification.
LEED Programs
That certification is then - hopefully and increasingly - recognized by local, state or federal government and then rewarded in some way - typically through tax breaks, rebates, grants, expedited permitting and other such incentives. Not only does the LEED program provide yet another tool for measuring green building activity but it is particularly useful for our specific purposes. Unlike market segmentation and forecasting based essentially on attempts to measure the revenues earned by the various manufacturers and suppliers of green building materials, an analysis of LEED programs and projects can point more directly to opportunities for green builders and material suppliers. While traditional segmentation and "sell side" revenue counting is important for identifying and quantifying market values and trends in specific market segments, such information doesn't tell us enough about where specific sales opportunities are likely to be found.
LEED Certified?
This is especially true in a rapidly growing market where virtually all
observers agree that sufficient opportunity exists in virtually every market
segment and that the incentives for participating in the market are already
quite clear. In such a market, green builders, manufacturers and investors are
less concerned with issues of market share or competitive position and instead
tend to be focused on precisely where to point their sales and marketing
resources. For these reasons, this report takes a project perspective that
focuses on the "buy side" of the market where sales can be pursued and realized.
There is no better barometer of
the "buy side" of the market than USGBC's LEED data. But exactly how good is it?
While it is clear that the LEED program is the leading tool for recognizing
green building activity, it is less clear exactly how much of the total green
building materials market is accounted for by LEED projects. Surely there are
many green building projects that never apply for or receive LEED certification.
SBI estimates that the USGBC will certify close to 4,000 projects in 2007. With
estimates of the total green building market starting at approximately $20
billion in 2006, and LEED-certified projects representing a green building
materials value of approximately $15 billion, LEED projects would appear to
account for approximately 75% of total green building revenues.
Sample Questions
The city is transforming a 30,000 square foot timber frame warehouse into a
multi-use structure including an extra 50,000 square feet to promote urban
development. The total 80,000 square foot structure will be built on a
zero-lot-line and the design will continue to use the warehouse, use energy
efficient windows produced in a city 250 miles away instead of single pane
glazing, and they will use reclaimed wood floors given to the project by a
nearby company. Considering all of this, which of the following credits may this
project’s LEED certification application be eligible for?
A. SS Credit 5.1, Site Development: Protect or Restore Habitat
B. MR Credit 1.1, Building Reuse
C. MR Credit 5, Regional Materials
D. MR Credit 4.1, Recycled Content
E. MR Credit 3, Materials Reuse
Answer:
B, C, E
Which of the following is the kind of information that is necessary for a
project to be counted as a Brownfield site?
A. Declaration from the EPA office or from state agency
B. Declaration from the former owner
C. Declaration from the local real estate commission
D. EPA declaration only
Answer:
A
By choosing to consolidate the building footprint and install underground
parking, a project team may be helping the project become eligible for which of
the following credits?
A. EA Credit 3, Enhancing Commissioning
B. SS Credit 4.4, Alternative Transportation: Parking Capacity
C. SS Credit 6.1, Stormwater Design: Quantity Control
D. SS Credit 7.1, Heat Island Effect: Non-Roof
Answer:
C, D
In order to be eligible for MR Credit 7, Certified Wood, which of these
materials could be used?
A. Green-e certified wood
B. Oikos certified wood
C. FSC certified wood
D. GreenSpec certified wood
Answer:
C
Out of the credits listed below, which one(s) considers a Full-Time Equivalent
(FTE) factor during its calculations?
A. EQ Credit 6.1, Controllability of Systems
B. EQ Credit 8.2, Daylight & Views
C. WE Credit 3.1, Water Use Reduction
D. SS Credit 4.3, Alternative Transportation
E. SS Credit 4.1, Alternative Transportation
F. Exemplary performance ID credit for WE Credit 3, Water Use Reduction
Answer:
C, D, F
Which of these is the person(s) responsible for the final decision regarding MR
Credit 5.1, Regional Materials?
A. Architects
B. Owner-Developer
C. Contractors
D. Engineers
Answer: C
Which of the following is necessary for a fuel-efficient vehicle to satisfy in
order to be eligible for SS Credit 4.3, Alternative Transportation: Low-Emission
& Fuel-Efficient Vehicles?
A. Green score of 40 or more
B. Green-e score of 25 or more
C. Green Label score of 30 or more
D. Green Seal score of 30 or more
E. Green Label score of 40 or more
Answer:
A
15 Comments
sdhi
January 15th, 2009
Thanks for that
finally i got the rating stuff
F. Hope
January 17th, 2009
I used it along with the greenexamprep tests as well as glanced at intheleed.com. All these used together should be more than enough to pass the test. Provided you truly understand the reference guide above all else!Hope this helps.
ryaddn
January 18th, 2009
thanks! that was easy enough!
boceha
January 20th, 2009
Thank you!
bochfsda
January 20th, 2009
Is natural gas fired cogen system at
site not considered a renewable energy
system
It is bio fuel only!!!.
Please help.
brentAP
January 22nd, 2009
Does anyone knows wheter adding task light allow designers to reduce the ASHRAE footcandle requirement in the room? Credit EQ6.1 also allows non-permanent wired task lighting too.Keep up the great work!
samuytel
January 22nd, 2009
Read the Reference Manual, but skip the 'Considerations' and 'Additional Resources' section of each chapter. There are no exam questions on this information.Also, don't waste time with the majority of the CO study guide, ESPECIALLY the sample exam. It is too subjective, and not very representative of the exam questions. The helpful parts of the CO guide are the info on 'LEED Process' (very important for test), and the summary table that concisely shows each chapter with it's referenced standards. Memorize that.
Now before anyone gets offended by these suggestions, I will add that if you have the time and inclination to dive into all the fine details, more power to you. But if you are a busy Architect (or Engineer like me), it is possible to do a crash course and score well. I spent 2 weeks and scored 196 with 100%, 100%, 96%, 89%.
bengineertop
January 23rd, 2009
I'm having a hard time finding
examples or a good explanation of the MR
4.1 and 4.2 credits
10% (post consumer +1/2 pre-consumer)
I get the ten % of the cost of building
materials, but I dont get the 1/2
pre-consumer.
Are they saying whatever
material/product has to be comprised of
only be 1/2 pre-consumer and whatever
post consumer?
What if there is no post consumer in the
product is that possible?
Can you give me some products and
examples.
Thank You
LEEDhelper
January 23rd, 2009
Do we need to memorise the individual sections from 5.4-10.4 & 5.5-9.5 of ASHRAE/IESNA standard 90.1-2004 described in pre req 2 of EA? and also different sections of ASHRAE FROM SECTION 5-10.How important are they?
Rightsworth
January 23rd, 2009
Major support was
http://www.leedappractice.com (it
was excellent in fact). Just memorize
the helpful charts in the last pages and
you are 50% through LEED AP exam.
Secondly, it was 4 practice tests from
http://www.greenexamprep.com.
Drgueieo
January 24th, 2009
I just passed the LEED AP exam with a 190 (bleh-glad THAT's over)
KarenDavies
January 24th, 2009
Has anyone tried http://www.leedsimulation.com program, I heard it was helpful?
readyworkr
January 25th, 2009
The best
recommendation is to know the
differences between similar things...
(if
it's green-e, green seal, green label...
know the differences)
(if it's
ASHRAE 90.1, ASHRAE 62.1, ASHRAE 55,
know the differences)
(if it's
multiple points within one credit, know
the differences)
(if it's
included in a calculation or if it's
excluded in a calculation, know the
differences)
(if
it's building reuse, material reuse,
recycled content, know the differences)
The whole
exam they try to trick you to make it
hard to rule things out, so you have to
know the differences!
oconnercrew
January 27th, 2009
These are probably the best pages to
study on the USGBC website:
Test Specifications & Sample Questions:
https://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=3178
CIR Guidelines:
http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=1510
Guidance on Innovation & Design (ID)
Credits:
http://www.usgbc.org/Docs/LEEDdocs/IDcredit_guidance_final.pdf
Certification & Documentation Process:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1497
Certification Process specific to
LEED-NC:
http://www.usgbc.org/ShowFile.aspx?DocumentID=1108
Registration Process:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=65
LEED for New Construction:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=220
KarenDavies; I have tried leedsimulation and did find it helpful and reasonable pricing
estradahomes
January 30th, 2009
Wow...this was a great time saver. I
think that you must have taken my test
because many, if not all, of the areas
that you have stressed were questioned
on my test.
Especially,
COMMISSIONING!!!
M&V...I had a least 4 questions on
this...
Lots of MR Credit questions (building
reuse, construction waste management,
etc)
Lots of ID questions...KNOW how to get
ID credits and how to get EP credits...
Glad its over, but it was brutal...
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