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joelmckellar
Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 80
Location: Charleston, SC
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 Posted: Wed May 09, 2007 8:50 am Post subject: LEED Daylighting Credit and Atriums |
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I have a large atrium space in a LEED building we're designing and I'm struggling to find an answer about how to qualify for LEED NC 2.2 EQ credit 8.1, Daylight 75% of spaces.
Now in a simple room you take the square footage of the room, add up all the windows in the room and run the calculation. In this scenario, we have two floors being serviced by the same set of windows, and I'm not sure where to draw the line. Can I count the windows twice as they're both servicing both floors?
Thanks!
Also if anyone knows of a good forum dedicated to LEED questions such as this please let me know.
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Joel McKellar, LEED AP
http://www.reallifeleed.com/ |
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csintexas
millennium club
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: USA
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 5:52 am Post subject: |
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I don't have any experience with LEED.
It seems to me if the rule just says that you need "daylight" to 75% of the space than it does not matter if a window services more than one area. You just need 75% of the total space of the building to have some daylighting.
On the other hand if the requirement is to provide a level of lighting that would eliminate the need for artificial lighting than you would need to analyze the amount of light coming into each room and one window servicing two rooms would only provide some portion of it's light to each room.
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Chris Stewart
Modern Texas Home Project |
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Kevin
Site Admin
Joined: 13 Apr 2004
Posts: 1075
Location: Eugene, Oregon
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 12:19 pm Post subject: forum for LEED questions... |
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Joel, we do want to share and service LEED questions here. It does take a few getting asked and answered to build up momentum, and thanks for for yours!
A bit of perspective: Apparently, as of about now, some 35,000 people have passed the LEED certification exam. Meanwhile, an overall grand total of about 800 buildings have received LEED certification so far.
In other words, there just aren't very many people out there who have 'been there, done that' yet.
As this young LEED-experienced community builds up, there's a real long run benefit to the larger community in associating its kind of green buidling discussion with ArchitectureWeek, which probably has the largest English-language reach of any professional architecture publication. The discussion here is going to be cross-fertilized with a whole specturm of design and building needs and perspectives, in a way it might not be in a standalong specialist forum. (And it's not going to be co-opted by big-money interests, as it might be in the hand of a conglomerate publisher.) |
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joelmckellar
Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 80
Location: Charleston, SC
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| Posted: Thu May 10, 2007 12:39 pm Post subject: |
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I think there might be some value in posting a forum dedicated specifically to LEED implementation questions. It's tricky to filter through all of the other green and sustainable posts that don't really apply to LEED just to get to one or two posts.
I would also consider making the USGBC aware. I'm pretty involved with our local chapter, and I'm sure we would post an announcement or two if asked.
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Joel McKellar, LEED AP
http://www.reallifeleed.com/ |
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gleearch
Joined: 07 Jul 2005
Posts: 185
Location: Oakland, CA , USA
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| Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 6:11 pm Post subject: |
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joel,
Without being able to see your drawings, it's hard to provide a good answer. When you mean two floors being serviced by the same set of windows, I am assuming you mean two floor plates that have access to the atrium.
You have two choices here. Run the calcs and back up with section drawings indicating how these windows supply daylighting to the spaces.
The other is to use the CIRs and ask the USGBC for their interpretation of your design. You can probably read through the existing CIRs to see if anyone has asked the same question there. If your project is already registered, you will have access to the CIRs and the ability to ask the question. What will probably happen is the person responding will get a heads up about your project and will know to look for the supporting information that they will request from you to back up the credit request.
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Gerard Lee Architects
http://www.gleearchitects.com
San Francisco bay area, Oakland, CA based sustainable architecture & planning firm specializing in residential, education, commercial, community & civic projects. |
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joelmckellar
Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 80
Location: Charleston, SC
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| Posted: Mon May 14, 2007 5:38 am Post subject: |
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I looked through the old CIR's and didn't find any related content. We're trying to avoid the CIR fee... I feel fairly confident we're meeting the intent of the credit running the calculations as we are, but wanted to see if anyone else had similar experience. Your assumption about the floor plates it correct.
Thanks,
Joel
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Joel McKellar, LEED AP
http://www.reallifeleed.com/ |
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mx2
millennium club
Joined: 18 Jan 2006
Posts: 1906
Location: Miami, Florida
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| Posted: Sat May 19, 2007 9:18 am Post subject: |
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I'm going off-topic (forgive me) to just add to the side comment Kevin was making...LEED was the big topic du jour for the national AIA convention that my new boos attended and he came back with a renewed sense of commitment to LEED design...and we ended up having a brief round table office discussion which lead to a few informal conclusions:
1) you need the right client since most are economically-driven projects
2) the architect can help propagate LEED benefits to prospective clients
3) LEED certification (for individuals) is valuable in todays market and will continue to grow
4)LEED is here to stay and may possibly go the route of ADA Title IV code enforcement
5) LEED certification (for buildinds) is and needs to be re-vamped and better defined...
That said, a year ago today I could've cared less about LEED other than to on occasion read an article or two about it's problems...but now, this forum seems to be well timed for an important issue that is growing as we speak...and I am just beginning to learn more about the fundamentals. I am very interested...keep up the questions, comments and exchange of ideas please...
mx2.5
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*Art of Architecture: The conscious use of skill and creative imagination in the production of an aesthetic building.
*Science of Architecture: The calculated use of technical skill and knowledge in the construction of a functional building. |
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joelmckellar
Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 80
Location: Charleston, SC
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 5:19 am Post subject: |
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...I'd like to point out that this forum still hasn't answered any of my LEED questions (this one and a few others). I'm not trying to whine, but there is NOwhere on the web where someone who has specific questions about LEED implementation can get answers. Right now the only available route I'm aware of is chalking up $250 for a formal LEED CIR.
I'd love to see this forum potentially partner with the USGBC, or at least market the forum to USGBC members in some way.
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Joel McKellar, LEED AP
http://www.reallifeleed.com/ |
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joelmckellar
Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 80
Location: Charleston, SC
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 5:22 am Post subject: Thanks Kevin! |
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...whoops... didn't notice the special forum you created...Thanks!
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Joel McKellar, LEED AP
http://www.reallifeleed.com/ |
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csintexas
millennium club
Joined: 06 Feb 2006
Posts: 1670
Location: USA
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| Posted: Mon May 21, 2007 7:53 am Post subject: |
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Well we've tried to work with you to answer your question.
Here is the 8.1 credit, I don't see anything here which would allow windows to be counted twice. What exactly are you having trouble understanding?
EQ Credit 8.1: Daylight & Views: Daylight 75% of Spaces
1 Point
Intent
Provide for the building occupants a connection between indoor spaces and the outdoors through the introduction of daylight and views into the regularly occupied areas of the building.
Requirements
OPTION 1 — CALCULATION
Achieve a minimum glazing factor of 2% in a minimum of 75% of all regularly occupied areas.
The glazing factor is calculated as follows:
Glazing Factor =
Window Area [SF] / Floor Area [SF]
x
Window Geometry Factor
x
Actual Tvis / Minimum Tvis
x
Window Height Factor
OR
OPTION 2 — SIMULATION
Demonstrate, through computer simulation, that a minimum daylight illumination level of 25 footcandles has been achieved in a minimum of 75% of all regularly occupied areas. Modeling must demonstrate 25 horizontal footcandles under clear sky conditions, at noon, on the equinox, at 30 inches above the floor.
OR
OPTION 3 — MEASUREMENT
Demonstrate, through records of indoor light measurements, that a minimum daylight illumination level of 25 footcandles has been achieved in at least 75% of all regularly occupied areas. Measurements must be taken on a 10-foot grid for all occupied spaces and must be recorded on building floor plans.
In all cases, only the square footage associated with the portions of rooms or spaces meeting the minimum illumination requirements can be applied towards the 75% of total area calculation required to qualify for this credit.
LEED for New Construction Version 2.2 October 2005
In all cases, provide daylight redirection and/or glare control devices to avoid high-contrast situations that could impede visual tasks. Exceptions for areas where tasks would be hindered by the use of daylight will be considered on their merits.
Potential Technologies & Strategies
Design the building to maximize interior daylighting. Strategies to consider include building orientation, shallow floor plates, increased building perimeter, exterior and interior permanent shading devices, high performance glazing and automatic photocell-based controls. Predict
daylight factors via manual calculations or model daylighting strategies with a physical or computer model to assess footcandle levels and daylight factors achieved.
Doing a quick search of that credit I found this site:
http://www.acuitybrandslighting.com/sustainability/leed/EQ-C8.asp
Which contains more detailed information, also a list of books on designing daylighting.
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Chris Stewart
Modern Texas Home Project |
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gleearch
Joined: 07 Jul 2005
Posts: 185
Location: Oakland, CA , USA
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| Posted: Wed May 30, 2007 5:06 pm Post subject: |
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Joel,
If your project is registered, you get three CIR freebies.
You can also check out the Green Builders forum and the emerging Green Builders forum (the latter is accessible through USGBC's web site. Sometimes there are local chapters that you can approach.
One of the things you will get out of reading CIR whether related to your credit or not is that you will find that over and over again, the USGBC tends to follow the intent of the credit. If at any point it appears that your design does not fulfill the intent, you are probably out of luck.
Your design will probably meet the daylighting intent. You can build a model digitally or physically and have it tested to show that it complies. The tricky part is the "view" portion of the credit intent. That's where the CIR comes in. It's usually better to wait till you have more questions before using the complimentary CIRs you have once you register. Then decide which are more important before you ask the questions.
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Gerard Lee Architects
http://www.gleearchitects.com
San Francisco bay area, Oakland, CA based sustainable architecture & planning firm specializing in residential, education, commercial, community & civic projects. |
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joelmckellar
Joined: 31 May 2006
Posts: 80
Location: Charleston, SC
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| Posted: Thu May 31, 2007 5:44 am Post subject: |
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Projects registered under 2.2 do not get any free CIRS...
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1497
"For projects NOT using LEED Online the first two CIRs are included with registration. Each additional CIR is $220. As of November 15, 2005, project registrations will not include free CIR’s."
Your point about the intent of the credit is well taken though. Since I've run the numbers and found that 98% of our building achieves the daylighting credit I'm not so worried about it anymore. I think it will be clear to the reviewers that we have ample daylight.
Thanks for all of your help!
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Joel McKellar, LEED AP
http://www.reallifeleed.com/ |
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