LEED Atmosphere Credits 4 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: A project team is performing an energy simulation for LEED. The proposed design shows 25% energy cost savings over the ASHRAE 90.1 baseline. What LEED EA Optimize Energy Performance point level does this typically correspond to in LEED v4 BD+C New Construction?
- 1 point
- 4 points (Correct answer)
- 6 points
- 8 points
Correct answer: 4 points
In LEED v4 BD+C New Construction, approximately 25% energy cost savings over the ASHRAE 90.1 baseline earns around 4 points on the sliding scale.
Question 2: Under LEED Enhanced Commissioning, what is the purpose of an 'envelope commissioning' scope?
- To verify that building envelope materials meet fire resistance requirements
- To verify that the building envelope performs as intended to control heat transfer, air infiltration, and moisture (Correct answer)
- To commission the HVAC systems that condition the building interior
- To audit the building envelope for asbestos and lead paint
Correct answer: To verify that the building envelope performs as intended to control heat transfer, air infiltration, and moisture
Envelope commissioning verifies that the building envelope systems (walls, roof, windows) perform as designed to control heat, air, and moisture movement.
Question 3: What is the significance of the 'Basis of Design' (BOD) document in the LEED commissioning process?
- It is the legal contract between the owner and the design team
- It documents the design approach, assumptions, and strategies used to meet the Owner's Project Requirements (Correct answer)
- It lists the specific equipment models selected for the building systems
- It is the final as-built drawing set for the project
Correct answer: It documents the design approach, assumptions, and strategies used to meet the Owner's Project Requirements
The BOD documents the design team's approach, assumptions, and rationale for how the design will meet the OPR, bridging owner requirements and design decisions.
Question 4: Under LEED v4 EA, which system type is specifically excluded from the refrigerant calculations in Enhanced Refrigerant Management?
- Chilled water systems with centrifugal chillers
- Small HVAC units with less than 0.5 pounds of refrigerant charge (Correct answer)
- Variable refrigerant flow (VRF) systems
- Data center cooling systems
Correct answer: Small HVAC units with less than 0.5 pounds of refrigerant charge
LEED Enhanced Refrigerant Management excludes small HVAC units with less than 0.5 lbs of refrigerant charge from the calculation requirements.
Question 5: A project installs 200 kW of on-site photovoltaic solar panels. Under which LEED EA credit would this renewable energy system earn points?
- EA Credit: Green Power and Carbon Offsets
- EA Credit: Renewable Energy Production (Correct answer)
- EA Credit: Optimize Energy Performance
- EA Credit: Advanced Energy Metering
Correct answer: EA Credit: Renewable Energy Production
EA Credit: Renewable Energy Production awards points for on-site renewable energy systems, with points scaling based on the percentage of total building energy produced.
Question 6: In LEED energy modeling, process energy loads (such as computers, office equipment, and plug loads) are treated differently from regulated energy. How are they typically handled?
- Process loads are excluded entirely from both the proposed and baseline models
- Process loads are held constant and equal in both the baseline and proposed design models (Correct answer)
- Process loads are reduced by 25% in the proposed design to reflect efficiency measures
- Process loads are only included in the proposed model, not the baseline
Correct answer: Process loads are held constant and equal in both the baseline and proposed design models
Process loads are kept equal in both baseline and proposed models so that the energy savings percentage reflects only regulated building system improvements, not equipment choices.
Question 7: Which LEED EA credit encourages projects to install permanent metering for at least the following end uses: lighting, plug loads, HVAC, and domestic hot water?
- EA Credit: Demand Response
- EA Credit: Advanced Energy Metering (Correct answer)
- EA Credit: Optimize Energy Performance
- EA Prerequisite: Building-Level Energy Metering
Correct answer: EA Credit: Advanced Energy Metering
Advanced Energy Metering requires sub-metering of individual energy end uses (lighting, HVAC, plug loads, etc.) to enable detailed energy tracking and fault detection.
LEED Atmosphere Credits 4
A project team is performing an energy simulation for LEED.
The proposed design shows 25% energy cost savings over the ASHRAE 90.1 baseline.
What LEED EA Optimize Energy Performance point level does this typically correspond to in LEED v4 BD+C New Construction?