LEED VOC Budget Calculations Explained

I stumbled onto concise but comprehensive article by Chris Dixon in Walls & Ceilings magazine called Straight Green: Alternative VOC Calculation for LEED. Basically, it walks you through the process of preparing a VOC budget (what you need to do if the contractor slips in a non-compliant paint or adhesive) as an alternative compliance measure for achieving EQc4, Low Emitting Materials credits. I could go into more detail, but instead I'll just recommend reading the article for yourself!

VOC Budget Example

This article was published in 2008, and references LEED-NCv2.2 standards, though my understanding is that the methodology should not have changed in the 2009 edition of the same system, and that it should also apply to LEED-CI, LEED-CS, and LEED-Schools systems.

via 4specs discussion forum

Corralling Contractors (LEED Submittals)

A recent article on the Construction Specifications Institute (CSI) blog titled LEED, Specs, and the Contractor builds on a previous post I put together awhile ago.

Just try getting a VOC submittal from this guy!

I bring this up again because their post is more useful in that it contains links to a standardized Materials Credit Documentation Sheet and a sample manufacturer's claim letter that many of you could probably use. The credit documentation sheet is just a single form that you can require the contractor to fill out for each product covered under the Materials and Resources (MR) and Indoor Environmental Quality (EQ) categories. This helps to make it clear what exactly is needed to show compliance with each credit, and the architect will be able to review submittals for LEED compliance without digging through a bunch of attached documents. It may be necessary to designate which "steps" (see form) apply to each product to avoid confusion and unnecessary work on the part of the contractor.

The CSI post contains more useful advice than what I've discussed here, so check it out! Also, you should thank Richard Moore of Richard Moore Environmental Consulting for making these forms publicly available.

Aware of any other tools or tips that helped your team gather the necessary documentation for these credits? Please let the world know by leaving a comment!

LEED-Schools VOC Requirements Simplified!

Those of you working on LEED-Schools projects may have noticed the incredibly vague referenced standard for all VOC levels in EQc4: California Department of Health Services' Standard Practice for the Testing of Volatile Organic Emissions From Various Sources Using Small-Scale Environmental Chambers including 2004 Addenda.

Don't Bother Reading This

All you want is a concise table with VOC requirements in grams per liter, but instead you're given multiple pages of testing procedures and nearly indecipherable text related to requirements. Based on some new information (dated July 7, 2008), the USGBC has apparently recognized this problem and allowed design teams to default to the old LEED NC 2.2 requirements for four of the six compliance options:

It's all better now...

RealLifeLEED strongly suggests throwing your "Standard Practice..." standard out the door and falling back on the slightly less confusing LEED NC 2.2 references as provided in the table above. You're allowed to do this thanks to a "PIEACP", which is not as delicious as it could be... It stands for "Performance/Intent Equivalent Alternative Compliance Path".

Have some further insight to share about LEED-Schools VOC levels? Did you actually find products compliant with the original LEED-Schools standards (and manufacturers who could actually verify they complied)??? Let us know by sharing your experience via comments!

LEED VOC Requirements for Interior and Exterior Paints

Exterior Paints

Exterior paints and finishes are NOT covered in the requirements of EQc4, Low-Emitting Materials. That is to say, you could technically coat the building in a toxic 5000 g/l stew if you were so inclined. This is a small issue that many of you may already know about, but I remember back in the day I didn't catch the distinction and just received an email question about it earlier today. The reasoning is fairly obvious if you think about it, as exterior paints aren't really going to affect indoor air quality.

Quiz: Are these ladies LEED compliant?

No Interior Paints Used?

The question the reader brought up is whether you can earn the credit if no paints are being installed indoors. This is pretty common on Core and Shell projects, and I wasn't (and am still not) 100% sure about this. My thought is that you're still meeting the intent of the credit by not introducing unecessary coatings with harmful effect.

I did notice reading the CS Reference Guide (June 06 edition) that there is an exemplary performance point available for requiring and enforcing "compliance with the suite of EAc4 [note: I'm assuming this is a typo that should be EQc4] credits for 100% of the tenant spaces". Frequently in CS you're allowed to substitute lease restrictions instead of actually complying with the credit requirements when the requirements of the credit are not in your scope of work.

I've listed my thoughts on the lack of interior paints in a CS project issue, but I'm not certain of anything I've posted about it. Anyone who could help clarify these issues would be extremely helpful! Please share your experience by posting a comment!

Jump to earlier post on how primers fit into the VOC limits.

Ecolect Review: Tastes Great, Needs Filling

Ecolect - A Sustainble Materials Community

This is my second review of a site I've find helpful in the tedious process that is sustainable materials selection. The first review covered the Building Green Suite, which is to date still my favorite source for this info. Today we look at Ecolect, which is a young upstart that has the potential to be the next big thing, but still has a little growing to do before I become truly addicted.

The Good

My favorite part about Ecolect is that it will often give you hard numbers about things like recycled content or renewable content right on the site, instead of having to fish through the manufacturers' pages to get what you need. If they're willing to report it, that's enough evidence for me to list on my MRc3-7 templates. If anyone has had an issue with reporting third party figures in these situations, please let us know by posting a comment below.

I really like the interface as well. Though you can't search by MasterFormat divisions, their search bar does a pretty good job of actually returning materials you're searching for. The simple button interface provides large enough pictures to see the material without having to click and move further along.

The Okay

The materials listed on the site are heavily weighted towards finish surfaces, paints, and textiles. This site seems oriented mainly towards interior designers, which could be a good or bad thing depending on your perspective. Many of the products aren't building materials at all, though the site makes no claim to limit themselves to architectural products in the first place. Anyone working on a LEED for Commercial Interiors project will likely find Ecolect very helpful, but those working on LEED Core and Shell buildings may want to spend their time elsewhere.

More Filling Please

By my count a few minutes ago there were 470 materials, and I would estimate that about two-thirds of those are variations on single product types (multiple sheens/colors of low VOC paint, different colors of cork flooring, etc). Again, if you're an interior designer searching for the perfect wall covering this is a bonus, as every option is in front of you. On the other hand, there's really not a whole lot of diversity in product types.

Like a Fine Wine...

In the end, it's hard to create any database that has everything you'd need without some time to grow and mature. Like BuildingGreen, their articles section is starting to feature some interesting, in-depth reviews of larger issues in materials, from biomimicry to bioplastics. A little more volume is all this site needs to make it THE resource for sustainable interiors...

Have a site you'd like to recommend? Please share your experiences with a comment!

via SallyTV!

BuildingGreenSuite review: I love you

It's going to be rare that you see me hawk services for other people, though I'm not necessarily opposed to selling out (if the price is right). If I do you'll probably be able to tell by the giant ads on the side of the page. I want to assure you that I've recieved no money for the advice I'm about to offer.

For an architect, contractor, or LEED consultant spending a decent amount of time tracking down sustainable materials and products, you MUST check out the GreenSpec directory and Environmental Building News. The former offers the most comprehensive directory of sustainable products and materials I've seen, and the latter offers the most concise, accurate, and most importantly independent, reviews of various sustainable products and industries.

Costs

I suggest not subscribing to either independently but rather going ahead and chunking up the $199/year subscription fee for the whole deal. If I remember correctly there's a pretty substantial discount for AIA members, but I'm not sure what that is. Oh, and don't mess around with the paper versions, there are frequent updates online that you need access to.

Honestly, if you're only working on about 1 LEED or sustainable project a year, you can probably get by with what you can find for free, but if you're working on multiple LEED projects at once this is the deal of the century.

Project Database

The suite also gets you access to a thorough database of sustainable projects (often including much sought after financial info), though this is really only an extended version of a freely available database run by the US Dept. of Energy. As of today, the free DOE site has 98 projects while the subscription BG database has 98 LEED and 206 total projects.

GreenSpec Directory

The single greatest aspect of this directory is searchability (spell check says that's a word so I'm going with it). I can view products by LEED credit, and further cross reference them by CSI division. If I browse for "Urinals", I can find a list of ultra-low flow and waterless manufacturers, but the page will also be cross-referenced with articles about the industry in general (in this instance, a great piece on problems with waterless urinals and how to avoid them - the problems, not the urinals). If a contractor sends me some crap submittal about not being able to find low-VOC paint or bamboo flooring, this is where I'll go to prove them wrong. The time savings of finding three sources for a competitive bid in one place is a huge help on public projects as well. I use this site at least 2-3 times a week.

Environmental Building News

I'm a researcher at an architectural firm, and that often means writing reports about various materials and systems. EBN frequently does my job for me, which is probably why I love it so much. The articles are very thorough and always include perspectives from engineers, architects, and the various manufacturers involved. They can be techinical (read: boring, likely as many of my posts), but are always clearly written and easy to understand. My thought is that if you need to know something, you're probably going to have to do some boring reading at some point... I'm on this site at least once a week.

Cons

My only real complaint about the directory is that it stops short of providing hard data. The site will tell you that the carpet has recycled content, but not how much... you're left on your own to slog through the mfr's site for that. I can understand the reasons (these numbers are always changing), but it's still frustrating that there is not a single source for that kind of information.

Other Options

• 4spec.com - Not good for stuff like recycled content, but this more typical construction materials directory has an option of searching by mfr zip code (and CSI designation of course) that works surprisingly well for determining regional content.
• SC Green Building Directory - For those lucky enough to live in (or to a lesser extent, those within 500 miles of) South Carolina will soon have a locally focused green building product and services directory run via the SC Sustainability Institute. Right now they're accepting submissions of product and services and the actual directory is offline. I'll update on progress as it develops.
• Google - A little annoying to use, but at the end of the day it's free and will get the job done.

Did I miss a good info source? Leave a comment below!