Jian asks: What are the significant differences between the New Construction & Major Renovation Reference Guide (Ver. 2.2) 3rd edition October 2007 from the latest version published in 2009?

Answer: Hi Jian, at first glance there aren’t really vast differences between that system and the new Building Design & Construction rating system.

Several obvious differences stand out right away – the change in total available credits from 69 to 110, and the inclusion of the Regional Priority credits section. But the subtle differences are what will make the difference in documentation.

Fundamentally I would say that anyone who’s worked on a LEED project certified under LEED-NC v2.2 shouldn’t have any issue with working on a LEED v3 project, assuming they have access to the new Building Design and Construction Reference guide, as well as associated updated referenced standards. A good example of such a small change would be the requirement to comply with ASHRAE Standard 90.1-2007, as opposed to the 2004 version referenced in the New Construction v2.2 Reference guide.

Of course also there are those new regional priority credits, which even I had a hard time grasping the concept of at first. Back when they were first announced, I thought these would be new credits specific to regions. But in fact, they’re simply extra points applicable depending on region. You can download the Excel spreadsheet for your state from http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1984. Just enter your zip code and a list of credits shows up (make sure you’re on the correct rating system tab). Then, for any of these credits that your project achieves, you can earn an extra point. Pretty simple, it seems.

Now into the ‘big’ credit changes… I’ll have to give a "shout out" to Joel at http://www.reallifeleed.com/ for making the following information so easy to come by. You can read more detailed review of the differences of the self described “One Stop Shop to Understanding the Proposed LEED 2009 System Without Sifting Through 8000 Pages USGBC Material” over on that blog.

I’d also wholeheartedly recommend subscribing via RSS feed to Joel’s blog posts. He provides insightful thought in regard to the application of the LEED rating system. And I think we share a similar sense of humor, which makes it that much more interesting and even entertaining (who said LEED couldn’t be fun?).

I won’t infringe on his web traffic by re-posting a verbatim list of the changes, but here are the ones that seem to be the most different to me.

SSc7.1 – Heat Island Effect (Non-Roof): Now, areas shaded by solar panels or other renewable energy sources can be added to your qualifying area calculation.

WEp1 & WEc2 – Water Use Reduction: There is now a WE category prerequisite. The easy 20% reduction that was once a credit is now required because – like I said – it’s pretty easy. Credit levels have been bumped up to 30% and 40% (which used to qualify for an exemplary performance credit) in addition to a new third point for 45%.

EAc2 – On-Site Renewable Energy: Now you can earn points for generation of as little as 1% and as much as 13% of total building energy usage.

EQc4.3 – Low-Emitting Materials-Flooring Systems: This used to be a ‘carpet-systems’ point, which has now been expanded to include hard flooring.

EQc5 – Indoor Chemical and Pollutant Source Control: The entry grates must now be 10’ long instead of the previous 6’ required.

Eqc7.2 – Thermal Comfort, Verification: This credit is now contingent on earning credit 7.1.

Eqc8.1 – Daylight & Views – Daylight: Now, if you’re using a daylight simulation model, there are maximum foot-candle levels.

And finally, the innovation in design category has been expanded to include up to 5 points for NC and CS (remains at 4 for Schools).

Hope this helps!
Sarah Gudeman, LEED AP

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