LEED Green Associate Comprehensive Bullet-Point Notes

USGBC, GBCI & LEED Credentialing

  • USGBC – 501(c)(3) nonprofit that DEVELOPS rating systems, EDUCATES the industry & provides a FORUM for dialogue.

  • GBCI – Separate 501(c)(6) body that administers EXAMS & PROJECT CERTIFICATION.

  • Mission Statements

    • USGBC: “Transform the way buildings & communities are designed, built & operated …”

    • GBCI: “Support competence in environmental efficiency through certification & recertification.”

  • Credentials (Tiered)

    • LEED Green Associate → LEED AP w/ Specialty (BD+C, ID+C, O+M, HOMES, ND) → LEED Fellow.

    • Green Associate Exam = 2-hour, 100 questions, pass mark ≈ 170 / 200 scaled score.

    • Eligibility: (1) Work on a LEED project OR (2) sustainable-field employment OR (3) formal education in green building.

    • Maintenance: Green Associate 15 CE hrs / 2 yr; LEED AP 30 CE hrs / 2 yr.

  • Exam Content Mapping

    • Project Site Factors → SS

    • Water Management → WE

    • Project Systems & Energy Impacts → EA

    • Acquisition / Management of Materials → MR

    • Indoor Environment Improvements → IEQ

    • Stakeholder Involvement / Innovation → ID & RP

    • Project Surroundings & Outreach → SS / LL / ND

  • Question Cognition Levels

    • Recall

    • Application

    • Analysis

  • No-Trick Formats – no all-of-the-above / none-of-the-above / T-F.

Study & Test-Taking Strategies

  • Establish daily, short sessions; avoid “cramming.”

  • Group quizzing & worksheets.

  • Exam-day pacing: 120\,\text{min} / 100 \;\text{Qs}=1.2\,\text{min/Q}.

  • Eliminate unlikely answers → \frac{1}{N} → improve odds.

Minimum Program Requirements (MPRs)

  • Comply with all environmental laws.

  • Be a complete, permanent building/space; no mobile structures.

  • Reasonable site boundary – contiguous land; campus carve-outs ≤ 2\%.

  • Minimum floor area:

    • NC / CS / Schools / O+M \ge 1,000\,ft^2 (≈93\,m^2).

    • CI \ge 250\,ft^2 (≈23\,m^2).

  • Minimum occupancy: ≥ 1 FTE (NC/CS/CI).

  • Share whole-building water & energy data for \ge 5 yrs.

  • Building area ≥ 2\% of site area.

Rating System Families & Points

  • All 2009 systems ≈ 100 base pts + 6 ID + 4 RP (Homes = 125).

  • Certification thresholds:

    • Certified 40{-}49

    • Silver 50{-}59

    • Gold 60{-}79

    • Platinum 80+

  • Credit weighting driven by carbon overlay (GHG & human health priorities).

Green Building Fundamentals

Life-Cycle Thinking

  • Assess cradle→grave impacts, incl. extraction, manufacture, transport, use, EoL.

  • Life-Cycle Costing (LCC) ≠ LCA; considers \text{1st cost}+\text{O\&M}+\text{replacement}.

Integrated Process (IP)

  • 70 % of environmental decisions occur in the first 10 % of design.

  • Key phases: Predesign → SD → DD → CD → Bid → CA → Substantial → Occupancy.

  • Stakeholders: owner, architect, MEP engineers, CxA, contractor, facility staff, users.

Triple Bottom Line

  • \text{People} + \text{Planet} + \text{Profit} paradigm.

  • Green premiums < 2\% average (Davis Langdon, 2007).

Sustainable Sites (SS)

  • Transportation

    • Locate near mass transit (bus stop ≤ 0.25\,mi, rail ≤ 0.5\,mi).

    • Limit parking; provide preferred stalls for carpools, \leq 5\% of spaces.

    • Alternate-fuel parking & charging.

  • Site Selection – avoid greenfields, prime farmland, floodplains, habitat; prefer brownfields & urban infill.

  • Heat-Island Mitigation

    • Roof \text{SRI} \ge 78 (low-slope) or vegetated roof.

    • Non-roof paving \text{SRI} \ge 29 or 50 % shaded.

  • Stormwater

    • Quantity: Post-dev peak ≤ pre-dev (1- & 2-yr storms).

    • Quality: Remove 80\% TSS via BMPs (bioswales, wetlands).

  • Light Pollution – full cutoff luminaires; backlight-uplight-glare limits.

Water Efficiency (WE)

  • Baseline (EPAct 1992)

    • WCs 1.6\,gpf, urinals 1.0\,gpf, lavs 2.2\,gpm @ 60\,psi, shower 2.5\,gpm.

  • Indoor reduction targets: \ge 20\% (mandatory) up to 50+\% (points).

  • Fixtures: dual-flush, waterless urinals, aerators.

  • Outdoor: eliminate potable use OR ≥ 50\% reduction via xeriscape & drip.

  • Process: cooling-tower cycles, ENERGY STAR washers, non-potable reuse.

Energy & Atmosphere (EA)

  • Prereqs: Fundamental Cx, Min. Energy Performance (ASHRAE 90.1{-}2007), Fundamental Refrigerant Mgmt.

  • Energy Pyramid

    1. Reduce demand (orientation, insulation, daylight).

    2. Efficiency (high-eff HVAC, \text{LPD}<1\,W/ft^2).

    3. Renewables (PV, solar-thermal, wind, biomass).

    4. Off-site green power / RECs \ge 35\%, 2-yr contract.

  • Building envelope = major chiller load driver; incandescent → CFL = 4\times energy cut.

  • Refrigerant metrics:

    • \text{ODP}=0 target.

    • Prefer GWP < 50 (natural refrigerants – \text{CO}2, \text{NH}3).

  • Measurement & Verification – IPMVP; sub-meters for major loads.

Materials & Resources (MR)

  • Hierarchy: Reduce → Reuse → Recycle.

  • Recycled Content (RC)

    • \text{Cut‐off} =10\% (1 pt) or 20\% (2 pts), RC=PC+0.5·PI.

  • Regional Material – extracted, processed, manufactured ≤ 500\,mi radius.

  • Rapidly Renewable – harvested ≤ 10 yrs (e.g., bamboo, cork).

  • Certified Wood – FSC chain-of-custody ≥ 50\%.

  • CWM – divert ≥ 50\%, target \ge 75\% + 3$^{\text{rd}} stream for exemplary.

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ)

  • Prereqs: ASHRAE 62.1 ventilation & ETS control (no indoor smoking; buffer zones).

  • Low-Emitting Materials – adhesives / sealants, paints / coatings, flooring, composite wood (no added urea-formaldehyde).

  • CO₂ Monitoring – setpoint \le 530\,ppm above outdoor.

  • Thermal Comfort – ASHRAE 55 design and post-occupancy survey.

  • Daylight & Views

    • Daylight: \ge 75\% space using \text{DF}>2\% or simulation.

    • Views: direct line-of-sight to outdoors for \ge 90\% occupants.

  • Green Cleaning – policy + 30\% sustainable chemicals & equipment.

Innovation in Design (ID) & Regional Priority (RP)

  • ID Paths

    1. Innovative Strategy – issue not covered elsewhere; show quantifiable environmental benefit.

    2. Exemplary Performance – exceed existing credit: e.g., \ge 95\% CWM diversion, \ge 45\% water reduction, \ge 12\% on-site renewables.

    3. LEED AP – at least one AP w/ specialty on project team (1 pt).

  • RP – 6 credits per ZIP; \max 4 pts, each 1 pt bonus for achieving the base credit.

Key Quantitative Reference Sheet

  • Toilets baseline 1.6\,gpf → dual flush \approx 1.1\,gpf avg.

  • Irrigation – ET-based controllers, \ge 50\% potable reduction.

  • Lighting Power Density targets: Offices \le 0.9\,W/ft^2 (ASHRAE 90.1-07).

  • Construction IAQ: MERV \ge 8 during, \ge 13 post-construction.

  • Acoustic: Classrooms < 40\,dBA background noise, \text{RC} \le 25.

Exam Memory Hooks

  • “5-10-20-500” – Rapid renewables (10 yr), RC (10/20 %), regional radius 500 mi.

  • “40-50-60-80” – Cert/Sil/Gold/Plat thresholds.

  • “70-10” – 70 % environmental decisions in 1st 10 % design.

Ethical & Legal

  • Disciplinary Policy – must be truthful, respect IP, uphold public safety; violations reviewed by independent committees; appeals to Credential Steering Committee.

  • ** Copyright** – Study guides may not be reproduced; LEED® registered trademark of USGBC.

Use these condensed notes as a cross-reference to the full LEED Reference Guides, Candidate Handbook & primary resources. Continually link concepts (e.g., water→energy nexus, IAQ→productivity) & practice calculation set-ups (baseline vs design).