9 replies to this topic

[badal]

I took and passed the LEED AP test yesterday, but am somewhat troubled by the results. For one thing, I know almost nothing about LEED. OK so i read through the reference guide and study guide once and found some free questionaires (for LEED 2.2) on the net, but that is all. I blindly guessed on at least 10 questions, used the "educated" guess method for 50-60 and had a good idea of the right answer for the remaining 2 or 3. Heres the part that troubles me. I wont give my exact score in case anyone from LEED finds this but on the GA test i averaged 86% and scored 179. great. passed. on the second part i averaged 63% and scored 176. Does this make any sense? i actually scored below 30% in two areas on the second part. Makes me think the test is simply a way to justify the ungodly amount it cost to use their initials in my email.

any thoughts?

as a side note i now have the 2009 LEED reference guide and study guide available for purchase.

[VTEnviro]

^It's a fairly fluffy certification, it wasn't that difficult or time consuming, but it's sure great resume candy!

[moonboon]

Is LEED beneficial to Traffic/ Transportation Engineers?

[cdcengineer]

LEED is bull$h!t IMO.

My last employer wanted everyone of the MEP engineers LEED accredited. You're right it is good for resume, but it's an unjustified amount of cost and paperwork for owners just to achieve a LEED rating for their building. Build to ASHRAE standards and it'll cost less with the same if not better results.

But congrats. It's needed if you work on municipal projects, etc..

[badal]

LEED is bull$h!t IMO.

My last employer wanted everyone of the MEP engineers LEED accredited. You're right it is good for resume, but it's an unjustified amount of cost and paperwork for owners just to achieve a LEED rating for their building. Build to ASHRAE standards and it'll cost less with the same if not better results.

But congrats. It's needed if you work on municipal projects, etc..

i whole heartedly agree. i only got the accreditation for the "perceived" benefits. the cost is bloated and it only gets you a bunch of paper work that isnt necessary because we can design an energy efficient building without their help.

[MOOK]

as a side note i now have the 2009 LEED reference guide and study guide available for purchase.
[/quote]


How much do you want for them?

[craftj2]

Without getting too much into the pros/cons of LEED I do know some guys that failed several attempts to pass the test.

[wilheldp_PE]

Without getting too much into the pros/cons of LEED I do know some guys that failed several attempts to pass the test.

I do too. Including my boss and a 70-something year old EE at my last job. My boss actually passed the exam, but had his results invalidated for going to his locker (where they made you keep your personal items) before turning in the exam materials. They disqualified him from taking the test again for a year too.

[YellowJacketEnvE]

LEED is a nice concept for trying to reward "green" construction. Unfortunately, the more you look at it, the more it looks like a money-making scheme. All the fees are front loaded, rather than trying to actively support projects, there are fees at every turn, and ultimately, after the building is certified, there is rarely any follow up to ensure that the building maintains its intent. I think as the program evolves it will grow past some of the problems, but right now, it seems cheap.

As for benefit, I am a water/wastewater engineer. There is a little benefit when the company goes after projects, but not much on the day to day. Traffic engineer would probably see the same thing. Mostly, accreditation is great for plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and civils.

[aucivileng]

I was wondering about LEED. I know some turkeys got in on that crap in our office but it just sounded like a nice scam to make some cheese to me. Kinda like a PTOE.