LEED

[willsee]

LEED sucks

Most of the time we add pointless stuff to get LEED points to get LEED certification. Agreed with you just take that money and dump it into the M/E systems and get a return on your initial investment.

 

[andyrich]

USGBC is working with all stakeholders, including companies from all sectors of the building industry

This should clue us in as to what the real issue is. USGBC has connections, and they intend to remain the default choice when it comes to a green building standard. Personally I am not a fan of the LEED system, and I see through many of its claims of making buildings more efficient, healthy, etc. There have been others that felt the LEED system should not be used, and that their claims are not legitamate. As such a 100$ MIllion class action lawsuit was filed a while back, but I am not sure what the status is at this point.

That being said, I do not fault you for getting a LEED rating, and serving your clients according to thier wants.

 

[Dleg]

I'm not a big LEED fan, either, but this smells fishy to me - a bunch of politicians ganging up on a non-governmental industry group like this. Sounds more to me like one or a few particular businesses sent some lobbyists to the halls of Congress with some cash....

I'd be interested to see the exact provision in the new LEED standards that outlaws PVC pipe... I doubt it exists. The issue has probably been overexaggerated to make the USGBC look as bad as possible - they probably referred to one particular use of PVC, and this group of politicians spun that to make it look as dramatic as possible - "One of the identified chemicals is polyvinyl chloride, commonly known as PVC, which is used in pipes and roofing materials." note, they did not say pipes or roofing materials were banned.

Engineers: stay strong. Don't let the politicians turn you into mindless reactionaries.

 

[Capt Worley PE]

I thought LEED was generally against plastics because they were 'not sustainable' (which translates to 'uses that nasty oil in production,'), but that's just from observing local LEED certified projects. I've never really looked into it too deeply.

 

[cdcengineer]

LEED is a scam. Design around Ashrae standards and use common sense and save the USGBC fees.

 

[willsee]

State jobs over certain budget numbers require different LEED certification here.

 

[ksprayberry]

I'll be honest, I don't fully understand all aspects or requirements of the LEED certified building, but in my opinion, what I have seen and heard, I find to be somewhat suspect and downright silly.

I work for a Custom HVAC manufacturer and some of the LEED requirements for refrigerant quantities (so many pounds per ton) are rediciously low. You can't build a large tonnage custom piece of equipment and meet this one point. I always tell them to go buy a bike rack or buy a waterless urinal, but look elsewhere! A higher end piece of equipment with hot gas reheat, large condenser surface (Low condenser TD / Lower compressor KW), evaporative condensers, large serviceable machines, etc, just can't be built and maintain the refrigerant quantity. It works great for off the shelf package units, but not our type of equipment. We meet and exceed 90.1 energy standards on a regular basis...we design units with variable speed condenser fans, and many other energy saving features that cannot be quantified into a "point".

Also, these 2" 95% LEED certified fitlers are crap! They're electrostatically charged to obtain the MERV rating for LEED..It wears off in about a week. You can do just as good with a one dollar can of Aquanet hair spray.

Forget this LEED silver and gold stuff. The poor owners of the building get scammed into paying out the yang for a stupid plaque to hang on the wall, when they would be better off buying good mechanical equipment and putting the money into their building envelope.

The idea is noble, but I think has been possibly been twisted some to allow some to profit like so many other things. We should strive to build sustainable, long lasting buildings, but some of it seems to be wasteful needless spending.

Just my opinion.

KS

 

[NYPE2012]

Hi All,

For those who passed the LEED Green Associate Exam, which study guide do you think is the most useful and efficient when studying for the exam?

Any input will be much appreciated!!

Thank you!!

 

[gte636i]

I used the free practice exam located here...

/>http://www.buildingmygreenlife.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/05/GA-Practice-Exam-with-answers_June41.pdf

And read through the resources on the leed website, as well as purchased the leed green associate books. I passed so it worked.

 

[Chris Cat]

LEED is just a marketing tool for non-engineers to act as if they are relevant, period.

 

[Adeeel]

How do you phrase that you have LEED AP BD&C in your resume?

Do you say that you passed LEED GA and LEED AP BD&C exams or

You say Having LEED AP BD&C certification?

 

[CntrSnr2001]

are you guys putting leed ga after your names? have you noticed if this certification even worth it?

 

[gte636i]

According to USGBC, technically you're not supposed to use the abbreviation LEED GA, they actually want you to spell it out. My belief is that it sounds too much like LEED AP which means a lot more, the green associate is the halfway license like the EIT. I have not placed it after my name.

My opinion. No, it's not worth it, unless you can double the CEU's up with another license it'll cost you money and I don't believe it's helped my career, LEED is not really about saving energy (more of what I do) they have a lot of things in there like installing bike racks, location of sites, permeable parking lots, etc. that you can get points for.

I have the PE, CEM, and Leed Green Assoc. The CEM was free, back when the stimulus dollars were available my state allowed all professionals in the energy field to take the class and get the certification free of charge, if you can get your company to pay for the CEM it's worth it imho, not because of the value it adds on your resume but the education in fields that are not your own, they teach you all about electrical, mechanical, HVAC, and building systems and give you a basic understanding of each system. The CEM is more engineering related while the LEED is more architectural.

In terms of difficulty the LEED was by far the easiest to get, followed by the CEM which was challenging, then the PE was the hardest of course.

 

[Adeeel]

Check this link

http://engineerboards.com/index.php?showtopic=19703

 

[Dhwani]

What study material need to read...

 

[CntrSnr2001]

congrats. now that it's been a while, do you feel that it was worth it? i've been thinking about taking this one as well. was it a difficult exam?

 

[rettscarlet]

congrats. now that it's been a while, do you feel that it was worth it? i've been thinking about taking this one as well. was it a difficult exam?

It is not difficult. You should remember a lot of stuff though. I passed LEED AP ( BD+C) last year.

 

[da_souljah]

Hey Guys,

I finally decided to study, and I passed the LEED Green Associate exam a few weeks ago. Can anyone who has taken in the exam in the last 18months recommend some good studying material for the LEED AP BD+C exam??

Thanks Guys!

 

[John QPE]

The reference manual is all you need. Know it cover to cover.

You know the rating system is changing, right? Your time frame to taking the test under 2009 may be limited.

 

[da_souljah]

Yeah I do know it is changing, I will look into the time frame because while the green associate might be more general and less affected by the change, the AP could be completely different.

Thanks for responding!