LEED for New Construction & Major Renovations

Course Outline

The built environment has a vast impact on the natural environment, human health, and the economy. In recent years, the demand for high-performance buildings has grown tremendously as a result of increased awareness of the need for sustainable development. The LEED Rating System is designed to guide and distinguish high-performance buildings that are designed and built to minimize resource consumption, to reduce life cycle costs, and to maximize health and environmental performance across a wide range of measures – from indoor air quality to habitat protection. This course is based entirely on the publication "LEED 2009 for New Construction and Major Renovations" - a superb guide published by the U.S. Green Building Council. This publication not only helps design professionals get familiar with the planning and design process for creating and meeting sustainability goals, but also provides the fundamental knowledge required to obtain the LEED AP credential. This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of course materials.

Learning Objective

At the conclusion of this course, the student should be able to:

• Understand the importance of sustainable development;
• Select sustainable building methods and materials;
• Minimize the overall environmental impact during the building process;
• Identify the energy-saving features of green buildings;
• Improve indoor air quality;
• Reduce and reuse construction waste;
• Understand the LEED Building Rating System;
• Know the prerequisites for each key rating area;
• Identify the credits available under each key area; and
• Understand all aspects of green building design.

Course Content

In this course, you are required to study the following documents:

LEED 2009 for New Construction and Major Renovations (PDF)

LEED 2009 for NC & MR Checklist (Excel)

Please click on the underlined hypertext above to view, download or print the document for your study.

Course Summary

Building "green" is using our resources efficiently while creating a healthier environment. Green buildings are also called sustainable buildings. They are designed to meet certain objectives, such as: conserving energy and water, improving air quality and reducing the overall impact on the environment. The green building strategies described in this course can be applied to either new construction or renovation projects, including office buildings, high-rise residential buildings, government buildings, recreational facilities, manufacturing plants and laboratories.

Related Links

For additional technical information related to this subject, please visit the following web pages:

U.S. Green Building Council
U.S. EPA - Green Building

Quiz

Once you finish studying the above course content, you need to take a quiz to obtain the PDH credits.

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DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDHonline.org or any other person/organization named herein. The materials are for general information only. They are not a substitute for competent professional advice. Application of this information to a specific project should be reviewed by a registered professional engineer. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.

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