LEED Rating System for Green Buildings - a PDH Online Course for Engineers, Architects and Surveyors

LEED^TM Rating System for Green Buildings

Course Outline

The incorporation of energy efficiency measures increasingly characterizes the function of the building sector. The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Rating System™ is an accepted benchmark for green building that covers all aspects of a building, from materials, to energy, water and building operation. LEED is on the minds of many people in the building industry these days, and employers are looking to bolster their green credentials any way possible, including having employees that are LEED accredited.

This 6- hour course provides relevant and insightful information on LEED Green Building Rating System. The course is compiled in Q & A format and contains 70 question sample quiz, which is designed to prepare for the LEED AP exam and also benefit readers who are perusing LEED projects in professional service.

This course includes a multiple-choice quiz at the end, which is designed to enhance the understanding of the course materials.

Learning Objective

The course focuses on LEED Rating System Knowledge and covers:

LEED Project Eligibility, Registration & Certification Process;
LEED Credit Interpretation Ruling & Appeal Process;
LEED Prerequisites, Credit Points and Rating Scale;
LEED Sustainable Sites - Construction Activity Pollution Prevention;
LEED Sustainable Sites – Site Selection, Development Density, Community Connectivity and Brownfield Redevelopment;
LEED Sustainable Sites – Alternative Transportation;
LEED Sustainable Sites – Site Development and Stormwater Design;
LEED Sustainable Sites – Heat Island Effect and Light Pollution Reduction;
LEED Water Efficient Landscaping;
LEED Innovative Wastewater Technologies;
LEED Water Use Reduction;
LEED Energy Performance;
LEED Refrigerant Management;
LEED Measurement and Verification;
LEED Green Power;
LEED Material & Resources Storage and Collection of Recyclables;
LEED Material & Resources Reuse and Renewable Materials;
LEED IAQ Performance;
LEED Environment Tobacco Smoke Control;
LEED Outdoor Air Delivery Monitoring and Increased Ventilation;
LEED Low Emitting Materials;
LEED Thermal Comfort and Daylighting;
LEED Innovation in Design; and
LEED Accredited Professional.

Intended Audience

Architects, realtors, building owners, facility managers, environmentalists, consulting engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, construction managers, energy auditors, lenders and educators and others perusing LEED AP certification will benefit from this course.

Benefit to Attendees

This course will benefit anyone preparing for LEED Professional Accreditation Exam or otherwise desirous of attaining LEED rating knowledge for professional practice. The attendeeswill able to participate in the increasing number of projects competing for LEED certification.

Course Introduction

As natural resources rapidly deplete around the world, the need for green or environmentally friendly building practices is becoming more and more apparent.

What it means for a building to be green?

So-called “green buildings” are constructed or renovated under sustainable development, a design process that reduces the harmful impact on natural resources and looks at the life-cycle costs of the facility. The benefits of green buildings are not difficult to understand. First, highly energy-efficient green buildings have lower operating costs than conventionally designed buildings. Second, sustainable design helps minimize broad environmental impacts, such as water usage, ozone layer depletion and raw materials usage. Finally, workers in well-lighted, safe, comfortable environments are productive and happy, which is a key factor in the current tight labor market.

The design of a green building utilizes a whole-building, lifecycle approach. What makes any particular building “green” is a unique solution that responds to the specific functional requirements and the climatic conditions of the building’s location. LEED rating system for certifying green buildings has become standard of choice for building owners, Federal agencies and society as a whole. LEED rating system provides a suite of standards for environmentally sustainable construction.

This course provides understanding of LEED Rating System.

Course Content

This course is in the following PDF document:

LEED^TM Rating System for Green Buildings

Please click on the above underlined hypertext to view, download or print the document for your study. Because of the large file size, we recommend that you first save the file to your computer by right clicking the mouse and choosing "Save Target As ...", and then open the file in Adobe Acrobat Reader. If you still experience any difficulty in downloading or opening this file, you may need to close some applications or reboot your computer to free up some memory.

Course Summary

A "green" building is a building that is energy and resource efficient, non-wasteful and non-polluting, highly flexible and adaptable for long-term functionality; they are easy to operate and maintain, and are supportive of the productivity and well being of the occupants. Historically, how to define and standardize the green building is a long term challenge until the advent of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Green Building Rating System™.

The LEED Rating System encourages and accelerates global adoption of sustainable green building and development practices through the creation and implementation of universally understood and accepted tools and performance criteria. It enables building owners and managers to reduce energy consumption, improve the work environment, and reduce the environmental impacts of building operations. If the building can reduce operating costs, increase occupant productivity, and decrease health complaints, as well as be environmentally responsible, it is a green building.

The individual can opt for LEED Professional Accreditation Exam and facilitate the LEED certification process. LEED AP is open to people from all walks of life, there is no prerequisite qualification required to challenge the exam, however don't make the mistake of assuming the LEED AP certification a casual credential. It requires an in-depth of knowledge of the prescribed material and understanding of the Green Building Rating System.

Green is different for every building. And, not every building is completely green in every aspect of its design. The important thing is to keep moving towards the goal.

Quiz

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

DISCLAIMER: The materials contained in the online course are not intended as a representation or warranty on the part of PDH Center 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 architect and/or professional engineer/surveyor. Anyone making use of the information set forth herein does so at their own risk and assumes any and all resulting liability arising therefrom.