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According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), people spend about 90% of their time indoors. Some building and construction practices can lead to significant health risks from indoor contaminates. Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design or LEED is a U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) program that provides third-party verification of green buildings with the intent to protect building occupants from poor indoor environmental quality (IEQ).
Indoor Environmental Quality in LEED v4.1
LEED v4.1 provides the framework for building developers, owners and other stakeholders to achieve a healthy indoor environment by meeting a comprehensive list of standards. Generally, these standards can be achieved by optimizing air filtration, minimizing indoor volatile organic compound (VOC) generation, and improving the introduction of outside fresh air.
The IEQ category within v4.1 includes:
- Acoustics
- Tobacco smoke control
- Overall air quality control and assessment
- Thermal comfort
- Lighting
- Low-emitting materials
- Construction air quality management
LEED v4.1 Building Design & Construction updates include:
- Monitoring strategies for mechanically and naturally ventilated spaces with requirements from the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE)
- Refined focus on priority VOCs (volatile organic compounds)
- Updated particulate air filter requirements (new ISO filter standard) and including filters for infectious diseases
RHP develops customized strategies for each client to maximize the attainment of LEED points primarily within the IEQ category. Our LEED testing and consulting services can be applied to new construction, building renovation projects, or in corrective action situations. RHP’s background and expertise in indoor air quality testing, the built environment and ventilation enables us to provide high quality LEED services to our clients.
For further references and RHP White Papers on the topic, see: rhprisk.com/white-papers