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LEED Terminology Alphabet Soup!

LEED Green Associate Prep Course

• ODP – Depletion Potential

• GWP –

• CFC –

• HCFC - hydrochlorofluorocarbon

• HFC –

• Halon – gas used in fire suppression systems

• Natural – naturally occurring substances, CO2, NH3, H2O, HC, Air, that are environmentally benign

• – an International Treaty that protects the by banning CFCs and phasing out HCFCs

• Heat Island Effect – absorption of heat by hardscapes (roofs, buildings, pavement)

• Green Roofs – a roof of a building that is partially or completely covered with vegetation and a growing medium, planted over a waterproofing membrane ; or roofs that use some form of "green" technology, such as a cool roof (white), or a roof with PV modules

• SRI – Solar Reflectance Index, a measure of how well a material rejects solar heat on an index from 0 to 100

• Emissivity – the relative ability of a material’s surface to release absorbed heat

• Reflectivity – the ability of a material to reflect

• Albedo – a measure of how strongly an object reflects light from light sources such as the sun

• Pervious – % of paving material that is open

• Impervious – resistance of a material to penetration by a liquid

• VOC – Volatile Organic Compound, carbon compounds that vaporize at normal room temperatures

• MERV – Minimum Efficiency Reporting Value, indicates the efficiency of air filters

• SCAQMD – South Coast Air Quality Management District (VOCs for adhesives and sealants)

• SMACNA – Sheet Metal and Contractors National Association ()

• CIBSE – Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers (London, England; natural ventilation systems)

• Blackwater – wastewater from toilets and urinals, sometimes kitchen sinks, showers and bathtubs

• Greywater – domestic wastewater sources such as kitchens, bathrooms, laundry sinks, tubs, washers

• Potable Water – meets EPA’s drinking standards

• Non-potable Water

• gpf – Gallons per Flush

• gpm – Gallons per Minute LEED Terminology Alphabet Soup!

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• Flush, Low-flow, Dual flush fixtures

• ASHRAE – American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers

• 55-2004 (ventilation, thermal comfort)

• 62.1-2004 (indoor air quality)

• 90.1-2007 (energy use)

• Fossil Fuel – peat, coal, crude oil, natural gas

• REC – Renewable Energy Certificate

• CFL – Compact Fluorescent Lamp

• Btu – British Thermal Unit

• Cx – Commissioning

• Eligible On-site Power Generation – Photovoltaic, wind, solar thermal, biofuel electric, geothermal heating and electric

• Green Power – Wind, Solar, Hydro

• Off-Site Power Generation – green power or conventional power generated elsewhere

• PV – Photovoltaic

• Waste Diversion – Amount kept out of or incineration, expressed in tons – reuse & recycling

• Regional Materials – Extracted, processed and manufactured within 500 miles of the project site

• Salvaged Materials – Items recovered from existing buildings or construction sites and reused

• Reuse – Building materials returned to active use, expressed as a % of cost of a building

• Recycled Content – % of a material that is recycled

• Pre-Consumer Recycled Content – Recycled from manufacturing waste

• Post-Consumer Recycled Content – Consumer waste

• FSC – Forest Stewardship Council

• Certified Wood – Comes from a responsibly managed forest

• Rapidly Renewable Materials – 10 years or less to grow or raise

• Hard Costs – actual construction costs, land, bricks & mortar of the project

• Soft Costs – costs not directly related to building and construction, ex: fees

• Operating Costs – costs for running/maintaining a building – important in life cycle assessment & EBOM LEED 2009 & Carbon Footprint

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Terms Definitions

What is the difference between the Oxygen we Ozone is a form of oxygen, with each molecule consisting of three atoms of breath and the ozone in the oxygen O3 , The oxygen we breathe contains two atoms, O2 earths stratosphere

Describe the difference Good Ozone like the stratosphere protects the earth from harmful between good and bad rays from the sun, Bad Ozone. Like the Troposphere is considered unwanted ozone ozone because it is a .

Once a CFC molecule is in the stratosphere, Ultraviolet radiation will break off a chlorine atom ( Cl ) from the CFC or HCFC molecule. The chlorine atom can Explain destroy up to 100,000 ozone molecules. The depletion of Ozone lets more UV- resulting from CFC B radiation reach the earth witch causes an increase in skin cancer and an molecules in the air increase in the frequency of cataracts in humans and animals, a weakening in the human immune system and a decrease in plant and marina life.

Which refrigerants have a 0 HFC's and HC have an ozone depletion Potential of 0 ODP

Global Warming is the increase in the natural that leads to What is Global Warming heating of the Earth

Which refrigerants contribute All refrigerants contribute to global warming; only some do it indirect like HFC's to global warming and HC's whereas other CFC's and HCFC's contribute directly

GWP's are given to that cause a direct effect of global warming, What is a GWP chemicals that are emitted directly into the atmosphere. Direct effects of global warming are measured by comparing them to CO2, which has an GWP of 1

The difference between an ODP and GWP is: Not every refrigerant has an ODP, The ODP is a number given to a refrigerant that says how strong a What is The difference refrigerant causes ozone depletion in the stratosphere, whereas all refrigerant between an ODP and GWP have a GWP, CFC HCFC and HFC as well as CO2 water vapor and may other chemicals absorb reflect and refract the earths infrared radiation and prevent it from escaping the lower atmosphere.

Direct global warming is the effect cause by a refrigerant leaking to the environment which gets caught in the lower atmosphere and causes a What is direct and indirect greenhouse effect whereas indirect global warming is cause by the refrigerant cause of global warming leak causing longer system run time which needs more electrical power to run, and el. Power is made from fossil fuels and other substances that also contribute to global warming

The total equivalent warming impact (TEWI) takes into consideration both the What is TEWI direct and indirect global warming effects of refrigerants. LEED 2009 & Carbon Footprint

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CFC's contain chlorine fluorine and carbon molecules and are considered the most damaging refrigerants to the stratosphere. They have a very stable What is a CFC chemical structure and a long life when exposed to the atmosphere. This allows them to blow up to the stratosphere by atmospherically winds and react with ozone molecules and cause destruction.

HCFC's are the second group of refrigerants that are commonly used. These refrigerants contain hydrogen, chlorine, fluorine and carbon. These refrigerants What is a HCFC tend to have a much smaller ozone depletion because the hydrogen in the compound makes them less stable in the atmosphere, releasing the chlorine before it reaches and reacts with the ozone in the stratosphere.

HFC's are the third group of refrigerants that contain no chlorine atoms and will not deplete the Earth’s protective ozone layer. HFC's are made up of What is a HFC Hydrogen, Fluorine, and Carbon atoms. HFC's have a 0 Ozone Depletion (ODP) and a small Global Warming Potential. HFC's are said to be the long- term replacement for CFC's and HCFC's.

HC's are the fourth group of refrigerants that are not commonly used because they are flammable. They are made up of Hydrogen and Carbon atoms and the have a 0 ODP. They do however contribute to Global Warming. A small percent What is a HC of HC refrigerants are use in and are not flammable when mixed in such small percentages. Some Popular HC's are , , , and .

Why are CFC more harmful CFC's have no hydrogen which makes them a stable compound when to the stratosphere than compared to HCFC which have hydrogen and chlorine. Hydrogen is unstable HCFCs and tends to break down faster.

Do HFC contribute to global warming and do they HFC do not damage the ozone layer but still contribute to global warming damage the ozone layer?

What is The Montreal A conference that was held in Canada in 1987 to attempt to solve the problems Protocol of released refrigerants

What agency of government is charged with implementing EPA the US clean air act amendments of 1990?

Reference: http://quizlet.com/3874344/hvac-flash-cards/

LEED 2009 & Carbon Footprint

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Credits now have different weightings depending on their ability to impact different environmental and human health concerns. The first step in assigning credit weightings was to determine the relative urgency each environmental impact currently bears. The impact categories come from the EPA’s TRACI list of environmental impacts. Each credit was evaluated against a list of 13 environmental impact categories, including climate change, indoor environmental quality, resource depletion and water intake, among many others. The impact categories were prioritized, and credits were assigned a value based on how they contributed to mitigating each impact. The result revealed each credit’s portion of the big picture, giving the most value to credits that have the highest potential for making the biggest change. The credits are all intact; they are just worth different amounts.

Per the revised credit weightings, Carbon Footprint was attributed a relative importance weighting of 25% - the highest weight of all the impact categories by a wide margin. Therefore, with these revised credit weightings, LEED now awards more points for strategies that will have greater positive impacts on what it considers to matter most – energy efficiency and CO2 reductions.

The top priorities for LEED 2009 are energy efficiency and CO2 emissions.

The LEED rating system considers the tradeoff between Ozone Depletion and Global Warming caused by the release of refrigerants commonly used in HVAC systems.

ODP - The ODP, or Ozone Depletion Potential The potential for a single molecule of the refrigerant to destroy the Ozone Layer. All refrigerants use R11 as a datum reference where R11 has an ODP = 1.0 . The less the value of the ODP - the better the refrigerant is for the ozone layer and the environment.

GWP - The GWP , or Global Warming Potential A measurement (usually measured over a 100-year period) of how much effect a refrigerant will have on Global Warming in relation to Carbon Dioxide. CO 2 has a GWP = 1. The lower the value of GWP - the better the refrigerant is for the environment.

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) These are refrigerants that contain Chlorine, Fluorine and Carbon. They were developed in the 1930's and were used in a variety of industrial, commercial, household and automotive applications. They were ideal for commercial, household, and automotive use due to the fact that they are non-toxic, non-flammable, and non-reactive with other chemical compounds. In 1973 however, it was discovered that the Chlorine atom in the CFC's unfortunately is a catalyst for ozone depletion. Since 1987 their use has been prohibited by the Montreal_Protocol.

Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) These are refrigerants that contain Hydrogen, Chlorine, Fluorine, and Carbon. They have only about 10% of the ozone depleting potential as CFCs. They are energy-efficient, low- in-toxicity, cost effective and can be used safely. They have allowed the CFCs consumption of the world to fall by about 75%. Unfortunately, HCFCs are Greenhouse_Gases, despite their very low atmospheric concentrations.

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC's) These are refrigerants containing Hydrogen, Fluorine, and Carbon. Therefore, they do not contain any ozone depleting Chlorine. Besides containing no ozone depleting elements, they usually have an even lower global warming potential than HCFCs. However, they are targets of the Kyoto_Protocol because they have activity in an entirely different realm of Greenhouse Gases. LEED 2009 & Carbon Footprint

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Summary of Refrigerant Types and Defining Characteristics

Refrigerant Types (used in HVAC) Refrigerant ODP GWP CFC Banned by the Montreal Protocol of 2010 CFCs High High HCFC Banned by the Montreal Protocol of 2030 HCFCs Low High HFC HFCs Zero Low Natural CO2, H20, NH3, HC, Air Naturals Zero Zero or Low

Some Practice Questions:

1. Which of these refrigerants has no ozone depletion potential (ODP)? A. CFC B. HFC C. HCFC D. Halon

2. What refrigerant contributes the most to global warming potential (GWP)? A. HFC-23 B. CFC-12 C. Propane D. HCFC-123

3. Which of these substances are natural refrigerants? [Choose Two] A. CO B. NH2 C. H2O D. Propane

4. Which of these substances is banned for use by the Montreal Protocol of 2030? A. CFCs B. HCFCs C. HFCs D. Halons

5. When calculating the atmospheric impact of a refrigerant projects can assume what for the default annual leakage rate (Lr)? A. 2% B. 3% C. 5% D. 10%

6. Which of these is a natural refrigerant? A. (NH3) B. CFC-12 C. HCFC-123 D. HFC-410A

LEED 2009 & Carbon Footprint

LEED Green Associate Prep Course

7. What is Halon? A. Natural Refrigerant B. Fire Suppressant C. Thermal Insulating Material D. Volatile Organic Compound (VOC)

8. In a new building how many CFC’s are allowed? A. 0 B. 5 C. 10 D. 100

9. What is the correct order for which the Montreal Protocol will phase out refrigerants? A. CFC 2010, HCFC 2030 B. HFC 2010, HCFC 2010 C. CFC 2030, HCFC 2010 D. HCF 2030, HCFC 2030

10. What does a project need to do in order to be eligible for certification if there is an existing cooling tower on site that uses CFCs?

Additional Resources:

EPA: http://www.epa.gov/ozone/defns.html http://www.epa.gov/ozone/science/ods/index.html http://www.epa.gov/ozone/geninfo/gwps.html

Refrigerants – Physical and Environmental Properties: http://www.engineeringtoolbox.com/refrigerants-properties-d_145.html

Common Refrigerants and Environmental Safety (University of Pittsburgh): http://me1065.wikidot.com/environmentally-friendly-refrigerants

Natural Refrigerants: http://www.beyondhfcs.org/pages/natural-refrigerants.php

Innovation in Design Exemplary Performance Credits

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Sustainable Sites SS Credit 2 Development Density and Community Connectivity SS Credit 4 Alternative Transportation SS Credit 5 Site Development SS Credit 6 Stormwater Design SS Credit 7 Heat Island Effect SS Credit 10 Joint Use of Facilities (Schools only)

Water Efficiency WE Credit 2 Innovative Wastewater Technologies WE Credit 3 Water Use Reduction WE Credit 4 Process Water Use Reduction (Schools only)

Energy and Atmosphere EA Credit 1 Optimize Energy Performance EA Credit 2 On-site Renewable Energy EA Credit 3 Enhanced Commissioning EA Credit 6 Green Power

Materials and Resources MR Credit 1 Building Reuse: Maintain Existing Walls, Floors, and Roof (Core & Shell only) MR Credit 2 Construction MR Credit 3 Materials Reuse MR Credit 4 Recycled Content MR Credit 5 Regional Materials MR Credit 6 Rapidly Renewable Materials (New Construction and Schools only) MR Credit 7 Certified Wood (Core & Shell, MR Credit 6)

Indoor Environmental Quality IEQ Credit 3 Construction Indoor Air Quality Management Plan (Core & Shell only) IEQ Credit 8 Daylight and Views IEQ Credit 9 Enhanced Acoustical Performance (Schools only) IEQ Credit 10 Mold Prevention (Schools only)