LEED-Green-Associate Exam Dumps - USGBC Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) Questions and Answers

LEED prerequisites are the minimum requirements that a project must meet in order to be eligible for LEED certification. Prerequisites are mandatory for all projects and cannot be substituted or waived. If a project does not meet a prerequisite in one credit category, it does not qualify for certification, regardless of how many points it earns in other categories123.

A project that does not meet a prerequisite in one credit category does not forfeit all points in the same credit category, as points are awarded for meeting optional credits, not prerequisites. A project cannot file a CIR (Credit Interpretation Request) to seek clarification or exception for a prerequisite, as CIRs are only applicable for credits. A projectcannot substitute a prerequisite from an alternative rating system, as prerequisites are specific to each rating system and reflect the minimum standards for that system

The methodology that is used to evaluate and study the economic performance of a building or system over its entire life is life cycle assessment (LCA). LCA is a technique that assesses the environmental aspects and potential impacts associated with a product, process, or service throughout its life cycle, from raw material extraction to end-of-life disposal or recycling7. LCA can also include an economic dimension by incorporating life cycle costing (LCC), whichestimates the total costs of ownership over the life cycle of a product or system8. By combining LCA and LCC, one can evaluate the environmental and economic performance of a building or system in a holistic way, taking into account both the initial investment costs and the long-term operational costs. This can help identify trade-offs and synergies between environmental and economic objectives, as well as opportunities for improving efficiency and reducing impacts9. References: Life-cycle assessment7; What is Life Cycle Assessment (LCA)?8; Life Cycle Costing in Construction Projects: A Case Study of a Municipal Building in Portugal9

LEED defines Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) as:

“Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) analyzes the environmental impacts of a service, material or product through its entire life cycle.”

This makes LCA distinct from Life Cycle Costing (LCC), which evaluates economic impact.

The footprint of a building is the area of ground that it covers, defined by its perimeter. It’s essentially the shape that results when you trace around the outer walls of a building plan. This term is used in architecture and urban planning to describe the space that a building occupies on a site. References: LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook, U.S. Green Building Council resources

An occupant survey is the most efficient way for building users to rate the heating and air-conditioning and other aspects of work spaces. An occupant survey is a tool that collects feedback from building occupants about their satisfaction with various aspects of their indoor environment, such as thermal comfort, lighting quality, acoustic quality, air quality, and spatial layout. An occupant survey can help identify areas for improvement, monitor performance, evaluate design strategies, and inform future decisions. The LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook states that one of the strategies for achieving indoor environmental quality is to “conduct occupant surveys on thermal comfort” [1, p. 16]. References: LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook, [Occupant Surveys | Center for the Built Environment]

Energy use intensity (EUI) is a measure of energy use per unit of floor space. It is calculated by dividing the total energy consumed by the building in one year (measured in kilowatt-hours or kilo-British Thermal Units) by the total gross floor area of the building (measured in square feet or square meters). EUI is a useful metric for comparing the energy performance of different buildings or benchmarking against national averages. EUI can vary depending on building type, climate, occupancy, and other factors. Generally, a lower EUI indicates better energy efficiency and lower environmental impact. References: What is Energy Use Intensity (EUI)?2; Energy Use Intensity (EUI)3

The LEED Fellow is a distinction awarded by GBCI for LEED APs who have made significant contributions to the field of green building and sustainability at a regional, national or global level. The LEED Fellow designation recognizes exceptional contributions to green building and significant professional achievement within the rapidly growing community of LEED Professionals. References: LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook, U.S. Green Building Council resources

Teams organize and work as part of an integrative process by working in small groups and as a whole with iterative processes. The integrative process is a method of design and construction that involves the collaboration and coordination of all project stakeholders from the beginning to achieve the project’s sustainability goals1. The integrative process requires teams to work in small groups, such as subcommittees or task forces, to focus on specific aspects of the project, such as energy, water, materials, indoor environmental quality, and site ecology2. The small groups then report back to the whole team and share their findings and recommendations, allowing for feedback and integration among different disciplines and systems2. The integrative process also requires teams to work with iterative processes, which means that they repeat and refine the design and analysis cycles until they reach the optimal solutions that meet the project’s performance targets3. The iterative processes enable teams to explore various scenarios, test assumptions, identify synergies and trade-offs, and evaluate the life-cycle impacts of their design decisions34.

Integrative process | U.S. Green Building Council

LEED v4 | U.S. Green Building Council

The Integrative Process in LEED V4 —ArchEcology

New LEED Pilot Credit Establishes an Integrative Process for Health Promotion

LEED Integrative Process Credit Explained - Projectific, Inc.

Soft surfaces contribute to a comfortable acoustic environment by absorbing sound waves and reducing noise levels. This can include items such as carpets, upholstered furniture, and acoustic ceiling tiles. In contrast, hard surfaces (like wood cabinets, hollow metal doors, or glass partitions)can reflect sound waves and increase noise levels. References: LEED Green Associate Candidate Handbook, U.S. Green Building Council resources

The Materials and Resources (MR) category focuses on reducing the environmental, economic, and social impacts of building materials from extraction to disposal12. It encourages the use of materials that have lower embodied energy, less waste, more recycled content, and better life-cycle performance12.

LEED v4: Building Design + Construction Guide - U.S. Green Building Council1

Credit’s Supporting LEED’s Materials and Resources Category | Legrand2