NEWSLETTER

LEED 2009 and SpecLink

The Summer 2009 update of SpecLink includes new sections to address the newly issued LEED 2009 Green Building Rating Systems.  On April 27, 2009, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) launched their new on-line certification process for LEED 2009, also called LEED Version 3.  On June 27, two months later, new projects will be required to register for LEED 2009.  December 31 is the last day of the free migration period, so SpecLink has maintained the existing sections that address pre-2009 LEED editions.  

The new sections added are:
013514.01  LEED 2009 New Construction Credit Summary.
013514.02  LEED 2009 FOR Schools Credit Summary.
013514.03  LEED 2009 Core and Shell Credit Summary.
013514.04  LEED 2009 Commercial Interiors Credit Summary.

The existing sections are:
013514  LEED Credit Summary (now to be used only for pre-2009 editions)
013515  LEED Certification Procedures (to be used with both 2009 and earlier editions).

The new credit summary sections work just like the original one -- selections of particular design solutions turn on appropriate spec sections and activate the appropriate provisions in the Certification Procedures section.  The new credit summary sections are easier to use because only one rating system at a time is covered in each section.

Some of the things that have changed in the 2009 editions:

• Each rating system (i.e. NC, Schools, CS, CI), now offers the same number of points -- 100 points.  This means that the 100 points have been distributed among all the credits, resulting in some credits with significantly higher point value.
• Each rating system has the same thresholds for Certified, Silver, Gold, and Platinum -- 40, 50, 60, and 80, respectively.
• New Regional Priority credits  have been added, giving more weight to existing credits in specific regions.  Each zip code in the U.S. has been assigned 6 of the normal credits that the 4 regional credits can be selected from.  In other words, if the project achieves one of the selected regional credits, one additional point is awarded.
• Some new credits have been added -- USGBC provides comparative documents to easily identify these.
• The "thresholds" for some existing credits have been increased - see the comparative documents.
• Water Use Reduction is now a prerequisite, not a credit for all rating systems.
• The energy performance credits have increased considerably, with up to 19 points for NC and Schools, up to 22 for CI, and up to 21 for CS.

LEED 2009 for Existing Buildings: Operation and Maintenance has not been implemented in SpecLink because its focus has changed considerably.  Although some construction related credits are included, LEED-EB 2009 is less likely to be used for construction projects than LEED-EB version 2, 2005.  LEED-EB 2008 is more like the 2009 version but was not implemented in SpecLink.

Projects underway may continue to use the original Section 013514 LEED Credit Summary for projects registered under rating system versions prior to 2009 and LEED-EB prior to 2008.

For more information about how the SpecLink LEED sections work, please visit our Specifier's Library.

For more information about LEED 2009, visit USGBC's web site at www.usgbc.org.