| |
How to gain LEED® points in new building construction
projects using products made with aluminum extruded profiles?
By: Guy Charpentier, Marketing Manager, Bonnell Aluminum
If you are involved with commercial architectural construction
projects, you have certainly been exposed to LEED® and how
critical all points are towards meeting the project's certification.
Recently, I came across an old presentation from Dr. Thomas Culp PHD
from Birch Consulting (tculp@birchpointconsulting.com)
on ways to achieve LEED® points using aluminum and aluminum
extrusions in commercial new construction and retrofit, and thought
the content should be made public providing the inclusion of the most
recent updates. Well here it is, and I want to thank Dr.Culp for his
insights towards the content of this paper which hopefully will be of
assistance to all readers.
As most building professionals know, aluminum extrusions have
been used for decades in a variety of applications because of their
physical and characteristic advantages: lightweight, high
strength/weight ratio, resilient, corrosion-resistant, non-toxic,
non-sparking, non-combustible, attractive appearance, wide range of
finishes, easy to fabricate, joinable in many ways, easy-assembly
designs, capable of achieving complex integral shapes with precise
close dimensional tolerances, and more. From curtain walls used in
architectural projects to commercial windows, from storefronts to
canopies, from building-integrated photovoltaic panels (BIPV) to
sunshades, the use of aluminum extruded products into the new
commercial building projects can help you gain LEED® points.
What is LEED®?
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council (www.usgbc.org),
Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design certification system -
LEED® represents a comprehensive approach to sustainability using
a suite of rating systems for the design, construction and operation
of buildings, homes and neighborhoods. It employs strategies intended
to improve performance in metrics such as site development and
sustainability, stewardship of resources and sensitivity to their
impacts, water efficiency, energy and atmosphere, materials and
resources, improved indoor environmental quality, innovation and
design processes. Buildings can achieve four different LEED®
levels based on total number of points: Certified, Silver, Gold, or
Platinum.
Why does LEED® matter to architects and builders?
Aside from the sustainability and efficiency characteristics
relative to the building material selection, the building operation
and maintenance, building owners and architects are requesting
LEED® certification primary because LEED® ratings are now a
requirement for many new construction of government and publicly-owned
buildings, and an increasing number of cities are now making it
mandatory for all new buildings to be certified LEED®.
In LEED®, every point matters! How can aluminum
extrusions help?
There are many applications where aluminum extrusions are used
in buildings: windows, doors, curtain walls, storefronts, canopies and
walkway covers, sunshades, louvers, solar panel framings, cladding,
railing, HVAC equipment, appliances, and furniture. Aluminum products
play a role in several LEED® categories:
1. Energy & Atmosphere
2. Materials & Resources
3. Indoor Environmental Quality
4. Innovation & Design Process
Applicable credits for LEED® 2009 - New Constructions
& Major Renovations (Version 2.2)
|
LEED®
Credits |
Possible points |
How can
aluminum contribute? |
| Energy &
Atmosphere |
EA Credit 1 - Optimize
Energy Performance |
1-19 points for
reducing overall energy costs by 10-48% compared to ASHRAE 90.1 2007
baseline building. |
Thermally improved and
thermal barrier framing; sunshades for solar control; light shelves;
extra windows and skylights for day lighting. |
|
EA Credit 2 - On-Site
Renewable Energy |
1-7 points for on-site
renewable energy production which offsets 1 - 13% of building
energy costs. |
Aluminum framing on
standard solar panels arrays; photovoltaic integrated into curtain
wall (both spandrel and vision area); photovoltaic integrated into
sunshades. |
| Materials &
Resources |
MR Credits 2.1 and 2.2
- Construction Waste Management |
1 point for recycling
and/or salvaging at least 50% of non-hazardous construction and
demolition debris; 2 points if 75%. |
Recycling of aluminum
materials |
|
MR Credits 4.1 and 4.2
- Recycled Content |
1 point if 10% of the
total value of materials in the project is from recycled materials
Note: percentage is calculated as post-consumer recycled material +
only 1/2 pre-consumer recycled material. 2 points if 20%. |
Recycled aluminum is
known as secondary aluminum, but maintains the same physical
properties as primary aluminum; the use of secondary aluminum by
extruders has significantly increased in recent years, contributing
to a higher percentage of recycled content; custom casts are also
available. |
|
MR Credits 5.1 and 5.2
- Regional Materials |
1 point if 10% of the
total value of materials in the project is extracted or recovered,
processed, as well as manufactured within 500 miles of project site;
2 points if 20%. |
Only applies if the
product's recycled content portion was recovered, re-processed, and
manufactured, all within 500 miles of the project's site. |
| Indoor Environmental
Quality |
EQ Credit 2 -
Increased Ventilation EQ Credit 6.2 - Controllability of Systems:
Thermal Comfort |
1 point if demonstrate
increased mechanical or natural ventilation to occupied spaces; 1
point for providing operable windows and/or comfort controls to 50%
of occupants. |
Increased use of
operable window products. |
|
EQ Credit 4.2 -
Low-Emitting Materials: Paints & Coatings |
1 point if all
architectural paints, coatings, and primers applied to interior
walls and ceilings do not exceed the VOC limits established in Green
Seal Standard GS-11 |
Assuming window frames
are included as part of the interior wall, anodized aluminum frames
contain no VOC; in addition, there are certain coatings that may
qualify. |
|
EQ Credits 8.1 and 8.2
- Daylight & Views |
1 point if provide a
minimum daylight illumination to 75% of all regularly occupied
areas; 1 point if provide direct line of sight to exterior glazing
for 90% of all regularly occupied areas. |
Increased use of
windows, skylights, atriums, light shelves. |
| Innovation &
Design |
ID Credit 1 -
Innovation in Design |
Up to 5 points for
exceptional performance or innovative approaches beyond basic
LEED® credits; awarded on a project-by-project basis, but USGBC
maintains a catalog of ID strategies that have been awarded or
denied. |
Innovation &
design credits have been given for environmentally friendly
furniture, including low VOC finishes. Use of Cradle-to-Cradle (C2C)
certified products: 1 point if 2.5% of the total value of materials
in the project is from C2C certified products. |
| Pilot Credits |
LEED® Pilot Credit
1: Life Cycle Assessment of Building Assemblies and Materials |
All LEED® 2009
projects that participate in the piloting of a credit or
prerequisite will be awarded 1 point under the Innovation and Design
credit 1 or Innovation in Operations credit 1 after completing the
required documentation. |
Use an USGBC approved
Environmental Impact Calculator to identify and calculate
environmental impact estimates for generic assemblies used in the
project from the following assembly groups: columns and beams,
floors, exterior walls, windows, interior walls, and roofs. |
|
LEED® Pilot Credit
2: PBT Source Reduction: Dioxins and Halogenated Organic Compounds |
1 point if 75% of the
total value of materials in the project is without added halogenated
organic compounds in a minimum of three of the following four
groups: exterior components (including windows), interior finishes,
piping / conduit / electrical boxes, electrical cable / wire
jacketing. |
This pilot credit
specifically lists aluminum with thermal breaks as a material that
is free of added chlorine or other halogens. |
Facts about the sustainability of aluminum and aluminum
extrusions:
-
In the Earth's crust, aluminum is the most abundant (8.3% by
weight) metallic element and the third most abundant of all elements
(after oxygen and silicon).
-
It is estimated that around 75% of all aluminum produced since
1886 is still in use today. This is due to the fact that aluminum is
100% recyclable - and can be infinitely recycled without any loss of
its unique properties.
-
Recycling aluminum saves 95 percent of the energy and 95
percent of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with producing
aluminum from ore.
What's coming next?
We should expect sustainability to gain increased
considerations in building designs. We know the American Institute of
Architects (www.aia.org)
has been expanding its scope towards sustainability, with the recent
introduction of five new documents for use on sustainable projects. In
addition, the U.S. Green Building Council is currently developing
LEED® 2012 and the upcoming changes will focus on increasing the
technical rigor of the rating system and expanding the market sectors
that are able to use LEED®. We believe that all of these changes
will continue to favor the use of aluminum as a building material in
new construction, commercial interiors, core & shell, schools and
healthcare.
Click
here to learn more about large diameter extrusions and applications
Follow us on:  
|
|
