NC 2009 IEQc6.1: Controllability of Systems—Lighting

Hi Tommy,

I would assume that the Template is just limited in its functionality and that "individual workstations" are not now just limited to private offices. As is the case with many LEED Template issues, I would just explain your case very clearly in a narrative and include bedrooms under "individual workstations" or under the “on/off” area of the Template. I usually have the following designations for dorms or housing units. Do these align with what you’re thinking too?

The following are “individual workstations”:
Bedrooms
Home Offices

Multi-Occupant:
Living Room
Dining Room
Kitchen

Excluded:
Bathrooms
Closets

Having one switch to turn all lights in the office on/off will not earn this credit. Adding a task light is a simple, easy way to earn this credit. I've also done it with a 3-lamp troffer in the office with two ballasts. Two switches at the door. One switch controls the 1-lamp ballast and the other controls the 2-lamp ballast. This lets you get either 0%, 33%, 67%, or 100% light levels in the space and meets the credit's requirement for multiple levels of lighting.

Hi Amy,
For an individual office with really just one occupant then you only need one light switch. I'm confused by the ruling from 2008. However, if the reviewer sees an individual office with multiple desks then they will assume that there are multiple occupants and so you'd need controllability per occupant. Or perhaps the confusion from the reviewer in 2008 was because it was a LEED-CS project without a furniture layout. It's very helpful for the reviewer to see a furniture layout so that they know how many occupants there are per room.

If you had an office that was an open office area with cubicles then you'd need to use task lights most likely to accomplish the requirements of the credit.

Hallways would not usually be included since they are not regularly occupied spacesRegularly occupied spaces are areas where one or more individuals normally spend time (more than one hour per person per day on average) seated or standing as they work, study, or perform other focused activities inside a building. and need to be lit for fire egress.

I agree with David.

Hi Patti,

I've run into a similar situation before where I've had blurry partitions between spaces. Obviously, would need to be with you to review your exact lighting setting up in order for me to clarify if you're in good shape. However, it seems like you're on the right track.

As a reminder, hallways, restrooms, and all non-regularly occupied spacesRegularly occupied spaces are areas where one or more individuals normally spend time (more than one hour per person per day on average) seated or standing as they work, study, or perform other focused activities inside a building. are excluded from this calculation so I would focus on the other spaces you mentioned below.

There are many situations where we have rooms that are multi-functional and with blurred lines between the rooms. For the ease of the reviewer, I will sometimes rename or reframe the name of the room for the LEED Template to call it a room name like "Living Room/Dining Room" etc. At that point, I can then describe the controllability for that room. The intent behind the credit is to allow for the users to control their space to suit their needs. If someone wanted to cook a meal while another person was reading in the living room, would there be enough control? If part of your strategy is task lights, then make sure to note that as well and provide cut sheets, ideally, of the specified task lights. I'm assuming you're in fine shape for the bedroom areas which would require individual controls?

Hope that helps a bit. Good luck!

I would suggest to check the credit requirements under LEED NC for Retail, because the Retail rating systems are applicable to shops, restaurants even spas. I have argued the application of those requirements for a mixed use project for controllability of systems - thermal comfort. That approach was excepted by the reviewers.

I agree with Susann. Check out LEED NC for Retail. I have also referenced LEED NC for Retail requirements while still using other LEED Systems. Good luck!

Technically speaking, I believe that you can only use a lease agreement toward compliance with a credit in the LEED CS system. That being said, you could definitely give it a shot.

Make sure to include the actual lease language in your submission and make sure that you're lease is written as specifically as possible. Please note that the language must be binding and cannot be something that would read more like a Tenant Guideline. It must be an actual requirement.

Couldn't you also take the approach of just submitting your documentation with the temporary lighting fixture design? Multi-occupant spacesConference rooms, classrooms and other indoor spaces used as a place of congregation for presentations, trainings, etc. Individuals using these spaces share the lighting and temperature controls and they should have, at a minimum, a separate zone with accessible thermostat and an air-flow control. Group multi-occupant spaces do not include open office plans that contain individual workstations. just need the ability to control their lighting; they don't need individual controls. Presumably your restaurant dining area will have lighting control of some form and then you could submit with that design.

Good luck!
Lauren

Hi Wendy,

For this credit, how often the lights are on or not on, doesn't affect credit compliance. I think that the dining area and the bar will be defined as "multi-occupant" spaces and therefore would just need some form of lighting controllability.

I'd imagine that there would be different lighting settings for the bar area than the dining area? You want to present to the reviewer how you've allowed for lighting controllability to suit the varied needs of the occupants.

If you have areas where one worker is stationed, like a greeter's desk, or an office in the back of house, than those areas would need to be treated more as "individual workstations" with their own individual lighting control.

Hope that helps. Restaurants certainly can get this credit.

Also, maybe check out LEED for Retail as a general guide. In LEED for Retail, only FTE, need to have controls. Even if you're not using LEED for Retail officially. Reviewers may be understanding of you referencing aspects of the system, if parts of the LEED for Retail system are applicable to your project type.

Good luck,
Lauren

Hi Anne,

Yes, I think that the lounge area would need to have some degree of lighting controls in order to meet the credit requirements. The corridor areas would not. Would task lights work for the students to use? Alternatively, just one main lighting switch I think would suffice for that area to have controllability.

I would make it clear in your narrative to the reviewer that the desks are used intermittently and that they are not to be considered workstations or else task lights would be required for each desk.

Lauren

Sandra, that's right—the requirement is for individual workspaces. Note that the form recognizes different "workspace types"—so this doesn't just apply to office workstations.

Tristan;
Thank you for pointing that out, we're working on a warehouse project, so there are workspaces that are not typical office workstations.
thanks!

Hi Matthew,

Interesting comments and interpretations of the credit! I can't tell you the exact thinking behind this credit other than that at its most basic level its intent is to allow for controllability of occupants. I agree that the cafe area, servery, fitness room and game area should all be called "multi-occupant spacesConference rooms, classrooms and other indoor spaces used as a place of congregation for presentations, trainings, etc. Individuals using these spaces share the lighting and temperature controls and they should have, at a minimum, a separate zone with accessible thermostat and an air-flow control. Group multi-occupant spaces do not include open office plans that contain individual workstations.". The Reference Guide states that you need to "provide lighting system controls for all shared multi-occupant spaces to enable adjustments that meet group needs and preferences." I don't see anywhere in the RG that states that the group needs would require having multiple lighting levels. Multiple lighting levels would make sense for a conference room where different group needs would exist (a presentatation, a small gathering, etc.) but may not make sense in other group settings with fewer uses.

That being said, I would think about ways to allow for multiple controls for these different areas if it made sense. I worked on a coffee shop that provided some intimate small lights in the cafe area for patrons to read by in our multi-occupant space. Something like that in your cafe or different settings provided for different occupants might be nice...That being said, I think you should be OK either way for these multi-occupant areas so long as you provide your reasoning one way or another.

Good luck,
Lauren

Thanks Lauren - I guess my interpretation for having "multiple lighting levels" is based off the language that mulit-occupant spaces need to "provide lighting system controls ... to enable adjustments that meet group needs and preferences"

To me, that implies "multiple" lighting controls/adjustments. It would be hard to argue that a single light switch for all the lights in the room/area provides "control" that enables "adjustment" based of group "preferences". The only options would be all lights on or all lights off, not much room for adjustment. And, if you look at the specific strategies given in the reference guide to meet this criteria, they all provide more than one lighting option [dimers, dual switching, etc].

This of course goes back to my original question regarding the logic involved here. If a room has a singular function but has multiple occupants, can the same lighting be applied to this space as is applied to a single occupied space [private office]? To me, that makes sense.

The last think i would want to do would be to say we are okay as designed right now [when they are installing the lights] and have the reviewers comment saying that _all_ multi-occupant spacesConference rooms, classrooms and other indoor spaces used as a place of congregation for presentations, trainings, etc. Individuals using these spaces share the lighting and temperature controls and they should have, at a minimum, a separate zone with accessible thermostat and an air-flow control. Group multi-occupant spaces do not include open office plans that contain individual workstations. need two or more lighting "options" and either loose the credit or go back and add/change the lighting system once the drywall is up and painted.

I have a formal inquiry into the GBCI - I hope they get back to me before the lighting systems are installed...

Thanks again for your insight, Lauren. I'll report back if/when I hear something more "official".

On a 2.2 project, I've seen this credit accepted when a detailed analysis of all spaces/ uses/ lighting needs/ and lighting controls was provided. The team provided a table listing all spaces within the building (not just rooms, but all spaces with different activities) in rows, and the columns listed the use, the task performed, the occupancy, frequency or duration of use, lighting requirements for that kind of task (such as ambient only, task + ambient, multiple levels of ambient, multiple zones, etc) and then the type of lighting controls provided.

This helps you to be more precise about the level of controls that is appropriate for the specific "needs and preferences" that can vary from space to space. No assurance that this method would be accepted by all reviewers, but hopefully it would be considered a valid and reasonable approach.

Okay - I mentioned I submitted a formal inquiry into the GBCI but I also submitted a non-formal inquiry to a contact I have at the GBCI. This is going to be a long [but hopefully informative] comment - so bear with me:

ME: There seems to be two layers of logic for defining single or mult-occupied space. One is by number of occupants [private office vs. conference rooms] and one is by function [café vs. open office]. There can then be four different types of spaces: [1] single occupied space but used for a variety of functions, [2] single occupied space used for a single function, [3] multi-occupied space used for a variety of functions, and [4] multi-occupied spacesOccupied Spaces are defined as enclosed spaces that can accommodate human activities. Occupied spaces are further classified as regularly occupied or non-regularly occupied spaces based on the duration of the occupancy, individual or multi-occupant based on the quantity of occupants, and densely or non-densely occupied spaces based upon the concentration of occupants in the space. used for a single function.

CONTACT: I believe this is pretty clear in the reference guide. Any space use for congregation is going to be considered multi-occupancy, even break rooms. However, there are small conference rooms that do not have to be included in the calculations. There are also exceptions if there is a small percentage of multi-occupant space.

ME: Following that logic, conference rooms would be multi-use by multiple occupants which would need multiple lighting levels while an open office area doesn't need to provide control of ambient lightingLighting in a space that provides for general wayfinding and visual comfort, in contrast to task lighting, which illuminates a defined area to facilitate specific visual work. so long as there is task lighting. It seems to work within the examples given both in the reference guide and on this website.

CONTACT: Correct.

ME: Here is the question[s]: If a room has a singular function, despite how many people use it, does it need multiple lighting levels to comply with this credit or will a single lighting zone with a single wall switch be sufficient?

CONTACT: If a room is considered a multi-occupant space, then it will be required to have multiple lighting levels. There may be exceptions like the ones you list below, but we will need something from the reference guide or a CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide to deviate. You could also submit a project specific CIR.

ME: Further, for conference rooms do you need multiple lighting level controllability or will a single wall switch be sufficient?

CONTACT: Yes, conference room will need multiple lighting levels. A wall switch or occupancy sensor will not be sufficient. Additionally, single wall switches will not be allowed for single offices as they are not adjustable to suit task needs. You can use windows, blinds, etc. and overheard lighting, but an interior office with only and occupancy sensor or on/off switch will not be sufficient.

ME: In past projects, we’ve been awarded this credit [in v2.2] when conference rooms have only access to a single wall switch turning on all the available lights in the room. Is this still an acceptable strategy?

CONTACT: We are attempting to be consistent moving forward, but a single wall switch isn’t acceptable.

ME: I'm trying to nail down the logic and clear up gray areas. I'm working on a call center that has a large servery [large break room kitchen] and cafe area, as well as a fitness and game area. I want to argue that these spaces are used by multiple people but for a single function or task and thus only need to offer access to lighting control [similar to a private office], not access to multiple lighting levels [as in a large conference room].

CONTACT: The break room is a multi-occupant space. The other spaces may end up being treated differently, but I haven’t had a chance to go through all the CIRs.

Now I know this isn't "formal" but my contact has access to TAG's and he discussed this with them. I think it is fairly safe to assume this is the direction the GBCI will be ruling in the future.

Hope this helps.
Matthew VanSweden

Lindsay, I think the applicability of override switches and occupancy sensors depends on whether you are talking about individual workstations or shared multi-occupant spacesConference rooms, classrooms and other indoor spaces used as a place of congregation for presentations, trainings, etc. Individuals using these spaces share the lighting and temperature controls and they should have, at a minimum, a separate zone with accessible thermostat and an air-flow control. Group multi-occupant spaces do not include open office plans that contain individual workstations.. The presence of an override switch for an occ. sensor can make sense as a control for individual work station lighting, but not by itself for shared multi occupant spaces.

For shared multi-occupant spaces, the BD& C guide Figure 2 on page 524 gives some guidance on options that comply: "Control options: dimmer switches step dimming bi-level switching multi zones." Your advice is consistent with the requirements for that space type.

David, Lindsay and other interested parties: I would love to have a cite for Ref Guide Addenda or Historic CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide with the language stating that override switches alone are not sufficient in multi-occupant spacesConference rooms, classrooms and other indoor spaces used as a place of congregation for presentations, trainings, etc. Individuals using these spaces share the lighting and temperature controls and they should have, at a minimum, a separate zone with accessible thermostat and an air-flow control. Group multi-occupant spaces do not include open office plans that contain individual workstations.. If such a formal cite exists, would this also apply to 2.2 projects? Thanks, Marian

Marian,
You may not find the exact wording you're looking to cite in a published ruling. I've seen three CIRs that address the more general intent of providing multiple levels of lighting in multi-occupant spacesConference rooms, classrooms and other indoor spaces used as a place of congregation for presentations, trainings, etc. Individuals using these spaces share the lighting and temperature controls and they should have, at a minimum, a separate zone with accessible thermostat and an air-flow control. Group multi-occupant spaces do not include open office plans that contain individual workstations. based on the use of the space: Inquiry numbers 5056, 1650, and 5101. These appear to apply to 2.2, and help clarify the intent of the credit:

We have seen single controls (occupancy sensors with overrides) in conference rooms rejected on an EB O&M 2008 project, and we've seen an NC 2.2 project approved when an analysis of each space showed variable lighting levels in areas where it was appropriate (see my comment from March 29 above).

Shaun, my interpretation would be that the switches do not affect credit compliance, since the same space is already covered by the task lighting at each desk. Does that make sense?

Hi Shawn and Tristan,

Yes, each space is split into either an individual workstation or a multi-occupant space. It sounds like you did a good job to provide all your cubicles with task lights and called that space a series of individual workstations so you can (as far as the credit is concerned) meet the overhead lighting needs any way you like.

It's also probably a good practice to have it controlled through daylighting sensorsA lighting feature that takes advantage of sunlight to cut the amount of electric lighting used in a building by varying output of the lighting system in response to variations in available daylight. They are sometimes referred to as "natural lighting control sensors " or "photocells."   and occupancy sensors as opposed to switches to lower your overall LPDLighting power density (LPD) is the amount of electric lighting, usually measured in watts per square foot, being used to illuminate a given space..

Lauren

Thank you both for your comments! Is there any chance that the removal of the switches could show up in a commissioning report and raise a flag? I'm assuming that it wouldn't matter, as long as the daylight and occupancy sensors are functioning correctly. Again, thank you for your comments.

Shaun

Hi Shaun,

When you say, "raise a red flag" do you mean with reviewers? If so, no, I don't think it will be a problem. If you wanted you could provide a clarifying short narrative but I don't think it is necessary.

Good luck,
Lauren

Hi David,

Yes, in residential applications, a resident's room would count as a "workstation" and you could provide a lighting control for each room. You would also need to include the other "workstations" such as the front desk employee's controls and any other workstation like applications in the assisted living facility.

Multi-occupant spacesConference rooms, classrooms and other indoor spaces used as a place of congregation for presentations, trainings, etc. Individuals using these spaces share the lighting and temperature controls and they should have, at a minimum, a separate zone with accessible thermostat and an air-flow control. Group multi-occupant spaces do not include open office plans that contain individual workstations. would need to be accounted for too.

The same approach would also be the case for EQc6.2.

Hi Anders,

Your classifications seem correct so far. Whenever I work on this credit, I automatically take out the non-occupied spacesOccupied Spaces are defined as enclosed spaces that can accommodate human activities. Occupied spaces are further classified as regularly occupied or non-regularly occupied spaces based on the duration of the occupancy, individual or multi-occupant based on the quantity of occupants, and densely or non-densely occupied spaces based upon the concentration of occupants in the space. from consideration and the non-regularly occupied spacesRegularly occupied spaces are areas where one or more individuals normally spend time (more than one hour per person per day on average) seated or standing as they work, study, or perform other focused activities inside a building.. Then, from what's left, I look at determining what is multi-occupant and what is considered "individual workstation".

This can be the tricky step. For a retail coffee project I am working on (using LEED-NC v3), I classified the manager's desk as an individual workstation as well as some of the patron's seating areas as workstations; I also provided task lights for the patrons to help meet this credit.

I think it could be argued, in my case, that the baristas are at a workstation or that the case register is a workstation, but that didn't interact realistic as a lighting option as there is just one big light switch that covers all retail lighting for us in the back storage room.

I am going through all my examples to help clarify my thinking on this topic. In your case, I'd wonder whether or not the pharmacy, cafe, deli, bakery and some other areas you mentioned should in fact have lighting controls to suit the needs and controllability of the workers. I am not an expert in retail design and imagine it might not be deemed practical.

Further, if you're using the LEED 2009 Retail Guide it seems to make the credit more achievable for retail projects by allowing you to only consider the office and administrative spaces. It does not seem to require you at all to address multi-occupant spacesConference rooms, classrooms and other indoor spaces used as a place of congregation for presentations, trainings, etc. Individuals using these spaces share the lighting and temperature controls and they should have, at a minimum, a separate zone with accessible thermostat and an air-flow control. Group multi-occupant spaces do not include open office plans that contain individual workstations..

So, provide a short answer to your question, I'd suggest your inclusions/exclusions are correct! :)

Lauren

Hi Meredith,

I had a similar project and this is the narrative that we uploaded for this credit. I hope this helps in your thinking a bit. This was a LEED-NCv2.2 project and we were able to achieve the credit in this way.

"The City [Blank] will be providing the users of the new facility, [Project Name] Community Center Phase II, with the ability to control the climate in the Multipurpose room so that thermal comfort requirements can be achieved.

The Multipurpose room is set up so that the HVAC system can be controlled locally as well as remotely via an intranet-based Building Automation System (BAS)A building automation system (BAS) uses computer-based monitoring to coordinate, organize, and optimize building control subsystems, including lighting, equipment scheduling, and alarm reporting.. The room sensors provide for the space to be programmable to enable the occupants to have adjustable control of the temperature in the space. Since temperature is adjustable, it can be changed to suit the type of occupancy in the space. If the room occupants have trouble getting the temperature they desire, there are posted signs that explain how to contact City Maintenance for assistance.

The occupants will also have manual control by pressing the "Manual Override Push Button" on the room sensor to allow system operation and temperature control after normally occupied hours.

The facility will be used by many different groups, but whether it is a facility sponsored and scheduled event (such as after school kids/teens, community group meetings, etc) or an outside group renting the space (for a wedding, a family reunion, a basketball tournament, etc) there will always be a City of [Blank]Parks & Recreation staff member who is familiar with the building and works in the space on a regular basis. The staff members have all received training on how to operate the HVAC and how to contact the City Maintenance staff if they require assistance."

I believe the initial question was about lighting control systems in a recA Renewable Energy Certificate (REC) is a certificate representing proof that a given unit of electricity was generated from a renewable energy source such as solar or wind. These certificates are able to be sold, traded, or bartered as environmental commodities, where an electricity consumer can buy the renewable energy attributes of electricty to support renewable energy, even if they are consuming generic grid-supplied electricity that may be supplied by nonrenewable sources. center space, and not thermal controls... We have a similar issue with a student rec enter that has basketball courts, a natatorium and lockers etc. All of these would be 'multi-occupant' spaces- how can we make them comply?

Thanks-

I think that all of those spaces that you mention above would be multi-occupant spacesConference rooms, classrooms and other indoor spaces used as a place of congregation for presentations, trainings, etc. Individuals using these spaces share the lighting and temperature controls and they should have, at a minimum, a separate zone with accessible thermostat and an air-flow control. Group multi-occupant spaces do not include open office plans that contain individual workstations.. The same logic for thermal controls could apply here. Basically, your occupants need to have controllability for these spaces. Either because they can control their own lights and have direct access to them in this way or because they have a clearly defined mechanism for requesting that someone else change the lighting levels to meet the varied needs of the space.

Thank you for the quick response. That was my interpretation as well. Happy Holidays!

Great, happy holidays!

In past projects, where there is a single occupancy office or workstation, if a hard-wired light switch is provided, then a task light is not necessary. The way I interpret the LEED User guidance above is that it's assumed that ambient lightingLighting in a space that provides for general wayfinding and visual comfort, in contrast to task lighting, which illuminates a defined area to facilitate specific visual work. is not controllable by each individual. An open office with only centrally controlled ambient lighting and without task lighting would thus not comply. Adding task lighting to each workstation in an open office would allow that space to comply, as each individual has control over their own lighting. Do others agree?

Yes, this is how our guidance is intended to be read. Sorry for any confusion.

Great, thanks Tristan and Marian!

Any further insight on individual offices (one occupant)? We have received a ruling in the past (2008 - CI 2.0 project) that a single on/off switch in an individual office does not meet the credit requirements. We would consider an on/off switch the ambient lightingLighting in a space that provides for general wayfinding and visual comfort, in contrast to task lighting, which illuminates a defined area to facilitate specific visual work. and have since required projects to also include a task light or dual level lighting capability in private individual offices. Has anyone successfully earned this point with just on/off switches recently?

Amy, on many projects I have had no trouble with providing one light switch for one private office. The key is making it clear to the reviewer that there is really only one occupant planned for that individual office. Furniture layout can help to solidify this claim.

My understanding is that reception desks are individual workstations. This has been my approach for all of my project documentation.

Hi Bruce,

As far as I know, a specific instruction or exemption from the USGBC as it relates to designating multi-occupant spacesConference rooms, classrooms and other indoor spaces used as a place of congregation for presentations, trainings, etc. Individuals using these spaces share the lighting and temperature controls and they should have, at a minimum, a separate zone with accessible thermostat and an air-flow control. Group multi-occupant spaces do not include open office plans that contain individual workstations. in a library does not exist. I also do not know of any CIRs that allow for any exceptions.

As you describe, I would designate reading lounges, book stacks, etc. as multi-occupant spaces. I assume that there is some lighting controllability in these spaces that perhaps only certain library staff can use? For example, do you have certain dimmers for certain reading events or are the lights turned down during daylight hours? I think that you might be able to make a case that controllability exists within the constraints of certain occupants in this special scenario. Remember that multi-occupant spaces just need some controllability but do not need a specific number of controls to qualify.

Lauren

Thanks Lauren. Yes, the staff will have control of the lighting for these areas, just not the patrons. That's the essence of my question. Do the "patrons" need to be able to control the lighting in these large, multi-occupant spacesConference rooms, classrooms and other indoor spaces used as a place of congregation for presentations, trainings, etc. Individuals using these spaces share the lighting and temperature controls and they should have, at a minimum, a separate zone with accessible thermostat and an air-flow control. Group multi-occupant spaces do not include open office plans that contain individual workstations. or just the staff. We will have lighting sensors which will turn the lights on or off if enough natural light in present. We will not have occupancy sensors in these spaces due to the openness of the space and the frequency of use.

I'd officially call that a gray area in LEED. Do the patrons have control in the sense that if they wanted lighting changed dramatically they could request that of the staff? I've taken that approach before.
You could also take a peek at LEED for Schools to see how libraries are addressed there for EQc6.1 but I'm not sure you can make a direct comparison.

Hi Bruce and Lauren--We've done a couple of libraries under 2.1 and 2.2, respectively. We got a ruling that said book stacks are exempt from controllability issues. We were also able to add individual task lighting in the reading rooms to qualify. Marian

Marian - Thanks for your response. I have 2 questions:

1. When you say you got a "ruling", in what form did you receive it? As a CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide? Something in writing from GBCI? A phone call or email response? Are you willing to share the documentation or do we need to also seek the same "ruling" for our project?

2. You specifically mentioned "reading rooms". What about clusters of lounge seats or study tables that are in the same open area where the bookstacks are located and not in a separate, enclosed reading room. Task lighting is harder to accomodate in these areas although not impossible. Did your ruling include these kind of (open) areas as well?

Hi Bruce,

I'll let Marian officially respond to your questions but I'd guess her response to Question #1 would be that it wasn't a formal ruling but just an acceptance from the USGBC of how she submitted her documentation. For LEEDv2009 projects, reference to past CIRs is no longer accepted. It also unfortunately, won't help you to reference calls, emails, etc. even if they existed because they aren't sanctioned rulings.

That being said, it probably wouldn't hurt for you to look at her documentation, if she felt comfortable sharing it, and seeing what her approach was in particular that allowed it to be successful.

Lauren

Bruce and Lauren-the ruling was in fact a CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide, which sadly do not currently continue precedent. However, that policy is now under review by GBCI because of massive feedback and the policy will be changing, according to a reliable source inside GBCI. That said, both the libraries we worked on (one has been submitted and documentation OK'd) had open reading areas and these needed to comply with lighting and thermal comfort controls. These were/will be resolved using underfloor air and spacing registers accordingly and then using task lighting. Stacks are exempt. Unfortunately I cannot share the documentation, but would happy to provide continued input in this forum or offline. Marian

Hi George,

For the labs that I have worked on I have considered lab stations to be individual workstations. Sometimes I find that my lab stations have individual task lights built into the equipment and this helps me achieve the credit. However, EQc6.2 is usually very difficult to achieve in lab stations scenarios.

Hope that helps,

Lauren

We would like to submit them as multi-occupant as we are having a hard time identifying specific workstations within the labs. Has anybody done this?

April,

I think you should give it a shot, and make sure to describe how the workstations are constantly changing in your layout and how it's better for you to provide multiple lighting controls to meet the needs of the multi-occupant space. I have successfully taken both approaches in my documentation. It's important that you right a strong narrative which helps for you to describe how you're meeting the intent (allowing maximum controllability of the occupants) of the credit.

Good luck

Thanks, Lauren!

Fabio, what you are describing sounds a like a core & shell project (CS). In LEED-CS, this credit does not exist, which would indicate to me that LEED does not see a way for you to earn it in the type of project you're describing. Should you be using LEED-CS for this project?

Dear Tristan and all partners.
I'm very happy with your instruction. Tristan's opinion is quite useful.
So, just existed one problem that I'm not clear for our project is: the building with total area is: 23,090 m2, including: Basement: 4,284 m2; office: 11,823 m2 (leasable area: 9,459 m2; service area is occupied by owner is 2,364 m2); and apartment: 6,190 m2 (corridor is 928.5 m2)
My question is: For this type of building, what rating we will use?
As my understanding, area is occupied by owner is 33%, and the rest is for lease; so we will use LEED core and shell. But we also include apartment in our building. So which one is the best application under LEED.