Page 216 - Solar Power in Building Design The Engineer's Complete Design Resource

186 LEED—LEADERSHIP IN ENERGY AND ENVIRONMENTAL DESIGN

TABLE 7.3 LEED CERTIFICATION CATEGORIES AND ASSOCIATED POINTS

% INCREASE IN ENERGY PERFORMANCE
NEW BUILDINGS EXISTING BUILDINGS POINTS

15 5 1
20 10 2
25 15 3
30 20 4
35 25 5
40 30 6
45 35 7
50 40 8
55 45 9
60 50 10

Los Angeles Audubon Nature Center—

A LEED-Certified Platinum Project

The following project is the highest-ranked LEED-certified building by the U.S. Green
Building Council within the United States. The pilot project, known as Debs Park
Audubon Center, is a 282-acre urban wilderness that supports 138 species of birds. It
is located in the center of the city of Los Angeles, California, and was commissioned
on January 13, 2004. Based on the Building Rating System TM2.1, the project
received a platinum rating, the highest possible. Figure 7.1 shows a view of the Los
Angeles Audubon Center’s roof-mount solar PV system.
The key to the success of the project lies in the design considerations given to all
aspects of the LEED ranking criteria, which include sustainable building design
parameters such as the use of renewable energy sources, water conservation, recycled

TABLE 7.4 LEED BUILDING EFFICIENCY POINTS
LEED certified 26–32 points
Silver level 33–38 points
Gold level 39–51 points
Platinum level 52–69 points