Page 310 - The Engineering Guide to LEED-New Construction Sustainable Construction for Engineers

LEED Indoor Envir onmental Quality 273

projects. However, as materials adhering to these requirements and as certified by the
organizations become more common, it may be easier for the contractors to maintain
the appropriate records without additional effort. If these products are used instead of
more polluting products as were previously the standard for a company, then they will
become more cost-effective and will also have a positive impact on the environment on
all the facilities where they are used, even those not going for green certification.
Two of the credits in this subcategory (IEQc4.1 and IEQc4.2) have alternative
compliance paths referred to as the VOC budget. There may be instances when there
are no appropriate low-VOC options for certain products, and the team is given the
opportunity to do a VOC budget on all the potential sources listed in that particular
credit (IEQc4.1 or IEQc4.2) to prove that the overall emissions rate is lower than in a
facility that otherwise complied. The VOC budget option allows for a better model of
low-VOC product using facilities, but it is not as simple to model or comply with as
the prescriptive requirements. This alternative also allows for compliance when there
are some mistakes made during the construction phase, such as the inadvertent use of
a paint product that is not on the approved list by a subcontractor. Actions that
compensate for these mistakes will help attain good indoor air quality and are a way
to attain these credits. The calculations use the same amounts of the products in a
baseline case as in the design case, but based on the limits in the credits for the baseline
and the actual concentrations in the products used (design case). A summation is
performed over the amounts of VOCs in the actual products and also over the baseline
for that credit. The credit (IEQc4.1 or IEQc4.2) is obtained if the design case total does
not exceed the baseline case total.
There are no IEP points for the IEQ Credit Subcategory 4: Low-Emitting Materials in
LEED 2.2 and LEED 2009.

6.5 IEQ Credit 5: Indoor Chemical and Pollutant Source Control
The intention of IEQc5 is to keep potential air pollutants from entering occupied
portions of the building after occupancy. Three strategies are employed: preventing
dust and grime from entering via pedestrian entrances, keeping indoor chemical sources
segregated from occupied areas by physical means, and keeping dust and grime out of
the HVAC system by using very high-efficiency filter media. IEQc5 is worth one point
in both LEED 2.2 and LEED 2009.

USGBC Rating System
LEED-NC 2.2 lists the Intent, Requirements, and Potential Technologies and Strategies
for IEQc5 as follows, with updates for LEED 2009 as noted:

Intent
Minimize exposure of building occupants to potentially hazardous particulates and
chemical pollutants.
Requirements
Design to minimize and control pollutant entry into buildings and later cross-contamination
of regularly occupied areas:
• Employ permanent entryway systems at least ten feet (was six feet in LEED 2.2) long
in the primary direction of travel to capture dirt and particulates from entering the