LEED Green Associate Glossary

District energy system (DES)

A central energy conversion plant that provide thermal energy, shared by a group of buildings.

Building automation system (BAS)

A computer based monitoring system which can monitor, coordinate and control every individual building system.

BUG rating method

A luminaire classification system that classifies a luminaire according to backlight, uplight, and glare.

Footcandle

A measure of the amount of illumination that falls on to a surface, equal to one lumen per square foot.

Energy use intensity (EUI)

A measurement unit that describes the building's energy usage relative to its size.

40/60 rule

A method used to choose the appropriate rating system for the project if the project seems to fit under multiple rating systems.

Land trust

A non-profit organization that works on conserving lands.

Erosion and sedimentation control (ESC) plan

A plan developed to prevent erosion, sedimentation and stormwater pollution to the water bodies, wetlands, and to the whole neighborhood.

Indoor air quality management plan

A plan developed to protect the indoor air quality for construction workers and building occupants.

Brownfield site

A previously developed site that was contaminated with waste or pollution. A site that is left from an abandoned building which the contamination is not yet known can also be classified as a brownfield site.

Chlorofluorocarbon (CFC) based refrigerant

A refrigerant in fluid state containing hydrocarbons, which absorb heat at low temperatures and reject the heat at higher temperatures.

Adjacent site

A site containing a previously developed site at its minimum 25% of the boundary bordering parcels.

Bioswale

A stormwater control feature which uses a combination of engineered basin, soils and vegetation.

LEED Volume Program

A streamlined certification process for organizations that plan to certify more than 25 prototype-based construction projects within 3 years.

Impervious surface

A surface that contains less than 50% perviousness.

Integrated pest management (IPM)

A sustainable approach that combines knowledge about pests, nature, pest prevention, and control methods that minimize pest infestation and damage while minimizing hazards to the building occupants, the property itself, and the environment.

LEED split review

A type of LEED certification review which the design prerequisites/credits are submitted for review during the design phase, and both the additional design prereqUisites/credits and all the construction prerequisites/credits are submitted at the end of the construction phase (for LEED BD+C and LEED ID+C rating systems).

LEED combined review

A type of LEED certification review, which the documentation for all the design and construction prerequisites/credits are submitted for review at the end of the construction phase (for LEED BD+C and LEED ID+C rating systems).

Albedo

A type of reflectivity measurement from "0" to "1", which "0" represents black surfaces that absorb all the solar radiation, while "1" represents white surfaces that reflects all the solar radiation.

Gallons per minute (gpm)

A unit of measurement used to calculate the water usage of flow fixtures such as sink faucets, shower heads, and aerators.

Gallons per flush (gpf)

A unit of measurement used to calculate the water usage of flush fixtures such as toilets and urinals.

Green building

According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), green building is the practice of creating structures and using processes that are environmentally responsible and resource-efficient throughout a building's life-cycle from siting to design, construction, operation, maintenance, renovation, and deconstruction. This practice expands and complements the classical building design concerns of economy, utility, durability, and comfort.

LEED impact categories

Also called system goals, are the key elements that every LEED project aims to accomplish that consists of 7 items.

Geothermal heat pumps

Also known as "geoexchange" "earth coupled" or "ground source heat pumps", geothermal heat pumps are central heating and/or cooling systems that transfer heat to or from the ground. In winter, this system uses the Earth as a heat source, while in summer, the Earth is used as a heat sink.

Demand response (DR)

An intentional reduction in the electricity usage, in response to a demand response (DR) event, or changes in the price of electricity.

Functional entry

Any building opening that is open and used by pedestrians during the business hours.

Charrettes

Are intense workshops that are generally held in the beginning of the project and during the project milestones. During charrettes, participants develop strategies, discuss project goals and create a shared vision.

Bio-based materials

Are products other than food that are biological products, renewable agricultural materials or forestry materials. Biobased materials are derived from biomass. Plants and animals can be an example of biobased materials, however, hide products, such as leather and other animal skin material are excluded in LEED calculations.

Drip irrigation systems

Are the types of micro-irrigation systems that drip water to the roots Of plants to minimize the use of irrigation water and fertilizers. They are the most water efficient systems, and have very short payback periods.

Extensive vegetated roofs

Are the types of roofs that does not include variety of plants and requires little maintenance. Their soil layer is thinner compared to the intensive roofs since they're more designed for the smaller sized vegetation.

Halons

Chemicals used in fire suppression systems.

Conventional irrigation

Common system used for irrigation, such as irrigation through sprinkler heads above the ground.

Intensive vegetated roofs

Contain wider variety of plants, which contain more soil depth to support those plants.

Hard cost

Costs that physically contribute to the construction, such as labor costs, the cost of construction materials, and equipment.

Heat island effect

Dark colored, non-reflective surfaces absorb heat during hot weather, and release it into the atmosphere, and this releasing of heat is called the heat island effect.

Building exterior

Defined as everything from the waterproofing membrane inclusive of the waterproofing membrane.

Building interior

Defined as everything inside the waterproofing membrane.

Floor-to-area ratios (FAR)

Density of nonresidential land use, which is calculated by dividing the total square feet of a building to the total square feet of the lot of the building.

Building footprint

Describes the area that the building sits on.

Basis Of design (BOD)

Describes the information necessary to accomplish the owner's project requirements, which includes system requirements, design criteria, standards, guidelines etc., developed by the architect/engineer.

Health Product Declaration (HPD)

Disclosure that provides a product's material ingredients, list of potential chemicals, related concerns, and additional health information.

Environmental Product Declaration (EPD)

Disclosure which looks at the entire lifecycle of a product and assesses the cost of the product on the environment. Products that contain an EPD will give information about a product's impact on global warming, ozone depletion, Water pollution, greenhouse gas emission, human toxicity, and more.

EDUCATION @USGBC

Education portal of USGBC.

Emergent properties

Emergence of certain properties in the systems as a result of interaction of individual elements.

Integrated process

Emphasizes the importance of connection and communication among all the professionals and stakeholders in the project.

Alternative compliance paths (ACPs)

Enable international projects to earn the appropriate prerequisites/credits by allowing them to meet international standards or their local standards instead of U.S. based standards.

Home Energy Rater (HERS Rater)

Energy rater credential administered by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET).

Cradle-to-gate assessment

Evaluates a product's partial life-cycle from its resource extraction/harvesting to becoming a manufactured product ready for sales at the factory gate.

cradle-to-cradle

Evaluates materials to have infinite life-cycles through recycling to form a closed system.

Biofuel

Fuels produced from organic material. Biofuel includes untreated wood waste, landfill, gas ,agricultural crops or waste, animal waste, and other types of organic waste.

Dry ponds (detention ponds)

Hold the excess rainwater for some time, thereby allowing the rainwater to slowly seep into the ground without contamination. Dry ponds are excavated areas that detain and slow down stormwater, but are dry at other times.

Home size adjustment (HSA)

In the LEED for Homes rating system, points are adjusted in all the categories according to the square footage of the home. Thus, homes that are bigger need to earn more points to achieve a LEED certification, while smaller sized homes can become LEED-certified by earning fewer points. Other LEED rating systems do not have size adjustments.

Green infrastructure

Infrastructure to direct the rainwater collected from the impervious surfaces to the vegetation and soil surfaces without giving them to the storm sewer system.

Cradle-to-grave

Investigates materials from their extraction to their disposal.

Emissivity (infrared or thermal emittance)

Is a measure which shows how much heat or infrared radiation a material can shed back into the atmosphere.

Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR)

Is a product stewardship policy approach that holds companies producing consumer goods responsible for managing their own products and packaging when consumers are finished with them.

Carbon offset

Is a reduction of carbon dioxide (C02) made in order to compensate, or offset an equivalent carbon dioxide (C02) emission made elsewhere.

Active daylighting

Is a system that tracks and collects the sunlight using mechanical devices, but they may not function well on cloudy days.

Commissioning (Cx)

Is a systematic investigation by skilled personnel that compares building performance with the project goals, design specifications, and most importantly, the owner's project requirements (OPR).

Landscape water requirement (LWR)

Is the amount of water that the landscape of the site will require during the site's peak watering month.

Flush-out

Is the process of supplying good amounts of fresh air to the building before or during occupancy which will take away the contaminated air and establish the desired level of indoor air quality.

Blackwater

Is the term to describe the used water that has come into contact with waste. Thus, the water collected from the urinals and toilets can be classified as blackwater.

Evapotranspiration

Is the term used for the return of water to the atmosphere through evaporation from plants.

Graywater

Is the untreated household water that did not come into contact with toilet waste Used water from bathtubs, showers, bathroom wash basins, and water from clothes washers and laundry tubs can be examples of graywater, and may be used as a flush water in toilets or urinals. This definition can change depending on the local codes.

LEED Fellow

LEED credential created to designate the most exceptional professionals in the green building industry and it is the most prestigious designation awarded.

LEED Green Associate

LEED credential, created for professionals with a proven, up-to-date understanding of green building principles and practices.

LEED AP with specialty

LEED credential, created for professionals with advanced knowledge in green building practices and specialized in a particular LEED rating system.

Alternative fuel

Low-polluting fuels like hydrogen, electricity, propane, compressed natural gas, liquid natural gas, methanol or ethanol.

Inherently non-emitting materials

Materials with very low or no VOC content.

Development footprint

Named for the sum of all the areas that are affected by the project's activity in the project site.

LEED re-certification

Necessary for LEED 0+M projects to continue their certification in every 5 years. LEED certification granted to projects under the other LEED rating systems do not need a re-certification.

Alternative water source

Non-potable water from on-site surfaces, or freshwater sources, such as graywater, on-site reclaimed water, collected rainwater, captured condensate, and rejected water from reverse osmosis systems. Water from the public utilities is excluded.

Green power

Off-site renewable energy.

Infill sites

Or infill developments, are sites that at least 75% of them were either previously developed or were already being used for other purposes in the urban areas.

Diversion rate

Percentage of waste materials diverted from landfill.

LEED project boundary

Portion of the site submitted for LEED certification. Defined by the platted property line of the project, including all land and water within it.

Chain of custody (COC)

Procedure of tracking a product from extraction/harvesting to its distribution. An example may be the FSC certification, which provides chain of custody certification for wood based products.

LEED for Homes Green Rater

Professional that provide in-field verification to LEED for Homes projects (the other rating systems do not require any in-field verification.)

LEED Pro Reviewer

Professionals that evaluate the educational LEED courses on the EDUCATION @USGBC.

Energy rater

Professionals with a HERS rater credential that conducts the performance testing in LEED for Homes projects.

corporate Sustainability Reports (CSR)

Provides information about the manufacturer or raw-material supplier of a product that has been verified to employ sustainable principles during the creation of their products.

Diverse use

Publicly available businesses, which provide daily need goods or services. According to USGBC, diverse uses does not include ATMs, wending machines and touchscreens.

Built environment

Refers to all the man-made surroundings that are needed for human activity, from roads, to buildings, to neighborhoods.

Greenwashing

Refers to the presentation of a product or a material as being more environmentally friendly than it actually is.

Blowdown

Removal of the cooling tower's water in order to minimize deposit of scales.

Current facility requirements (CFR)

Requirements to fulfill owner's operational needs.

LEED for Homes Provider Organization

Responsible to oversee all the certification process and incorporate the LEED for Homes rating system requirements into the project's design and construction.

Commingled waste

Single streamed waste for recycling.

Green cleaning program

Specifies the green building products to be used (such as products that meet Green Seal, Environmental Choice or EPA standards), chemicals allowed to be used inside the building, training of the cleaning personnel for the use of chemicals and green cleaning practices, indoor pest control plans and energy efficient cleaning equipment.

Closed system

Systems that does not produce any waste product at the end, by circulating the same median.

Demand response event (curtailment event)

The period that the utility company asks for a reduction in electricity usage from its program participants.

Greenfield

The term used to define undeveloped land.

Embodied energy

The total energy consumed resulting from a product's manufacturing, transportation, installation, use and disposal.

Invasive plants

The types of plants that spread and damage the environment by taking over the adjacent existing native and adapted plants.

Green cleaning

The use of environmentally friendly products by also employing environmentally friendly cleaning principles in cleaning.

Carbon neutrality

To emit no more carbon emissions than can realistically be offset.

Adapted plants

Types of plants that do not occur naturally in a specific location, however, they can nonetheless adapt easily to the climate of the region.

LEED Campus Program

Used to certify multiple projects that are located on a single campus which are owned by the same entity.

Green vehicles

Vehicles that achieve a minimum green score of 45 on the American Council for an Energy Efficient Economy (ACEEE) annual vehicle rating guide (or a local equivalent for projects outside the U.S.).

Alternative fuel vehicles

Vehicles that consume nongasoline, low-polluting fuels like hydrogen, electricity, propane, compressed natural gas, liquid natural gas, methanol or ethanol.