LEED 2009 Updates

Yesterday the USGBC chapter held an informative lecture about the changes that are coming in LEED 2009. The Lecture was “LEED 2009: Everything You Need to Know Hosted by Bloomberg LP“

It was an overview of what to expect from LEED 2009 detailed by Brendan Owens, Vice-President of Technical Development at USGBC National. I recommend you check out these events, they usually serve food and drinks before the presentations that are great for networking. The website is ttp://getinvolved.usgbcny.org/site/Calendar or check out my links.

Here are some of the changes that are on their way in April 2009:
• Starting this year, the LEED system will be updated every 2 years and will be called by the year it is updated, example, LEED 2009, LEED 2011, etc.
• Point system is changed – now the total you can get for certification is a 100 point scale – Building with: 40 points = Certified, 50 points = Silver, 60 points = Gold, 80+ points = Platinum
• Total points on each LEED subject have changed. This was done by researching what are the most important sections and these sections have the extra points. (Example – NC – SS: 26 points, WE: 10 points, EA: 35 points, MR: 14 points, IEQ: 15 points, ID: 5 points, LEED AP: 1 point and RP: 4 Points – to total 100 points + 10 for ID, LEED & RP)
• USGBC will have to be given information on the performance of all LEED buildings 1 year after certification (example would be energy performance, water conservation and more). This is to verify the level of the building performance and make sure the LEED is working.
• Regional Credits were added, these would be part of Innovation credits.
On Feb 23rd the new versions of the reference guides will be available on line in PDF non printable format on the USGBC website.
Get involved, learn what is happening and how you can be part of the change.