LEED
What is LEED®?
The Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED®) Green Building Rating System is a nationally accepted certification program for the design, construction, and operation of green buildings. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to energy conservation and sustainability by focusing on key performance areas of human and environmental health: sustainable site development, water savings, energy efficiency, materials selection, and indoor environmental quality.
For a building to be LEED certified, the design and construction must be registered with USGBC and meet certain criteria under the LEED rating system. Many federal, state and local government buildings have made LEED the green building rating system of choice for new construction contracts.
How can your project become LEED® certified?
First, your project must register with LEED. To earn certification, a building project must meet certain prerequisites and performance benchmarks ("credits") within each defined category. There are various levels of certification based on the number of credits the project can achieve. Those levels include Certified, Silver, Gold, or Platinum.
Are there limits as to who can participate in LEED®?
No. Anyone can participate such as architects, real estate professionals, facility managers, engineers, interior designers, landscape architects, construction managers, lenders, and government officials.
How can cool metal roofing qualify in LEED®?
Cool metal roofing can qualify for 1 point within LEED-NC 2009, Sustainable Sites Credit 7.2, Heat Island Effect: Roofing by using roofing materials that have a Solar Reflectance Index (SRI) minimum of 78 for low sloped roofs (≤ 2:12) or a minimum of 29 for steep sloped roofs (> 2:12).
To see if your cool metal roofing product can achieve the SRI minimum value, visit the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory SRI Calculator. ? Download SRI calculator. Obtain the Solar Reflectance (SR) and Thermal Emittance (TE) percentages of the cool metal roofing product from the Cool Roof Rating Council (www.coolroofs.org) or ENERGY STAR to enter into the calculator.
To learn more about LEED, visit the U.S. Green Building Council at www.usgbc.org.
STEEL TAKES LEED® FOR METAL ROOFING
Metal Roofing Credit Opportunities Under USGBC LEED 2009
Steel Recycling Institute, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Sustainable Sites
SS Credit 7.2 Heat Island Effect: Roof
(Selected painted metal roofing can meet the solar reflective index value.)
Water Efficiency
WE Credit 1.1 Water Efficient Landscaping: Reduce by 50%
WE Credit 1.2 Water Efficient Landscaping: No Potable Water Use or No Irrigation
WE Credit 2 Innovative Wastewater Technologies
WE Credit 3.1 Water Use Reduction: 20% Reduction
WE Credit 3.2 Water Use Reduction: 30% Reduction
(Metal roofing can easily be applied to captured rainwater systems for building use.)
Energy & Atmosphere
EA Credit 1 Optimize Energy Performance
(Cool metal roofing can be modeled to show the impact of reduced heat gains.)
Materials & Resources
MR Credit 1.1 Building Reuse: Maintain 75% of Existing Walls, Floors & Roof
MR Credit 1.2 Building Reuse: Maintain 95% of Existing Walls, Floors & Roof
(When a building is renovated for reuse, existing metal roofing can qualify.)
MR Credit 2.1 Construction Waste Management: Divert 50% from Disposal
MR Credit 2.2 Construction Waste Management: Divert 75% from Disposal
(When a building is demolished, existing metal roofing is easily recyclable.)
MR Credit 3.1 Materials Reuse: 5%
MR Credit 3.2 Materials Reuse: 10%
(When a building is demolished, existing metal roofing might be reused.)
MR Credit 4.1 Recycled Content: 10% (post-consumer + ½ pre-consumer)
MR Credit 4.2 Recycled Content: 20% (post-consumer + ½ pre-consumer)
(See “Steel Takes LEED With Recycled Content” at www.recycle-steel.org)
Indoor Environmental Quality
(Metal roofing can help ventilation and daylighting and provide low VOC substrates.)
Innovation in Design
(Metal roofing may support exceptional performance, such as for water efficiency.)
