WIMSEE extended

WIMSEE is a great chart that is referenced a lot as a way to remember the numbers of prerequisites and available point in each LEED NC section. I put it up a while ago in a post about InTheLEED.com, a great study resource.

I am making some adjustments to it to help me remember the ID opportunities and submittal phases of as well. They are not in beautiful ascending order as the rest of WIMSEE is, but when they are added to the table it makes a fairly simple visual for me to remember.

Please note that people have mentioned some discrepancies between people’s ID counts – especially in the SS section. I think this is due to the Alternative Transportation credits. I arrived at my seven by counting: SS2 – you can double the density of the project itself or you can double the base credit area and corresponding density; SS4s – alternative transportation management plan; SS4.1 – increase threshold of distances to public transportation and require high frequency of service; SS5.1 – increase threshold to 75%; SS5.2 – double everything; SS7.1 – 100% high-albedo surfaces or underground parking; SS7.2 – full green roof. Pat on InTheLEED counted all the Alt Trans credits as one. I believe, however, that two points are available. Someone please correct me if I am wrong. (Thank you reader ‘brandon’ for bring this to my attention in the comments).

Anyway, here it is:

WIMSEE extended

So then I use a little rhyming to remember the numbers…

206723: the order of id points available in WIMSEE.
Plenty (20) of tricks (6) can get you into Heaven (7). But you won’t be true (2) and free (3).

For the submittal phases, I do a more visual approach. I fill in all the ‘designs’ and ‘constructions’ which is fairly easy once you try it a couple times.

Then for the numbers, I put in all the p1’s first. Then I put anything with a .1 after it. Then 3,5,6. In the end I treat it like a series of steps. And I only have to remember a couple numbers for each step, so it’s not so bad. Hope this works for someone else too!

standards using the ‘G’ word

They’re addicted to this word. They all use it in varying forms with little unrememberable prefixes and suffixes that contribute to the green haze surrounding all environmental standards. Let’s try to clear some of this up.

Green Seal
Green Label
Green Label Plus
Green-e products
Green Score

you got any more? I can add them on.

Ok, we already covered Green Seal in the previous post. But we need a way of distinguishing these other ‘greens’ from each other.

Green Label – I visualize the label on the back of a rug or carpet sample when you go to Home Depot or something. And the Label is on the back of the carpet, where it meets up with the cushion. Green Label sets VOC limits for carpet cushions, as applicable in EQ 4.3: Low-Emitting Materials – Carpet Systems.

Green Label Plus – Well, ‘plus’ sounds a bit like ‘plush’, which helps you remember that we’re talking about carpets (because they always sell their carpet as being ‘plush’). Green Label Plus sets VOC limits for carpets, as applicable in EQ 4.3: Low-Emitting Materials – Carpet Systems.

Green-e products – Well, if the questions uses the word ‘products’, you’re fine because this is the only one that applies to electrical products. But it probably won’t – it will probably be talking about renewable energy of some sort. You just have to be sure to remember that this applies to GREEN POWER not on-site renewable energy. You can remember by thinking that the suffix ‘e’ kinda is used like the prefix ‘e’ on email. Something Electronic that is traded back and forth, as in credit EA 6: Green Power.

Green Score – The word ‘score’ makes me think there’s some kind of contest of race. What do people like to race? Their cars. A Green Score of 40 points is necessary to qualify a vehicle for credit SS 4.3: Alternative Transportation – Low-Emission and Fuel-Efficient Vehicles.

ASHRAE standards

Ok… I hate these things. But I WILL memorize them.
For this, I am going to use the rhyming numbers method (combined with a couple keywords here and there… you’ll see).

to remember that:
ASHRAE 52.2 is about filtration media (MERV) and correlates to credits EQ 3.1 and EQ 5,
I will first assign rhyming words to relevant numbers:
5-hive; 2-blue; 3-bee; 1-run; 5-dive
now I create a visualization with these words…
There’s a hive (5), with a blue (2) sky behind it. There’s a guy named Mervin (MERV filters). He sees a bee (3)!!! First he tries to run (1), but then eventually he has to dive (5) into the ocean to escape.
and this is roughly what I see…

Now the other ASHRAE standards. I won’t get into the image assembly for these, so you will have to use your imagination!

ASHRAE 55 – thermal comfort – EQ 6.2 and EQ 7s
We’re with our friend again and there is still a hive (5). Again he has to dive (5). But this time it’s not so comfortable (Thermal Comfort). He accidentally hits some sticks (6) on his way down and loses a shoe (2). But don’t worry; he goes to heaven (7s).

ASHRAE 62 – ventilation – EQ p1, EQ 2, and EQ 6.2
There are some bricks (6) in a pile. Next to them is some glue (2). Some crazy person is building a wall in front of the vents (ventilation) in his office. When asked why he is doing it, he replies that he has to (required- prerequisite) and that he is not just doing it for fun (1). The other people in the office are so mad that one woman throws her shoe (2) at him. The other employees steel away the bricks (6) and glue (2).

ASHRAE 90 – energy and lighting – SS 8, EA p2, EA 1
There’s a glass of wine (9) next to the bed (0-zed). There’s a woman with no energy to get up and turn off the light (energy and lighting). She demands (pre-requisite) that her boyfriend do it instead. He also doesn’t want to get up, so he throws his shoe (2). Then he says, ‘That was fun (1)’!

p.s. – Added by Allison to ASHRAE 90 – “So they sleep soundly (SS) for 8 hours.” (Thanks, Allison!)

Please excuse all the shoe-throwing references, but Bush rarely gets mentioned these days.

possible questions for MR 5.1 and 5.2

possible questions for MR 5.1 and 5.2:

1. Who are the major decision makers with regards to these credits?

2. What are the percentage and distance thresholds associated with these credits?

answers:

1. The contractors, because they ultimately chose the source material. That means that the general contractor is responsible for documenting and signing of on these credit submittals.

2. As we remember from our score card, the Rams sadly lost to Minnesota in the last game of the day, 10 to 20. So for Regional Materials, the first credit is achieved when 10% of the materials are sourced from within 500 miles and the second credit is achieved when this percentage is 20. There is an exemplary performance credit available for 40% regional materials.

possible questions for MR 4.1 and 4.2

possible questions for MR 4.1 and 4.2:

1. What are the thresholds of recycled content required to achieve these credits?

2. What unit of measurement is used in the calculation of total recycled content?

3. Define post-consumer material and pre-consumer material.

4. If a project uses steel, but no information about the recycled content is available, can they still use it in calculations for this credit?

answers:

1. As we remember from our score card, the Rams lost to the Cardinals 10 to 20. So for Recycled Content, the first credit is for 10% recycled content and the second is for 20%. The recycled content must be the sum of post-consumer recycled content plus one half of the pre-consumer content. In order to receive exemplary performance, the total recycled content must be 30%.

2. The total recycled content shall be determined by weight. That fraction of the assembly should then be multiplied by the cost of assembly to determine recycled content value.

3. Post-consumer material is that which is generated by households or other end-users, and can no longer be used for its original purpose. Pre-consumer material is that which is diverted from the waste stream during the manufacturing process.

4. Yes, steel is assumed to be 25% recycled when no information otherwise is available.

possible questions for MR 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3

possible questions for MR 1.1, 1.2, and 1.3:

1. What is the unit of measurement for determining these credits?

2. What are the three thresholds for achieving these credits?

3. What is the size restriction that applies to MR 1.3?

4. What elements are included / excluded from the calculations for MR 1.1 and 1.2?

answers:

1. surface area square footage. For interior elements, calculate the surface area of both sides of the existing wall element.

2. Remember from our score card that the Bears were losing to the Rams (yay!) 75 to 95 at HALF-time. (Building Reuse 75%, 95%, 50%). The first two are for structure and envelope calculations, and the third is for non-structural interior elements.

3. If the project includes an addition to an existing building, the credit is not applicable if the square footage of the addition is more than 2 times the square footage of the existing building.

4. Structure: including structural floor and roof decking. Envelope: exterior skin and framing; excluding window assemblies and non-structural roofing material. Excluding hazardous materials. Upgrade windows, mechanical and plumbing.

possible questions for EA 1

possible questions for EA 1:

1. What are the four options listed under the requirements for this credit?

2. How does the AHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004 Building Performance Rating Method work?

3. What is the major difference between the proposed design model and the baseline model when using the Performance Rating Method?

4. When using the Performance Rating Method, what do you do if you do not intend to install mechanical heating and/or cooling?

5. When on-site renewable energy is being employed, what methods may be used to calculate the Proposed Building Performance?

6. What documentation is necessary when using the Exceptional Calculation Method?

7. What are the most common mistakes when using the Performance Rating Method?

8. What are the 4 fundamental strategies for improving energy performance?

9. How does the point system work for Option 1 under the Performance Rating Method?

10. How do you calculate the Percentage Improvement?

11. What default percentage must the process energy cost be?

12. What’s the difference between what is considered process energy and regulated energy?

13. What are the restrictions for choosing Option 2 as a compliance path?

14. What changes could you make to a building’s fenestration in order to result in summer cooling energy performance improvement for a cooling dominated office building?

15. If a project team choses Option 2, what must be known about the project first?

answers:

1. This is a bit confusing to remember because they like to use the same combination of words for several different guides. Try to remember them by their small differences in names.
❶ Whole building energy simulation or model using the AHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2004 Building Performance Rating Method (1-10 points available),
❷ Prescriptive compliance path with ASHRAE Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Office Buildings 2004 (4 points available),
❸ Prescriptive compliance path with Advanced Buildings Core Performance Guide by the New Buildings Institute (2-5 points available), or
❹ Prescriptive compliance path with Advanced Buildings Benchmark Version 1.1, which is no longer available as an option as of June 26, 2007 (1 point available).
It also helps to remember them in order of how many possible points you could earn. That would be: Benchmark, Small Offices, Performance, Simulation/Model… or ‘Benches in Offices Perform like Models’ and I use Frank Gehry’s Tokyo Bench as an image to help me remember it.

Benches in Offices Perform like Models

2. By calculating a percentage improvement of the annual energy cost for the proposed design (’Proposed Building Performance’) versus the annual energy cost of a baseline case (’Baseline Building Performance’). 5 energy simulation runs are required in order to demonstrate compliance – one model of the proposed design and four of the baseline case at four different orientations.

3. The windows. In the baseline they shall be evenly distributed and the Solar Heat Gain Coefficients (SHGCs) must be adjusted depending on orientation.

4. You can achieve credit by modeling fan systems as “cycling” in the proposed design versus “continuously operated” fans in the baseline case.

5. ❶ model the systems directly into the energy model for the proposed design ❷ use the Exceptional Calculation Method to model the systems and subtract the site-recovered energy from the total energy cost.

6. a list of assumptions for both cases, theoretical or empirical information supporting these assumptions, and the specific energy cost savings achieved

7.   look in your reference manual for explanations of each mistake -pp 189-190
mistakes made on calculations in general – ‘CERFECT’ (similar to perfect, but not quite perfect as someone made a mistake): Chillers, ECB method, Ratings, Fenestration, ECM method, Consumption, Tradability.
mistakes made to baseline design model- ‘WHAD?’ (similar to what?, but not quite perfect again): Window areas, HVAC system types, Air volume, Distribution of fenestration
mistakes made to proposed design model- task lighting only

8. In order to reduce energy load, you have to be a ‘DO-ER’ : ❶ reduce Demand ❷ harvest On-site energy ❸ increase Efficiency ❹ Recover waste energy

9. For new buildings, starting at a 10.5% improvement of the Proposed case over the Baseline case, for every 3.5% gained you get 1 point (up to 42% gain, which earns you 10 points). For existing buildings, starting at a 3.5% improvement of the Proposed case over the Baseline case, for every 3.5% gained you get 1 point (up to 35% gain, which earns you 10 points). The important numbers to remember are the starting points and the increment of improvement. 3.5, 10.5, 3.5.

10. Percentage Improvement = 100% – [1- (Proposed Building Performance ÷ Baseline Building Performance)]

11. 25% unless you provide supporting documentation to show why it is lower.

12. process energy – office equipment, computers, elevators and escalators, kitchen cooking and refrigeration, laundry washing and drying, lighting exempt from lighting power allowance
regulated energy – ‘LAW’ (like regulation) Lighting, HVAC, and service Water heating.

13. Must be an OFFICE under 20,000 sq.ft. and team must comply with appropriate climate zone as listed in the ASHREA Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small Office Buildings.

14. ❶ Reduce the Solar Heat Gain Coefficient. SHGC is expressed as a number between 0 and 1. The lower a window’s solar heat gain coefficient, the less solar heat it transmits. ❷ Reduce the U-Factor. The rate of heat loss is indicated in terms of the U-factor (U-value) of a window assembly. The lower the U-value, the greater a window’s resistance to heat flow and the better its insulating value.

15. climate zone

possible questions for SS 8

possible questions for ss 8:

1. What are the requirements for this credit?

2. What is required of automatic lights based on timers?

3. What are the zones defined by IESNA RP-33?

4. What should the project team do to ensure that the project has complied with this credit?

5. What standard should the design team utilize to discover interior building lighting information?

6. What are the 3 goals of this credit?

answers:

1. ‘Indoor candles are not automatic between 8:00am and 5:00pm’. This helps you remember the indoor lighting requirements (max candela not to exit through windows OR auto lights in off hours), and gets you started with the numbers for the exterior lighting requirements (80% lighting power density for exterior areas, 50% for landscape and facades).

2. Manual override.

3.

4. Build a model using lighting design software.

5. The manufacturer’s photometric data

6. ❶ control interior building lighting ❷ control exterior lighting power density ❸ control exterior lighting distribution

SS 2: Development Density & Community Connectivity

intent
Direct development to dense areas with existing infrastructure in order to preserve undeveloped land.

requirements
option 1: (development density)
- on a previously developed site AND
- in a community with minimum density of 60,000 (ft2 / net acre)
option 2: (community connectivity)
- on a previously developed site AND
- within ½ mile of residential zone with average density 10 (units / net acre) AND
- within ½ mile of at least 10 basic services AND
- with pedestrian access from building to services
(discussion: Remember the principles of the options from the name of the credit: The first option is  the density of where you chose to develop; the second option is the connection to community services.)
(math: 60,000 > ½ * 10 + ½ * 10)

standards referenced
none

implementation
chose sites in dense urban areas

decision makers
owner -
ultimately selects the site
design team -
work with local development plans to achieve density goals

exemplary performance
1 point available:
(meet the requirements for Option 1 and then…)
ex path 1:
- project must have double that of the average density within calculated area OR
ex path 2:
- average density within an area 2x as large as that for base credit must be > 120,000 (ft2 / net acre)
(discussion: Remember this from the name of the credit again. Either the Development doubles its density, or the Community has double the density in double the area.)

submittal phase
design

calculations

option 1 calculations:

first, we have to determine that the project density is greater than 60,000 (ft2 / net acre):
① determine total area of project site (as defined by scope)
② determine total square footage of building
③ calculate development density using formula below
④ verify that the development density is greater than 60,000 (ft2 / net acre)

then we have to determine the densities of the surrounding developments:
① determine the density radius using formula below
② determine density boundary by overlaying density radius on center of site in a map of project area and surrounds
③ create a table with each included property’s building square footage and site area (do not include public areas, public roads, and right-of-way areas)
④ sum the square footage values and site area values respectively
⑤ determine the average property density using the formula below
⑥ verify that the average property density is greater than 60,000 (ft2 / net acre)

option 2 calculations:

① prepare a site map with a ½-mile radius around the main building entrance
② mark all residential developments within the radius; at least one area zoned for residential must be greater than 10 units per acre
③ mark all commercial buildings within the radius; at least 10 community services must be present (counted only once, except restaurants 2 may count); only services with pedestrian access from building
④ prepare a table of services to show compliance

exemplary performance calculations:

① first, comply with option 1
② then, using the formula below, show that one of the following is true:
➊ project itself has a ‘development density’ 2 x that of ‘average property density’
➋ the ‘average property density’ for an area 2 x as large as base credit area (multiply property area x 2 before using formula) must be greater than 120,000 (ft2 / net acre)

formulas

where the units are…
development density (ft2 / net acre)
gross building area (ft2)
project site area (ft2 / net acre)

where the units are…
development density (ft2 / net acre)
gross building area (ft2)
project site area (ft2 / net acre)

where the units are…
average property density (ft2 / net acre)
total square footage (ft2)
total site area (ft2 / net acre)

helpful tables from ‘intheleed.com’

Pat at InTheLEED.com has done a great job at creating useful study material. I nabbed a couple of the tables from his website (with full reference citing of course), which may be a good way for you to remember things such as available points for prerequisites and credits, and ASHRAE standards.

For me, this one – WIMSEE, is quite good and easy for point requirements…

WIMSEE

This one, for ASHRAE standards, is a bit numerical for me to remember by heart. I might need to come up with something more memorable for me later…

ASHRAE standards

And this one, while a good summary, is NEVER gonna stick in my brain. So I will need to use this in conjunction with another method to memorize exemplary performance requirements…

exemplary performance credits

This final one is a good one to review. There are more questions than you would think about the decision makers in each credit…

decision makers

Thanks, Pat, for your help!

p.s. I also took Pat’s advice and signed up for the sample test package at Green Building Education Services (www.greenexamprep.com). They are fantastic and are quite intimidating. When I can score above an 80% on all of those tests, I will feel prepared I think. (My first go was a 44%!!! But that was before I started studying… so here’s hoping.)

Materials & Resources strategies for remembering credit order

Credits listed in Materials & Resources:
MR P1    Storage & Collection of Recyclables
MR C1.1    Building Reuse – Maintain 75% of Existing Walls, Floor, Roof
MR C1.2    Building Reuse – Maintain 95% of Existing Walls, Floor, Roof
MR C1.3    Building Reuse – Maintain 50% of Interior Non-Structural Elements
MR C2.1    Construction Waste Management – Divert 50% from Disposal
MR C2.2    Construction Waste Management – Divert 75% from Disposal
MR C3.1    Materials Reuse – 5%
MR C3.2    Materials Reuse – 10%
MR C4.1    Recycled Content – 10% (post-consumer + ½ pre-consumer)
MR C4.2    Recycled Content – 20% (post-consumer + ½ pre-consumer)
MR C5.1    Regional Materials – 10% Extracted, Processed & Manufactured Regionally
MR C5.2    Regional Materials – 20% Extracted, Processed & Manufactured Regionally
MR C6    Rapidly Renewable Materials
MR C7    Certified Wood

Which is really difficult to make a mnemonic out of. In addition, for me, I need help remembering the numbers as well. So for Materials and Resources, I decided to revert to an imaginary NFL score report using the following important characters. Since I went to Washington University in St. Louis, and there happen to be a lot of R words in this credit list, you will notice that the Rams pop up quite a bit. In addition (as I am a visual person) I will add the team logos to help me.

S B R 75 95 50 C W 50 75 M R 5 10 R M 10 20R C

‘Scores:

v the Bears are losing to the Rams 75 to 95 at half-time (50%) (yay! would have been a big game back in college. we had a lot of Chi-Towners at Wash U)
v Chicago to Washington 50 to 75 (this one I have to remember I am using place name instead of team name)
v Minnesota to Rams 5 to 10 (I have no affilitation with Minnesota, but it was them or Miami whose logo wasn’t working.)
v Rams to Cardinals 10 to 20 (Rams have been busy, they got tired at the end here and started losing)
v Rams to Minnesota 10 to 20 (and utlimately lost to the team I don’t care about at all unfortunately… who they already played once today.)
(and in the background, the sound of a …) Roaring Crowd !!!’

So, in review…

‘Scores:
the Bears are losing to the Rams 75 to 95 at half-time (50%)
Chicago to Washington 50 to 75
Minnesota to Rams 5 to 10
Rams to Cardinals 10 to 20
Rams to Minnesota 10 to 20
(and in the background, the sound of a …) Roaring Crowd !!!’