What constitutes the largest use of energy in buildings in the United States?
Space cooling
Space heating
Electric lighting
Water heating
Green building emphasizes using what type of design process?
Linear
Multistage
Integrative
Tiered
What are the three dimensions of sustainability often described as the triple bottom line or the three-legged stool?
Economic prosperity, environmental stewardship, and social responsibility
Economic theory, cultural agendas, and global variety
Energy efficiency, water efficiency, and indoor environmental quality
Government standards, building codes, and building practices
Life-cycle assessment is used to determine the ___?
Balance of natural cycles such as the hydrologic cycle
Environmental aspects and potential impacts of a given product
Life span of a building and its components
Environmental systems affected over the life of a building
When is the best time to incorporate an integrative approach for a building project
Predesign
Schematic design
Design development
Construction documents
Construction
Credit weightings are based on ___?
Relative costs and benefits of each credit
Environmental impacts and human benefits
Carbon footprint and embodied energy
Expected environmental performance
Implementation of green building strategies such as daylighting, passive cooling, high-efficiency mechanical systems, and stack ventilation contributes to what type of cost savings?
Reduced first costs
Reduced maintenance costs
Reduced life-cycle costs
Reduced end-of-life costs
Reduced imminent costs
The installation of low-flow faucet aerators at hand washing stations will result in which of the following? (Choose two)
Reduced hours of occupancy
Reduced energy use
Reduced water use
Increased occupant productivity
Reduced stormwater runoff
How many levels of LEED Professional Accreditation are available?
6
4
1
3
Which of the following is a primary responsibility of the U.S. Green Building Council?
Developing the LEED Professional Accreditation exams
Administering LEED project reviews and certification processes
Establishing continuing education requirements for LEED Accredited Professionals
Providing and developing LEED-based education and research programs
A development company is designing a seven-story, 100,000-square-foot condominium building. The developers will be responsible for completing the interior finishes, but will not be supplying furniture or appliances. What LEED rating system would be most relevant for this project type?
LEED for New Construction and Major Renovation
LEED for Homes
LEED for Commercial Interiors
LEED for Core & Shell
The carbon overlay in LEED is used for what purpose?
To prioritize the relative impact of credits on greenhouse gas emissions
To identify the major contributors to environmental degradation
To quantify the relative impact of different energy efficiency measures
To rank the feasibility of various green building strategies
What is the procedure required to achieve LEED certification?
Register a project with GBCI, pay applicable review fees, and submit documentation
Retain a LEED professional, register the project, and pay applicable fees
Submit documentation, obtain a preliminary rating, and pay applicable certification fees.
Register the project with GBCI, demonstrate environmental innovation, and pay applicable fees.
What is the earliest point at which a LEED for Schools project can be certified?
After one year of occupancy and after all commissioning activities are complete
After the project team has registered and submitted all project specifications
After final punch-list items are complete and all review fees are paid
After building completion and once all submittals and clarifications are reviewed
The licensed-professional exemption is used by a project team to do what?
Achieve continuing education credit for primary team members.
Capture federally available tax credits for the project.
Bypass otherwise required submittals.
Streamline the permitting process in many jurisdictions.
A team is unclear whether a proposed project strategy will achieve a specific LEED credit the team is pursuing. The team decides it should submit a Credit Interpretation Request (CIR). Prior to submitting the CIR for review, which strategies should the project team consider (select three)?
Review the credit intent and self evaluate whether the strategy meets that intent.
Contact LEED customer service to determine whether the CIR is likely to be successful.
Review past CIRs to see whether this issue has been addressed in the past.
Consult the appropriate LEED reference guide for a more detailed explanation.
Contact its local chapter to receive a preliminary ruling.
Identify other issues to address within the CIR.
What metric is the best indicator of transportation impacts associated with a building project?
Street grid density
Availability of public transportation
Vehicle miles traveled
Parking capacity
Decreasing impervious surfaces on a project site will ___?
Decrease percolation rates
Reduce potable water usage
Reduce stormwater runoff
Eliminate sewage piping
What is acknowledged as one of the greatest threats to surface-water quality?
Draining of local aquifers
Recreational boating
Rainwater harvesting
Nonpoint-source pollution
A project that specifies exterior surfaces with high solar reflectance index (SRI) values is contributing to which environmental benefit?
Reduced heat island effect
Support for renewable energy
Protection of the dark-sky initiative
Improved stormwater quality
A project is in the pre-design phase and the site has already been selected. The team wants to increase the open space on the project site. Which strategies should it consider (select two)?
Increase the floor-to-area ratio of the building.
Implement a construction activity pollution plan.
Use pervious paving materials for the parking area.
Locate parking underground.
Select drought-tolerant plantings.
An industrial facility is located in an area with no public transportation. In which ways can the project team reduce the project’s transportation impact (select two)?
Provide a carpooling incentive to building occupants.
Upgrade the company cars to hybrids.
Install solar panels to power parking lot lighting.
Provide occupants a fuel subsidy.
A project adjacent to protected forestland that is home to a variety of plant and animal life wants to reduce the impact of its site lighting. To achieve this, the project team installs exterior lighting that ___?
Provides for tasteful, decorative appearance.
Reduces the need for night-time security.
Adequately illuminates the night sky.
Does not trespass onto adjacent properties.
Prior to final selection of the project site, the owner and design team should confirm that the site is ___?
Compliant with the green design criteria
Compliant with the sustainable building codes
Previously undeveloped
Removed from other development
What is the primary standard used to establish the baseline case for indoor water use?
The Clean Water Act
Energy Policy Act of 1992
ASHRAE Standard 90.1
National Environmental Policy Act
What is reduced when a project uses reclaimed water in its cooling towers?
Potable water use
Process water use
Indoor plumbing water use
Nonpotable water use
Irrigation water use
How can potable water use for irrigation be reduced or eliminated (select two)?
Install submeters
Select locally adapted plants
Increase the coverage of turf grass
Use organic fertilizers
Select noninvasive plants
Wastewater from toilets and urinals is known as ___?
Brownwater
Potable water
Blackwater
Graywater
Drinking water
Nonpotable water is typically suitable for which of the following uses (select two)?
Ice making
Drinking
Showers
Toilet flushing
Irrigation
What is the baseline water use for water closets?
0.8 gallons per flush
1.0 gallons per flush
1.6 gallons per flush
3.2 gallons per flush
Municipally supplied reclaimed water is considered ____?
Free water
Nonpotable water
Process water
Process water use can be reduced by ____? (Choose two)
Installing submeters
Installing low-flow showerheads
Using high-efficiency irrigation technologies
Using ENERGY STAR-certified clothes washers
What is the first step a project team should consider when trying to save energy?
Use on-site renewable energy.
Reduce energy demand.
Adopt energy efficiency measures.
Install submetering equipment.
What strategy is being used for a project design that orients windows to allow the building to be warm in the winter, stay cool in the summer, and capture daylight?
High-performance mechanical systems
Efficiencies of scale
Energy simulation modeling
Passive design concepts
To what do renewable energy certificates (RECs) refer?
On-site photovoltaic systems
Off-site renewable energy purchases
Market-generated wind power
Stock in utility providers
One of the most cost-effective ways to ensure optimal ongoing energy performance is to ___?
Commission building systems
Upgrade mechanical systems
Install renewable energy systems
Maintain trees and landscaping features
Refrigerants are necessary as part of the refrigeration cycle often used to cool buildings. However, the benefits of their use should be considered against their potential for adverse environmental impacts. These direct impacts are quantified by which metrics? (Choose two)
Global warming potential
Energy use potential
Ozone depletion potential
Soil contamination potential
Air pollution potential
A project team is selecting the HVAC system for the tenant space. Which primary factors should be considered to minimize the environmental impact of the system (select two)?
First cost
Expected life
Energy performance
Lead time
Energy use associated with office equipment, kitchen cooking, and escalators is known as ___?
Regulated energy
Exempt energy
Process energy
Secondary energy
Which are considered renewable energy sources (select two)?
Nuclear
Solar
Wave
Natural gas
How many years can an agricultural product grown or be raised to be considered as rapidly renewable by LEED?
5
10
15
20
What is the first step in a successful waste management policy?
Recycle all possible construction materials.
Reuse existing materials.
Reduce the total quantity of waste.
Specify recyclable materials.
Determine the embodied energy of the product.
A project generates 100 tons of waste throughout construction. 50 tons are collected on-site and sent to a sorting facility with a facility-wide diversion rate of 60%. 40 tons are separated on-site and sent directly to recyclers. The final 10 tons are incinerated off-site. What percentage of waste does LEED consider to have been recycled?
40%
50%
70%
80%
According to the EPA, what percentage of solid waste is currently recycled in the United States?
11%
32%
51%
72%
A building material that is made from recycled soda bottles contains ___?
Post-industrial recycled content
Post-consumer recycled content
Pre-consumer recycled content
Pre-fabricated recycled content
LEED defines regional materials as originating within ___?
50 miles of the project site
250 miles of the project site
500 miles of the project site
750 miles of the project site
Ongoing consumables are consumed during which of the following?
Design only
Construction only
Occupancy only
Both construction and operation
Construction and at the building’s end of life
Which environmentally preferable attributes of materials does LEED recognize (select three)?
Are harvested and manufactured regionally
Contain recycled content
Are sourced from developing countries
Are salvaged
Offer future customization options
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, what percentage of time do Americans spend indoors?
75%
65%
90%
Thermal comfort is typically attributed to what environmental factors?
Temperature, humidity, and air speed
Ventilation, temperature, and daylight
Humidity, ventilation, and controllability
Density, temperature, and solar heat gain
The abbreviation VOC refers to ____?
Volatile organic compounds
Variable operating conditions
Variable ozone contaminants
Versatile organized composites
Which strategy supports improved indoor air quality?
Eliminate refrigerants with ozone-depleting potential.
Avoid the use of products with high carbon dioxide concentrations.
Use filters with a low minimum efficiency reporting value (MERV) rating.
Use materials with recycled content.
Use advance framing techniques.
Design systems to deliver ample outside air.
A school project in predesign would like to incorporate building strategies to maximize student learning. Which strategies should be considered to achieve this goal (select two)?
Install individual thermal comfort controls in offices.
Incorporate daylight into classrooms.
Reduce the energy use of the building below the baseline standard.
Consider acoustical issues in core learning spaces.
An operable window is considered what kind of control?
Lighting control
Thermal comfort control
Acoustical control
Environmental tobacco smoke control
Demand-controlled ventilation is typically adjusted in response to ___?
A time schedule
Occupant requests to the building operator
Carbon dioxide concentrations
VOC concentrations
In addition to prohibiting smoking within the building, where is it also important to prohibit smoking to reduce occupant exposure to harmful airborne chemicals (select two)?
In covered parking spaces
Near building entrances
Adjacent to building air intakes
In wooded areas
An Innovation in Design credit for exemplary performance would be available for ___?
Implementing a comprehensive green building education program
Significantly diverting construction waste beyond the requirement of 75%
Achieving carbon neutrality
Providing 75% more spaces with daylighting
Developing a green housekeeping policy
Projects can identify which credits have regional priority by ____?
Checking the USGBC website
Researching locally pertinent environmental issues
Submitting a Credit Interpretation Request (CIR)
Calculating the net environmental impact
An Innovation in Design credit for innovative strategies is likely available for projects that ___?
Issue a press release to announce their LEED project registration.
Include two LEED Accredited Professionals on the project team.
Develop an educational outreach program.
Plan to enroll the project in LEED for Existing Buildings: Operations and Maintenance.
A project team is considering pursuing an Innovation in Design credit for a strategy that will require a large capital expense. The team decides that it will implement the strategy only if the strategy will be eligible for an Innovation in Design credit. What steps should the team take to determine whether its strategy will be eligible for the credit?
Research existing CIRs to see whether the strategy has been previously addressed.
Calculate the strategy’s overall environmental impact and self-evaluate whether it is significant.
Draft a compelling narrative for the LEED submittal.
Check the LEED rating system.
