Free USGBC LEED-AP-BD+C Practice Exam with Questions & Answers | Set: 7

Makeup water meters, conductivity controllers and overflow alarms

According to the Water Efficiency Prerequisite for Indoor Water Use Reduction, cooling towers and evaporative condensers must be equipped with makeup water meters, conductivity controllers and overflow alarms to reduce water consumption and prevent water waste. These devices help monitor and control the water quality, flow rate and level of the cooling system, and alert the operators of any malfunctions or leaks.

Including the material requirements in the project specifications (D) ensures that all project team members are aware of and prioritize materials compliant with the Materials and Resources (MR) Credit: Building Product Disclosure and Optimization. Clearly defined specifications communicate the importance of sustainability criteria, such as environmental product declarations and sourcing. Whole-building life-cycle analysis (C) is part of separate LEED credits and doesn’t directly influence material prioritization by the team.

LEED awards Innovation points for Exemplary Performance when a project significantly exceeds standard credit requirements.

Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) Credit: Low-Emitting Materials qualifies for an Innovation point if a project achieves additional thresholds for compliance.

Daylight (Option A) does not have an Exemplary Performance pathway.

Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance (Option C) is a prerequisite, so it cannot earn an Innovation point.

Acoustic Performance (Option D) also does not qualify for Exemplary Performance points.

Low-Emitting Materials (Option B) is eligible for Exemplary Performance, making it the correct answer.

(Source: Official LEED BD+C Reference Manual)

According to the LEED v4: Building Design and Construction Guide, an integrated, whole-building approach is a process that requires collaboration and communication among all project team members and stakeholders throughout all phases of a project, from pre-design to occupancy and operations. The goal of this approach is to optimize the environmental and human health performance of a building as a whole, rather than focusing on individual components or systems1.

One of the benefits of an integrated, whole-building approach is that it allows the project team to identify and evaluate the interrelationships and trade-offs among various design strategies and decisions, and to optimize the synergies and minimize the conflicts among them1. For example, increasing the size of a glazed opening on the south facing wall may have implications for the daylighting, solar heat gain, thermal comfort, energy use, and mechanical system design of the building2. Therefore, the team members who are first affected by this change are the mechanical engineers, who are responsible for designing the heating, ventilation, and air conditioning (HVAC) system of the building, and ensuring that it meets the thermal comfort and energy performance requirements of the project3. The mechanical engineers may need to adjust the size, type, and location of the HVAC equipment, ductwork, and controls, as well as perform energy modeling and analysis to evaluate the impact of the change on the building’s energy consumption and emissions3. The mechanical engineers may also need to coordinate with the architects, lighting designers, and other team members to ensure that the change does not compromise the other design goals and criteria of the project3.

The commissioning process is a quality assurance process that ensures that the building systems perform as intended, based on the owner’s project requirements and the design team’s basis of design. The commissioning process can provide value to the project by improving energy efficiency, reducing operation and maintenance costs, enhancing occupant comfort and satisfaction, and reducing risks and liabilities123. References: LEED BD+C Reference Guide, Energy and Atmosphere, page 631; LEED BD+C Reference Guide, Enhanced Commissioning, page 661; LEED Building Commissioning: Why You Should Get Accredited

 According to the LEED Reference Guide for Building Design and Construction1, the Indoor Environmental Quality Credit, Indoor Air Quality Assessment, Option 1. Flush-Out requires the project to perform a building flush-out by supplying a total air volume of 14,000 cubic feet of outdoor air per square foot of gross floor area while maintaining an internal temperature of at least 60°F and no higher than 80°F and relative humidity no higher than 60%. The gross floor area of the building is 1,000 ft2 and the ceiling height is 10 ft, so the required volume of supply air for the entire building flush-out is:

14,000 ft3/sf x 1,000 sf = 14,000,000 ft3

Reducing the envelope load involves minimizing the heat that enters or escapes through a building’s envelope (walls, windows, roof, etc.). Summer solar shading is an effective strategy to block direct sunlight during warmer months, decreasing the cooling load on the HVAC system. This method helps reduce solar heat gain, which lowers energy usage for cooling. Other options like maximizing daylighting (B) increase natural light but may also increase heat gain, and decreasing the opaque wall area (C) can actually increase energy loss. Economizers (D) are HVAC strategies and don’t directly reduce the envelope load.

This option requires the project team to calculate the weighted daily average of the number of trips per day for each qualifying route, using the formula provided in the LEED v4: Building Design + Construction Guide. This option ensures that the transit service frequency is accurately represented and meets the minimum thresholds for weekday and weekend trips, as shown in Table 1 and Table 2 of the guide.

The average flush rate for a dual flush toilet is calculated by weighting the high and low flush rates according to the frequency of use. According to the LEED Reference Guide for Building Design and Construction1, the frequency of use for male and female occupants is assumed to be as follows:

Male full flush: 1 time per day

Female full flush: 1 time per day

Male low flush: 2 times per day

Female low flush: 2 times per day

Therefore, the average flush rate for a dual flush toilet with a high flush rate of 1.6 gpf (6 lpf) and a low flush rate of 1.05 gpf (4 lpf) is:

6(1×1.6)+(1×1.6)+(2×1.05)+(2×1.05)​=1.19 gpf(4.5 lpf)

This building classification requires the energy model to determine the predicted power usage effectiveness (PUE) for Energy and Atmosphere Prerequisite, Minimum Energy Performance, because data centers have high energy intensity and cooling demand, and PUE is a metric that measures how efficiently a data center uses energy12.