If you’re in the construction industry, you’ve probably heard of LEED certification. Whether you know a little or a lot about LEED, it’s hard to know it all. It can be a blessing to have so many methods to achieve LEED-certified status of your building, but it can also quickly lead to information overload.
If you are looking for ways to earn LEED points—your building’s envelope holds a lot of potential, and your insulation selection is critical to making your building more sustainable. Learn more about the program and LEED insulation requirements below.
What is LEED Certification?
LEED is the acronym for “Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design.” This program was created by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) to inspire construction practices to become more environmentally friendly and sustainable and to make buildings healthier.
Any building type, from new construction to renovations in both residential and commercial settings, can earn LEED-certified status. Each building type has a corresponding scorecard for builders and designers to check off qualifying components in various categories. These categories address the entire construction process and building lifecycle.
The categories include:
LT - Location and Transportation
SS - Sustainable Sites
WE - Water Efficiency
EA - Energy and Atmosphere
MR - Materials and Resources
IEQ - Indoor Environmental Quality
IN - Innovation
RP - Regional Priority
Depending on your project type, your scorecard requirements may vary. There are four levels of LEED certification:
Certified: 40-49 Points
Silver: 50-59 Points
Gold: 60-79 Points
Platinum: 80+ Points
How can you achieve LEED certification for your project? Let’s take a closer look at how your building’s envelope can bring LEED credits your way.
How to Meet LEED Insulation Requirements
Insulation can help you earn points toward LEED credits in multiple categories. Everything from where you source materials to how well the building materials conserve energy can impact your score.
Since insulation often covers the entire surface area of your building—it’s in your walls, attics, roofs, and sometimes underfoot—it’s critical to take this building material into account for energy efficiency.
Below are the LEED Insulation Requirements for each category:
Energy and Atmosphere Credits
The Energy and Atmosphere (EA) category has four required credits, including:
Fundamental Commissioning and Verification
Minimum Energy Performance
Building-Level Energy Metering
Fundamental Refrigerant Management
The remaining credits hold the potential for up to 33 points for commercial projects and focus on enhancing energy performance, of which up to 20 points can be reached through altering your insulation.
Meet the requirements of the EA category by choosing the right insulation products that meet or exceed the ASHRAE 90.1 energy standard and achieve higher efficiencies.
Materials and Resources Credits
The Materials and Resources (MR) category has two required credits:
Storage and Collection of Recyclables
Construction and Demolition Waste Management Planning
The remaining credits offer up to 13 additional points toward your LEED score in areas that include raw material sourcing, material ingredients, waste management, and building life-cycle impact reduction.
Insulation can help you meet the MR criteria in several ways:
Low waste accumulation, such as rigid insulation can be cut on-site and fit into any space.
Insulation can also be reused or repurposed for other projects.
Certain insulation products contain recycled content.
Select insulations carry zero Ozone Depletion Potential (ODP).
Indoor Environmental Quality Credits
Insulation can help you earn points toward the IEQ credits on your LEED scorecard. Low-emitting materials, indoor air quality, thermal comfort, and acoustic performance are examples of earning opportunities in this category.
Innovation and Design Credits
You wouldn’t think of insulation first when considering innovation and design, but there is a way to boost your LEED score in this category. Earn up to 5 additional points in LEED-ID by choosing an innovative wall solution such as Rmax ECOMAXci®, which combines an air/weather barrier with continuous insulation in a single layer to virtually eliminate thermal bridging while meeting fire, air, and water code requirements.
LEED Certified Insulation Options
By targeting the above LEED categories and credits, you can begin to narrow your focus to picking the right products for your project’s design. Is there such a thing as “LEED certified insulation”? If so, which LEED insulation should you choose? If not, what do I look for to meet LEED insulation requirements?
The answer is no—there are no LEED-specific materials. Rather, certain materials—including insulation—can help you earn points toward achieving the credits mentioned above. As a component of a whole system, building insulation can help you meet LEED requirements and earn additional points.
When selecting insulating materials for your LEED project, be sure to pick materials that meet code standards at a minimum. For example, Rmax Polyiso insulation meets or exceeds these ASHRAE standards:
ASHRAE 90.1: Energy Standard
ASHRAE 55.2: Thermal Environment Design Standard
You can also check Rmax LEED resources to be sure you’re using the most up-to-date references. One reason that polyiso is such a valuable insulation for LEED certified projects is that you can achieve a superior R-value with less material (a thinner profile).
Polyiso is versatile and can be used around the entire building envelope, from the foundation, up the walls, to the roof.
Get Help Picking the Right Insulation for Your LEED Project with Rmax
Interpreting the LEED requirements can seem like a monumental task. If you need help navigating and picking the right building materials to achieve LEED certification, Rmax can help. Our experts can tailor a solution to meet your site-specific needs.
Call or email your local Rmax representative today! your local Rmax representative today!