Author: Jonas Akula
Finding LEED consultants Bangalore is not that difficult, but finding the best one is quite challenging. Many building owners and project managers do not know what LEED is all about and how it will help their project. This lack of knowledge in this concept in India has led to people not using the LEED consultants on their projects. As a result, they miss the opportunity to save so much money apart from increasing the building efficiency.
LEED – What Is It?
LEED is an acronym for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. In a nutshell, it is nothing but an international green building certification system that is popular and well-recognized globally.
It is one of the first building rating systems that rate a building to see if it is energy-efficient and sustainable. It not only measures but also promotes facilities or buildings that follow the standards laid by LEED.
This certification grants a third-party verification, indicating that the builders did use proper strategies to build a community or a building. These methods assist in increasing both the efficiency and performance of a building on all the key metrics.
For example, these buildings can help conserve water, energy, improve indoor environmental quality, and reduce CO2 emissions, to name a few of the benefits.
USGBC or United States Green Building Council developed LEED. The best part about LEED is that it gives owners and project managers a specific framework that they can use to surpass any practical challenges that can stop a design from achieving the goals mentioned above.
Using this framework, builders can find maintenance and operation solutions apart from creating a green building design. LEED is quite flexible that one can apply it to almost any type of buildings. Both residential and commercial buildings can significantly benefit from this program. You, however, need to find one of the best LEED consultants Bangalore to assist you with your project if you want to get the best results.
The Point System
LEED uses a point-based system to give the score for construction and green building design. There are five critical areas in the system, to be precise:
- Water Efficiency
2. Sustainable Sites
3. Energy and Atmosphere
4. Indoor Environmental Quality
5. Materials and Resources
A Building receives points when it reaches specific sustainable strategies. When you receive more points, your chances of receiving the highest certifications are entirely possible.
Here are some of the certifications that you might be eligible for:
- Certified
2. Silver
3. Gold and
4. Platinum
What LEED Measures in Detail?
Sustainable Sites:
The selection of a site and its development are crucial components of building sustainability. When it comes to LEED, it discourages owners or builders from selecting undeveloped land to construct a building. They want to reduce the effect of the building on both the ecosystem and the waterways.
LEED also encourages builders to develop appropriate landscape around a facility apart from promoting the reduction of soil erosion, heat island effect, and light pollution. They also want to minimize all kinds of pollution related to construction.
Water Efficiency:
One of the LEED programs’ chief objectives is that they want builders to use water smartly. Water conservation is only possible when you use appropriate fixtures, appliances, and fittings in a building. The landscape that a builder picks should also be water-conscious to achieve this particular goal.
Indoor Environmental Quality:
This particular category in this program primarily focuses on improving the indoor air quality apart from increasing access to natural light or daylight into the building. The working environment can significantly improve when you take these aspects into account during construction.
Energy and Atmosphere:
Most buildings use a lot of energy every day to meet their needs. Using the correct energy conservation strategies and monitoring systems to track electricity usage can do magic for you.
Apart from these things, using efficient design and energy-efficient appliances, you can easily conserve energy. It can include the usage of renewable energy sources to generate electricity. You can generate electricity on the site using solar panels or plan to get it from another place.
Materials and Resources:
There are vast amounts of waste generated during the construction phase and operations. LEED programs encourage owners and project managers to use locally available products instead of procuring from some other place. It can help in reducing waste as well as promote recycling. Not to forget that you are going to save a lot when you buy things locally.
In Conclusion
Lastly, you must find one of the best LEED consultants Bangalore and use them in the project to help you achieve your goals. Since many consulting firms are offering LEED services, take some time to research. You should check their portfolio, experience, expertise, and a host of other aspects before partnering with a consultant.