LEED certification takes center stage at November meeting

Terry Ives Photo Kath Beacher Photo
Terry Ives Kath Beacher

Introduced by section president Fred Capanna, Terry Ives, outgoing president of the International Society of Automation, opened the meeting. He described how ISA is attempting to adapt to technical challenges and market trends in the global economy. He said that ISA can help members and companies share best practices, collaborate on innovation, and exchange insights and ideas.

Kath Beacher, Specification Sales Project Specialist at Illuminations Inc., spoke on the various levels of certification for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Engineering (LEED) for new construction and major renovations of buildings. She defined the four levels:

  • Certified 40-49 points
  • Silver 50-59 points
  • Gold 60-79 points
  • Platinum 80 points and above.

Beacher noted that the standards for these levels are becoming more strict with time and are gradually being incorporated into building codes.

Next Beacher went into more detail regarding lighting and energy usage. She said that lighting often consumes about 40 percent of a building’s energy, which makes it a good target for energy reduction. Only about 20 percent of an incandescent light bulb goes toward illumination; the remainder is heat energy. Fluorescents and CFLs use less energy, but their disposal is problematic because they contain mercury. Light emitting diode (LED) lighting is the most efficient, providing high illumination with less energy consumption. LEDs will gradually dominate as their cost decreases.

Other techniques are being implemented to reduce lighting energy. For example a commercial space can employ comfortable, but low-level, background lighting combined with focused task lighting. Controls in the form of dimmers, timers, and sensors can come into play to automatically turn lighting off where unnecessary. Sensors include those for motion, occupancy, and available light.

Link to Powerpoint presentation.


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