LEED IAQ Testing
LEED IAQ Testing Hospital
Since the inception of LEED there has been a LEED credit that amounts to one point where project teams may choose between a whole building flush-out OR pre-occupancy air quality testing. LEED projects often pursue (EQc3.2) Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) testing due to scheduling or weather constraints, but testing air quality prior to occupancy poses a number of challenges.
The LEED AP or LEED Consultant must identify how many testing locations are required and find a qualified indoor air quality expert to perform testing within a short scheduling window. There are numerous best practices that increase the likelihood of earning this LEED credit on the first test, but without an experienced LEED consultant, you may be left holding a big invoice with no points to show for it.
LEED IEQ 3.2 Testing Success
Healthy Building Science is an experienced green building consulting company with expertise in indoor environmental testing. We help you define the number of necessary testing locations, work with your construction schedule, and perhaps most importantly, give you tips that increase the odds of passing LEED air testing the first time.
Here are some recommendations to provide conditions most conducive to passing LEED IAQ air sampling:
- All painting, caulking and touch up should be completed at least a week prior to testing.
- The HVAC system should run on its highest setting (most ACH) for 72 hours prior to testing, however, Version 4 requires the air handling system be operated at the minimum outdoor airflow rate for the occupied mode throughout the test.
- A minimum number of occupants beyond the sampling professionals should be present; if security or safety personnel are required, this takes precedence. Any persons present should be briefed NOT to wear perfume or cologne on the day of sampling. Personal care products like hair spray and hand sanitizer also should NOT be used the day of sampling.
- No cleaning activities should be performed 24 hours prior to sampling, as cleaning products often contain VOC’s.
- Once a sample is set up, no persons should enter the area of sampling for the 4- hour period. Movement stirs up dust causing particulate samples to fail; VOC’s from the body and clothing can influence the air sample results.
Our recommendations are based on prior sampling experience and the hypotheses as to reasons for sampling failure. Direct correlation cannot be proven but we believe past samples have failed due to several reasons:
- Active cleaning crews pushed carts full of cleaning supplies through a sample area.
- Floor buffing was being conducted in an area near the sampling location.
- Touch up painting had occurred the night before sampling.
- Multiple people had walked by the sampling location during the 4-hour sampling period.
LEED IAQ Calculator for Determining LEED IAQ Sampling Plan
Both LEED IAQ Flush-Out and LEED Preoccupancy Testing options require calculations. Unfortunately, there is no easy LEED IAQ calculator for calculating the quantity of LEED IAQ sampling necessary. We help you identify the number of sampling locations according to the LEED Reference Guide.
The LEED Consultant often provides the construction team with a total number of samples required and a floor plan mapping out sampling locations. This floor plan is helpful for our team during the indoor air quality assessment.
From the LEED Reference Guide:
“The number of sampling locations will depend on the size of the building and number of ventilation systems. For each portion of the building served by a separate ventilation system, the number of sampling points must not be less than 1 per 25,000 square feet or for each contiguous floor area, whichever is larger. Include areas with the least ventilation and greatest presumed source strength.”
When lab results arrive if one or more sample locations do not meet LEED IAQ requirements, only those locations and test types (e.g., formaldehyde OR TVOC), must be retested and pass in order to obtain the LEED 3.2 point. Real-time testing usually passes immediately, but if painting has just occurred or if final cleaning is underway the odds of success dwindle dramatically.
Upon request, HBS can help your team quantify the necessary number of samples for your project.
Full-Service LEED IAQ 3.2 Testing Including
- Formaldehyde (Maximum Concentration 27 ppb)
- Fine Particulates (Maximum Concentration 50 ug/m3 PM10)
- Total Volatile Organic Compounds (TVOCs) (Maximum Concentration 500 ug/m3)
- 4-Phenylcyclohexane (4-PCH) (Maximum Concentration 6.5 ug/m3)
- Carbon Monoxide (Maximum Concentration 9 ppm)
Minor Changes Between LEED v3 and LEED v4
LEED IAQ Testing Credit 3.2 v3 to v4
Changes between LEED versions for Credit 3.2 have are not significant. Requiring that furniture be installed before air quality testing may complicate success for some LEED projects if furniture off-gasses significantly.
LEED IEQ 3.2 San Francisco Bay Area Projects:
- San Jose Commercial Office
- Oakland Hospital
- Mountain View Commercial Office
- Sunnyvale Commercial Office
- San Francisco Retail
- Mountain View Commercial Office
Healthy Building Science is an environmental consulting firm and a professional industrial hygiene service company. We have partnered with accredited laboratories to provide quick turnaround of lab results buildings may be occupied more quickly. We offer full-service LEED IAQ Testing.
We provide LEED IAQ management plan services for commercial, multi-family buildings, offices, industrial and manufacturing workplaces, hospitals and medical facilities in the greater San Francisco Bay Area and all of Northern California. Cities we service include San Francisco, San Jose, Oakland, Sacramento, Santa Rosa, Hayward, Sunnyvale, Fremont, Concord, Salinas, Santa Clara, Berkeley, Vallejo, Fairfield, Antioch, Richmond, Daly City, San Rafael, San Mateo, Vacaville, San Leandro, Livermore and Alameda County, Contra Costa County, Marin County, Napa County, San Mateo County, Santa Clara County, Solano County and Sonoma County.