LEED certification is a grading program for your commercial building. There are eight categories and a maximum amount of points can be scored in each category. The categories are:
Innovation & Design Process
– Find innovative ways to make your commercial building more environmentally friendly. (11 points)
Location & Linkages
– Is your commercial building located close to transit, public schools, work places and shopping districts? Is it in a walkable neighbourhood? (10 points)
Sustainable Sites
– Have you taken steps to protect the natural habitat around your building? Make sure your building practices are non destructive and minimize storm runoff and water usage to score full points in this category. (22 points)
Water Efficiency
– Reduce water usage in your building and find creative ways to reuse grey water. (15 points)
Energy & Atmosphere
– Reduce energy usage (and resulting pollution) by improving the building envelope and installing a geothermal heating and cooling system. (38 points)
Materials & Resources
– Using sustainably manufactured construction materials and recycled materials where possible. Your construction methods should also minimize waste during the building process. (16 points)
Indoor Environmental Quality
– Maximizing fresh air and minimizing exposure to pollutions through the air through energy efficient methods. (21 points)
Awareness & Education
– Ensuring the building owner, operators, tenants and customers are aware of the energy saving feature of your commercial building. (3 points)
These eight categories have a total scoring potential of 136 points. Depending on how many points your building receives, you could achieve four different rankings of LEED status. Here are the possible rankings you could receive:
| LEED Status | Points Required |
|---|---|
| Certified | 45-59 |
| Silver | 60-74 |
| Gold | 75-89 |
| Platinum | 90-136 |
How Geothermal Can Help You Get LEED Certified
Installing a Nordic® commercial geothermal heat pump falls under the Energy & Atmosphere category, and can score you 10 points out of the possible 38 for that category. While 10 points may not seem like many, you only need a minimum of 45 points to become LEED Certified, so installing a geothermal heat pump will achieve 22% of the required points – just on its own. Geothermal heat pumps are eco friendly and will lower your operating costs. For this reason, we recommend geothermal heat pumps as a great way to get your commercial building LEED Certified.
