What is LEED?
The LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating Systems are developed and administered by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), a Washington D.C.-based, nonprofit coalition of building industry leaders. The third party certification program was developed to promote the design, construction and operation of high performance ‟green” buildings. The goal is to use less energy, water and natural resources, while creating less waste in the construction and operation of buildings.
The LEED rating systems offer four certification levels for new commercial construction -- Certified, Silver, Gold and Platinum -- that correspond to the number of credits accrued in seven green design categories: Sustainable Sites, Water Efficiency, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation in Design and Regional Priority. LEED standards cover new commercial construction and major renovation projects, interiors projects and existing building operations. LEED does not certify, endorse, or promote any product used in the construction of the building. Credits are accrued based upon the ‟green” performance of the building, assisted by the products and materials used.
Daylights and Views Credit
Under the category of Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ), LEED offers credits for Daylight (IEQ Credit 8.1 for New Construction or IEQ Credit 2.4 for Existing Buildings) and Views (IEQ Credit 8.2 for New Construction or IEQ Credit 2.4 for Existing Buildings). The Daylight credit applies to glazing materials that allow natural light to enter the ‟regularly occupied spaces” of the building. The Views credit applies to glazing materials that allow building occupants to have a direct line of sight to the outdoors (i.e., not frosted or obscure). Again, these credits apply only to ‟regularly occupied spaces”.
Clopay LEED
Clopay® sectional steel doors contain recycled content, which counts toward LEED Material and Resource credit numbers 4 and 5. In addition, our full vision doors qualify for both Daylight and Views credits for the building. Clopay dealers can assist you with calculating LEED credits for our sectional and rolling steel products.