Commercial, Industrial, Religious, & Institutional Buildings
Energy & Conservation Standards
There are several standards that can be used to rate a building'senergy and conservation performance. All of these standards include more than energy efficiency. Site and natural resource preservation, water conservation, recycled and renewable materials and waste reduction are all part of "Green" or "Sustainable" construction standards.
These standards include:
- LEED (Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) - The U.S. Green Building Council's (USGBC) point-based rating system.
- National Green Building Standard - The International Code Council's point-based rating system.
- State Codes: Alabama has adopted the Alabama Building Energy Conservation Code, used for state and state-funded projects.
How it's Done:
U.S. Green Building Council LEED Certification -LEED projects involve the entire project team (Owner, Designer and the Builder) throughout the design and construction process. The USGBC has specific requirements for obtaing points, some of which involve one or all of the team members. At the completion of the design, the project, if it meets the number of points for the minimum standards, will be Certified. Higher levels of certification can be obtained with a greater point count. These higher levels include: Silver, Gold and Platinum.
We are members of the U.S. Green Building Council and have a LEED Accredited Professional on our staff. LEED Registration and Certification involves the Owner, the Designer and the Builder. Please contact us for more information.
The National Green Building Standard is similar to LEED, except that it is intended to be adopted by a government jurisdiction or any third-party assurance body. The levels of performance are Bronze, Silver, Gold and Emerald.
The requirements of the Alabama Building Energy Code are included the State of Alabama Building Commission Manual of Proceedures. Energy Code Compliance Documents are submiited by architects to the ABC for design review.