Administered by the United States Green Building Council® (USGBC), LEED® (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is an internationally recognized third-party certification for high-performance sustainable buildings. LEED awards building projects varying designations of certified, silver, gold or platinum based on the points earned using green strategies and technologies.
Across all versions of LEED, T&S products contribute to initiatives found in the three main LEED rating systems:
Specific credit numbers vary based on LEED rating system and associated project type, but in general, T&S products, such as faucets and pre-rinse spray valves, can help contribute to the following categories' prerequisites and credits:
LEED v3 (2009) will remain relevant until 2021 as buildings registered under that system complete design and construction.
LEED v4, set to become mandatory in November 2016, is a major overhaul, with technical changes estimated to be above 40%. Some of these developments address the increasing environmental concern for conserving freshwater.
WE Prerequisite: Indoor Water Use Reduction (meet or exceed baseline requirements)
WE Credit: Indoor Water Use Reduction (exceed baseline requirements by a designated percentage)
Not applicable: Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) products excluded from contributing to points
ID Credit: Innovation in Design (multiple options for obtaining points within credit, typically via Path 2 Exemplary Performance.)
RP Credit: Regional Priority (options for obtaining credit vary by region)
WE Prerequisite: Indoor Water Use Reduction (meet or exceed baseline requirements)
WE Credit: Indoor Water Use Reduction (exceed baseline requirements by a designated percentage)
Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing (MEP) products are optional to include in LEED v4. If the project does use this option the following applies:
MR Credit: Building Product Disclosure and Optimization – Sourcing of Raw Materials – Option 2 Leadership Extraction Practices – Recycled Content
IN Credit: Innovation (multiple options for obtaining points within credit, typically via Option 3 Additional Strategies/Exemplary Performance.)
RP Credit: Regional Priority (options for obtaining credit vary by region)
Current Baseline | |
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Commercial lavatory (restroom) faucets | 2.2 gallons per minute (gpm) at 60 pounds per square inch (psi), private applications only (hotel or motel guest rooms, hospital patient rooms) 0.5 (gpm) at 60 (psi) all others except private applications 0.25 gallons per cycle for metering faucets |
Commercial pre-rinse spray valves (for foodservice applications) |
Flow rate ≤ 1.6 GPM (v3)
Flow rate ≤ 1.3 GPM (v4) (no pressure specified; no performance requirement) |