Term
Adapted vegetation and native vegetation |
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Definition
Plants indigenous to a locality (native) or plants that are adapted to the local climate and are not considered invasive species or noxious weeds (adapted); they require limited irrigation following planting, do not require active maintenance such as mowing, and provide habitat value. |
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Term
| Albedo Synonymous with solar reflectance. Alternative-fuel vehicles |
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Definition
Vehicles that use low-polluting, nongasoline fuels, such as electricity, hydrogen, propane or compressed natural gas, liquid natural gas, methanol, and ethanol. Efficient gas-electric hybrid vehicles are included in this group for LEED purposes. |
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Term
Baseline irrigation water use |
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Definition
| The amount of water that would be used by a typical method of irrigation for the region. |
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Term
Biofuel-based electrical systems |
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Definition
Electrical power systems that run on renewable fuels derived from organic materials, such as wood by-products and agricultural waste. For purposes of LEED, biofuels include untreated wood waste (e.g., mill residues), agricultural crops or waste, animal waste and other organic waste, and landfill gas. |
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Term
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Definition
Plant material from trees, grasses, or crops that can be converted to heat energy to produce electricity. |
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Term
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Definition
Does not have a single definition that is accepted nationwide. Wastewater from toilets and urinals is, however, always considered blackwater. Wastewater from kitchen sinks (perhaps differentiated by the use of a garbage disposal), showers, or bathtubs may be considered blackwater by state or local codes. Project teams should comply with the blackwater definition as established by the authority having jurisdiction in their areas. |
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Term
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Definition
| The release of built-up solids in a cooling tower, accomplished by removing a portion of the concentrated recirculating water that carries dissolved solids. |
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Term
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Definition
| The frequency with which the dissolved minerals and dirt are removed from the cooling tower. It varies depending on the mineral content and scaling tendency of the entering water. |
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Term
| Building automation system (BAS) |
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Definition
| A computer-based monitoring system that coordinates, organizes, and optimizes building control subsystems, including lighting and equipment scheduling, and alarm reporting. |
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Term
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Definition
| The area of the site occupied by the building structure, not including parking lots, landscapes, and other nonbuilding facilities. |
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Term
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Definition
| A general documentation summarizing the intended operation of each base building system described in the systems narrative; the building operating plan may also be known as “Owner’s Operating Requirements” or similar. The operating plan includes the time-of-day schedules for each system for each of the eight day types (Monday to Sunday plus holidays), the mode of operation for each system when it is running (occupied vs. unoccupied; day vs. night, etc.), and the desired indoor conditions or setpoints for each schedule or mode. The operating plan accounts for any differences in needs or desired conditions for different portions of the project building, as well as any seasonal variations in operations patterns. The plan accounts for all the monitored space conditions used to control the base systems, i.e., air temperature, relative humidity, occupancy, light level, CO2 levels, room pressurization, duct static pressure, etc. |
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Term
| Carbon dioxide (CO2) levels |
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Definition
| An indicator of ventilation effectiveness inside buildings. CO2 concentrations greater than 530 ppm above outdoor CO2 conditions generally indicate inadequate ventilation. Absolute concentrations of CO2 greater than 800 to 1,000 ppm generally indicate poor air quality for breathing. |
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Term
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Definition
| A tracking procedure for documenting the status of a product from the point of harvest or extraction to the ultimate consumer end use, including all successive stages of processing, transformation, manufacturing, and distribution. |
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Term
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Definition
| Water that transports chemicals from the building landscape, as well as surrounding streets and parking lots, to rivers and lakes. Runoff chemicals may include gasoline, oil, antifreeze, and salts. |
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Term
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Definition
| The use of biocidal, conditioning, dispersant, and scale-inhibiting chemicals to control biological growth, scale, and corrosion in cooling towers. Alternatives to conventional chemical treatment include ozonation, ionization, and UV light. Reducing or eliminating chemical treatment through effective alternatives reduces the environmental and human health risks associated with the chemicals used in conventional treatment protocols. |
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Term
| Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs |
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Definition
| Hydrocarbons that are used as refrigerants and cause depletion of the stratospheric ozone layer. |
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Term
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Definition
| The movement of workspaces and people within a space. |
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Term
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Definition
| Specific original design conditions that include temperature (air, radiant, and surface), humidity, air speed, outdoor temperature design conditions, outdoor humidity design conditions, clothing (seasonal), and expected activity (ASHRAE 55–2004). |
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Term
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Definition
| The schedule of activities relating to existing building commissioning, including investigation and analysis phase, implementation phase, and ongoing commissioning. |
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Term
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Definition
| Composite wood is made from several materials, and agrifiber products are products made from agricultural fiber. For this credit, these materials comprise particleboard, medium-density fiberboard (MDF), plywood, oriented-strand board (OSB), wheatboard, strawboard, panel substrates, and door cores. |
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Term
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Definition
Concentrate
A product that must be diluted by at least eight parts by volume water (1:8 dilution ratio) prior to its intended use (Green Seal GS-37). |
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Term
| Concentration ratio or cycles of concentration |
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Definition
| The ratio of the concentration of dissolved solids in the recirculating water to the concentration found in the entering makeup water. Higher cycles of concentration require a lower bleed-off rate, though increasing the cycles of concentration above a certain point leads to scaling, and water savings diminish after a certain level. The “cycle” refers to the number of times dissolved minerals in the water are concentrated compared with makeup water, not to water flow over the tower or to on-off cycles. |
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Term
| Conductivity meter or EC meter |
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Definition
| A device that measures the amount of nutrients and salt in water. |
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