New LEED Pilot Credit Offers 2-3 Points for Designing a More Efficient Ventilation System using ASHRAE’s IAQ Procedure

Building owners and operators are always looking for opportunities to save money on new HVAC systems, improve energy efficiency, and maintain indoor air quality (IAQ). Many owners and operators also look for ways to earn additional points under the U.S. Green Building Council’s (USGBC) Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) certification program. With the new LEED pilot credit EQpc165, all these goals are now possible by simply applying the latest version of ASHRAE’s Indoor Air Quality Procedure (IAQP).  

To achieve LEED certification, a project earns points by adhering to prerequisites and credits that address carbon, energy, water, waste, transportation, materials, health and indoor environmental quality. Projects go through a verification and review process by Green Business Certification, Inc. (GBCI) and are awarded points that correspond to a level of LEED certification: Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59 points), Gold (60-79 points) and Platinum (80+ points). 

The process of attaining LEED certification can be long and costly, and owners and developers are always looking for a shorter and less costly path to certification. The newest LEED Pilot Credit offers just such a path.  

In July 2023 the USGBC published a new pilot alternative compliance path (ACP) that allows project teams to use the updated ASHRAE Standard 62.1 IAQP to earn up to 3 points for LEED v4 and v4.1 BD+C projects. This new ACP is the result of extensive ongoing work by the USGBC over 10 years to establish a viable path for designers to use the IAQP on LEED projects. Lessons learned from two previous pilot credit iterations (EQ pilot credit 68 and EQ pilot credit 124) have helped shape the new pilot ACP.  

The new pilot ACP is also a direct response to a push from design engineers to implement air cleaning strategies that improve ventilation efficiency, which is enabled by the IAQP. Previous pilot credits were intended to motivate ASHRAE to address gaps in previous versions of the IAQP, which ASHRAE did with updates to the IAQP published in Standard 62.1-2022 in September 2022 and the subsequent Addendum N to Standard 62.1-2022 published in March 2023. Building on these important updates to the IAQP, the new LEED compliance pathway for IAQP is now very closely aligned with the requirements of 62.1-2022.  

There are many benefits to using the IAQP rather than the alternative Ventilation Rate Procedure (VRP) to meet LEED IAQ requirements. These benefits include smaller and less expensive new HVAC systems, lower energy use and carbon emissions from less conditioning of outside air, lower operating expenses from less energy use and lower peak demand, and increased resilience to polluted outside air. 

In addition to these tangible benefits, the pilot ACP also grants the project team up to 3 points depending on how they choose to deploy air cleaning: 

Option 1 – Contaminant-based acceptable IAQ design 

This option earns the Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance prerequisite plus 2 Innovation points. The ACP lays out three basic requirements:

1. Ventilation rates must be designed according to the ASHRAE 62.1-2022 IAQP
2. Air cleaning devices must meet the requirements of ASHRAE 62.1-2022 Addendum N and be third-party tested to ensure they produce no harmful byproducts
3. Indoor air quality must be assessed after occupancy through objective IAQ testing and occupant surveys

In all, these requirements are closely aligned with the latest updates to the IAQP.

Option 2 – Contaminant-based enhanced IAQ design

This option earns the Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance prerequisite plus 2 Innovation points and 1 point under EQc Enhanced IAQ Strategies. This option complies with all of the requirements of Option 1 but allows the project team to earn an additional point by using more stringent air quality targets for PM2.5, formaldehyde, and ozone. 

This new pilot credit creates a cost-effective pathway for project teams to earn additional LEED points while realizing all th