It’s so weird: you feel healthy enough when you spend time at home, but every few weeks you’re at work, you start getting congested, or feverish, and you’re generally run down. It’s probably just because you’re surrounded by so many people, right? It wouldn’t be something like sick building syndrome, would it? Wait, what is that anyway?

Sick building syndrome is a condition in which you develop an illness or symptoms due to the air quality in a building. This building doesn’t exclusively have to be your workplace, but anywhere in which you spend considerable time.

Are you fascinated by the premise of sick building syndrome? Do you believe you may have it but you want to know more about it before you take action? If so, then this article is for you. We’ll dive deep into sick building syndrome, including its symptoms, what causes it, and what to do if it’s a problem you’re battling at the workplace.

What Is Sick Building Syndrome?

As we said in the intro, sick building syndrome is linked to the quality of the air inside a building, which is often lacking. Now, you might think then that this condition is limited to exclusively old buildings, but that’s not true. In fact, the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission or CPSC says that, of remodeled and new buildings, roughly 30 percent don’t have air quality that’s up to par.

It was first in the 1970s that sick building syndrome entered the workplace vernacular. As computers began appearing in more offices, lighting wasn’t the greatest, and chemicals were used in more paints, carpets, and other office fixtures, sick building syndrome became a viable concern. Also, that decade went through an energy crisis.

When you have sick building syndrome, you could develop a slew of symptoms. These can affect your neurological and respiratory systems as well as your skin. It’s easy enough to believe you’re just sick because you work around a lot of people, as we discussed in the intro. Even if your workplace doesn’t have many employees, you can attribute your recurring illnesses to the weather, the season, even allergies or other outside factors.

It’s true the above could be what’s ailing you, but it could also be sick building syndrome.

What Are Sick Building Symptoms?

So you can begin to figure out if sick building syndrome has caused your recurring illnesses, let’s take a deeper look at the symptoms you may have. Now, it’s important to mention that symptoms can vary from person to person with sick building syndrome. That’s because these people often don’t work in the exact same building. Thus, the same triggers don’t exist that could manifest symptoms.

Even if you and a coworker both had sick building syndrome, your symptoms could differ as your bodies react in different ways.

Thus, general sick building symptoms to keep an eye on include the following:

• – Chills
• – Fever
• – Body pain and aches
• – Nausea
• – Moodiness and irritability
• – Exhaustion
• – Forgetfulness
• – Concentration issues
• – Wooziness or dizziness
• – Headaches
• – Skin rashes that are often quite itchy and lead to dry skin
• – Nasal burning feelings
• – Sneezing
• – Nose runniness
• – Chest tightness
• – Inability to breathe
• – Irritation and soreness in the throat

Just because you have one or more of the above symptoms doesn’t always mean it’s sick building syndrome. It’s just likely.

It’s also possible to become symptomatic only when you leave work, but not when you’re actually there. This may not seem like a case of sick building syndrome, but it often is. It’s because of the exposure to the allergen or trigger. Symptoms don’t really kick in until after that exposure has passed, aka when you leave work and go home.

You should also know that some patients with sick building syndrome are asymptomatic, which means they don’t experience any of the above symptoms.

What Causes Sick Building Syndrome?

Okay, so we’ve discussed what symptoms you might have if you’re suffering from sick building syndrome. What else, if anything, besides bad air quality can lead to your consistent symptoms? It’s often hard to pinpoint the exact cause(s), but there are a few identifiers that have cropped up over the years.

They are:

1. – Industrial plant and motor vehicle exhaust as well as other outdoor contaminants that make their way inside the building
2. – The volatile organic compounds or VOCs in upholstered furniture, cleaning agents, carpeting, adhesives, and paint in your office
3. – Animal and insect droppings inside of or around the proximity of the building
4. – Low humidity or heat
5. – Fax machine and printer ozone
6. – Carbon monoxide
7. – Pesticides
8. – Asbestos
9. – Formaldehyde, which can hide in wooden flooring and furniture, especially if it’s older
10. – Fungus or mold growing in or near the building
11. – Tobacco or cigarette smoke
12. – Dust
13. – Lack of proper lighting and ventilation

Even factors such as the volume of your work environment, how stressful your job is, and the morale of your workplace could potentially contribute to sick building syndrome.

How Do You Know If You Have Sick Building Syndrome?

As we mentioned in the last section, most medical experts agree that pinpointing the exact cause of sick building syndrome is anything but easy. That said, if you recognize your symptoms in the list we shared and you sense your office has some of the above chemicals and/or contaminants, then it’s important you go to your doctor.

Tell them you suspect your recurring illness is a case of sick building syndrome. Look at that list above and jot down as many symptoms that seem fitting. Then, go through the list of causes and add the ones that make the most sense. Present this information to your doctor.

If you can remember how often you get sick, or—even better—if you’ve maintained an ongoing illness log, this can help your doctor out greatly.

Prepare to undergo a lot of testing if your doctor thinks you may have sick building syndrome. They will want to ensure it’s not something else causing your symptoms, such as allergies, asthma, or recurrent colds. They might not even make a firm diagnosis during that appointment. Instead, your doctor may ask you to keep a log of symptoms and suspected causes for about a month (if you haven’t already done this). You’ll also have to write down where the symptoms manifested.

When you see your doctor again, they can then typically confirm the diagnosis.

Sick Building Syndrome Recourse

First thing’s first, and that’s getting your health back on track. Depending on which symptoms afflict you most, your doctor will recommend a treatment. Make sure you follow this to the letter.

Of course, even once you do feel better, if you go back to the same environment that makes you sick, then your symptoms will come back. New ones could also appear. That’s why, in addition to getting a medical treatment, you need to talk to your boss, manager, or HR person.

Hopefully, they take your complaints of sick building syndrome seriously. Sadly, though, that doesn’t always happen. If that’s what you’re going through, you might reach out to the Building Owners and Managers Association International or BOMA. You can also get in touch with the Occupational Safety and Health Administration or OSHA and lodge a formal complaint with them. Even the Environmental Protection Agency or EPA might be receptive to your issue.

In talking to one of these organizations, you can potentially request an investigation into the air quality at your office. It’s especially ideal if several coworkers do the same. The more evidence you have for the above organizations, the better. For instance, if you found records of calls or emails where health issues got discussed, forward them. If you can see visible problems such as mold, water leaks, or the like, photograph and send these as well.

If the problem persists and your workplace does nothing about it, you could potentially get disability or worker’s compensation payments through OSHA. Sometimes, getting to this point means consenting to both a psychiatric exam as well as a home inspection.  (We have written a related article – What Is LEED Certification? (LEED Rating System, Certification Process And Twelve LEED Benefits))

If worst comes to worst and you realize nothing will be done about your workplace, then it’s time to find another job.

Related Questions

How often do companies complain of suspected cases of sick building syndrome?  Most complaints related to sick building syndrome go to the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health or NIOSH. About a decade after sick building syndrome became a term, complaints of environmental quality spiked, with 150 of these complaints in 1980. Of all the complaints lodged to NIOSH, those constituted eight percent.

As sick building syndrome became a greater concept, the complaint percentage went up. It was 52 percent in 1990. We’d say that’s a fairly decent rate of complaints of sick building syndrome, then. It’d probably be even higher today.

How do you prevent sick building syndrome?  Everyone wants to stay healthy at work and at home. To keep sick building syndrome symptoms at bay, we recommend trying the following:

• – Stay away from chemicals like insecticides and bleaches; if you must use these, then follow the usage directions very carefully
• – Get up and take a break every now and then, strolling through the office
• – Plan computer breaks for your eyes where you spend a minute or two looking at something that’s not a screen
• – Invite fresh air into the office through an open window (just make sure you have permission)
• – Don’t spend all day in the office if you don’t have to; during lunch and on your other breaks, step outside for a few minutes

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You wake up to a glorious sunny day and feel energized, ready to get out of bed and tackle your to-do list. The next morning, you open your window and you’re greeted to a stormy, black day. You want to crawl back under the covers and sleep. If you feel like your energy levels get directly influenced by how much light you have, it’s because they do. Thus, it’s no surprise that more offices have moved to circadian lighting. What is circadian lighting, and can it really make you more productive?

Circadian lighting is a type of lighting system that mimics real sunlight down to the color, angle, and position, thus staying in tune with our natural circadian rhythms. According to this 2019 article in Lux Review, the Living Lab in London moved to circadian lighting and saw an increase in office productivity by 20 percent. Other studies involving circadian or natural lighting report similar results.

In this article, we will first dive deep into the circadian rhythm, so you have a good understanding of it. Then we’ll talk about how circadian lighting plays into that rhythm and what impacts this has on our productivity. If you feel constantly in a slump except for a few hours a day, then keep reading, as you won’t want to miss this.

What Is the Circadian Rhythm?

As we said, before we can discuss the effects of circadian lighting, we should delve into the circadian rhythm. Each and every one of us has a circadian rhythm, although whether we obey it certainly depends. Many people liken the circadian rhythm to an internal clock, and we think that’s quite fitting.

This internal clock—just like one you might have on your wall, or at least on your smartphone—runs for 24 hours to correlate with the time we have in a day. It dictates when we will wake up and when we will feel tired enough to want to sleep.

Let’s say you work a nine-to-five office job, a standard schedule for many people around the world. To get ready for work, you wake up at 7:30 in the morning. You do this often enough and then you find that, to your annoyance, you still get up at 7:30 a.m. on a Saturday. It’s too early and you don’t want to be awake yet, so you try to fall back asleep, but you can’t.

This frustrates you because it’s the weekend, but it happens each week anyway. If you feel like you can’t really help that you wake up at this time, that’s your circadian rhythm in action. You might also get tired at around 11 p.m. every night, again, even on weekends. Your 24-hour clock is telling you to go to bed.

The National Sleep Foundation mentions that we generally have the most energy between 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. due to our natural circadian rhythm. Now, that typically applies to adults only, and not even every adult will necessarily experience the energy shift at that time. If you work overnight hours, for instance, then your circadian rhythm would be totally different than someone with a nine-to-five job.  (Check out our related book review – Why We Sleep)

Other factors besides your job and your sleep time can also play a role on how our internal clocks work…

What Influences Our Circadian Rhythm?

Have you ever wondered how our internal clock decides that we have more energy (or less) at certain times than at others? It’s all due to the abundance of light or the lack thereof. That’s why, on a gray and rainy day, you might never feel that energy spike, even in the afternoon. It’s also why some people suggest getting blackout curtains if you find yourself unable to sleep at night.

Now, while it would be nice if external light such as the sun could be all that affects our energy levels, that’s not true. Artificial light plays a role as well. For instance, you’re having a movie night at home. You turn off all the lights. Don’t you start to feel a bit sleepy? Even when you go see a movie in theaters, sitting in the dark for hours can make you drowsy.

Besides artificial light, there’s another light source that’s maybe even more prevalent in our day-to-day lives. It’s blue light. Many devices that we use every single day emit such a light source. This includes the television. Also, there’s your smartphone, tablet, laptop, computer, and any other digital screen. So yes, pretty much all your essentials.

Now, blue light isn’t all bad. It can increase our mood, reaction times, and our attention, says this article in Harvard Health. That’s during the day. At night, too much blue light keeps us from sleeping. Our circadian rhythms get all screwed up as a result. Also, Harvard Health goes on to state that too much blue light could even be tied to the development of obesity, heart disease, diabetes, and cancers.

Sleep.org says pretty much the same thing. When our circadian rhythms get altered too severely, we’re at a higher risk of developing cardiovascular disease, prostate cancer, breast cancer, and depression.

What Other Ways Can You Change Your Circadian Rhythm?

Blue light is far from the only means of altering your circadian rhythm. Other factors can interrupt your sleep-wake cycle as well. Some of these are voluntary and others not so much.

Changing Your Schedule

Did you get a new job lately? Perhaps you start an hour earlier or later than you used to. In changing your sleep schedule, your circadian rhythm will have to update with you. Now, if you find yourself having a hard time adjusting to even a minor schedule change, that’s because it takes a little while for your circadian rhythm to settle into this new sleep-wake pattern.

You don’t even have to switch jobs to have an impact on your circadian rhythm. If you decide to start waking up earlier to go to the gym in the morning, that’s all it takes. You could still work the same hours, but you made a big enough change that your circadian rhythm will have to compensate.

Traveling

It might be fun to see the world, but flying sure does leave you feeling jetlagged. The more time zones you pass through, the more disoriented you feel. Well, it’s not just a feeling. Your circadian rhythm gets all kinds of screwy when you do that much traveling. If you can’t sleep because of jet lag, that just makes the problem worse. 

Work Design Magazine, in a 2018 article, mentions another type of jet lag: the social kind. If you stay out late on a weeknight with your friends or even binging Netflix, you don’t go to bed when you should. This can have serious effects if you do it often enough. Work Design Magazine mentions that social jet lag increases our chances of having alcohol and/or nicotine addiction, obesity, diabetes, and depression.

The publication cites a study from the American Academy of Sleep Medicine. Even more unsettling, the researchers found a link between heart disease and social jet lag. Specifically, your chances of having heart disease go up by 11 percent for every social jet lag hour you accumulate.

Aging

The National Sleep Foundation, in another article, mentions that as we get older, our circadian rhythm can get disrupted of its own accord. Thus, it becomes harder to sleep consistently. Seniors may report less cognitive function later in the day, earlier waking schedules, and lots of exhaustion in the evening.

What Is Circadian Lighting?

We just established that blue light can not only keep you awake at night, but potentially put your health and even possibly your life at risk. Why invite more light?

Luckily, circadian lighting is nothing like blue light. With a circadian lighting system, the color, angle, and positioning of the sun get replicated indoors. The lighting system thus can keep our circadian rhythms in check.

In the morning, the circadian lighting might start off golden as the sun rises. Then it becomes brighter and whiter as the sun reaches its peak midday, and then turns gold once again as the sun begins setting.

It’s different than your standard office fluorescent lights because circadian lighting is dynamic. It turns out we need that dynamism. According to engineering resource GLUMAC, when the sun changes throughout the day, the photoreceptors in our eyes track these changes. It’s specifically our eyes’ cones (we have rods as well) that do this, as these cones can detect light brightness and color shifts. The rods play a role too, determining the brightness of the sun.

Both the cones and rods work together, passing information to your brain via signals. Your brain then makes serotonin, a type of antidepressant that keeps our moods up during daylight hours. As night falls, the rods sense the decreasing light and let the brain know once again. Thus, the brain makes more melatonin.

You know serotonin manages mood, but what does melatonin do? This hormone, which comes from our pineal gland, maintains our sleeping habits. That’s why you get tired as the day goes on, especially if you go to bed at the same time every night.

GLUMAC says using circadian lighting in the office provides a slew of benefits. These include better cognitive processing, fewer accidents and errors, less hyperactivity, a better mood, more concentration, morning alertness, and—of course—more productivity.

How Does Circadian Lighting Affect Productivity?

Ah, yes, productivity. It’s something that every office wants, but the measures a company takes to achieve it can vary. While there are many ways to influence office productivity, one that you may not have thought of is the lighting in your office.

A circadian lighting system might sound like a nice option, but does it really work to make employees more productive? Absolutely, it can.

GLUMAC, in the article we linked you to before, mentions a series of studies that sought to determine the role natural light could play on productivity. Those who had sufficient natural light had better recollection of memories and mental function at a rate of 10 to 25 percent when tested.

The results go even further than that. Employees in basement offices or cubicles with no access to natural light reported poorer performance and more fatigue.

Remember, while circadian lighting isn’t quite natural light, it’s about as close to the real deal as it gets. That’s certainly the case more so than those bright, headache-inducing fluorescent bulbs in your office.

GLUMAC also cites a study from Building and Environment. This research discovered that, when patients in hospitals had more morning light, they didn’t stay in the hospital as long. Some decreased their stays by 16 percent and others as much as 41 percent. That’s saying something.

Work Design Magazine cites a CBRE Healthy Offices study with contributions from VU Amsterdam and the University of Twente. The data uncovered the following: when employees went to work in an office with a circadian lighting system, they did 12 percent more work than those who only had traditional office lighting. Even better, the employees with the circadian lighting said they had more energy and felt happier, too.

In the intro of this article, we linked you to a Lux Review article from May of this year. In it, Lux Review talks about the Living Lab in London, England. This Mitie office branch was designed from the ground up with productivity and employee comfort in mind. DaeWha Kang Design are responsible for the project.

The office has both Regeneration Pods and a work environment with features made of bamboo. Of course, we have to mention the lighting, which uses an astronomical clock to determine its brightness and intensity. In the morning, it’s a cooler blue. As afternoon arrives, the light brightens up and intensifies. Then, towards the end of the day, the light intensity dims but remains warm.

When University College London reviewed the effects that working in such a space could have on employees, they too found that office productivity went up. This time, it was by a rate of 20 percent.

While the productivity results differed across all the sources we discussed in this section, one thing is clear. There’s definitely more productivity to be had for those offices that want to move forward with circadian lighting systems or increasing more natural light.

Related Questions

What color light temperature is best for productivity?  Every light has its own color temperature, and this dictates the way the light looks to our eyes. Light temperature is represented as degrees Kelvin. A blue-white light has a temperature of 5,000K. Yellow-white light that’s more white than yellow has a temperature between 3,000K and 3,500K. For more yellow light, you need a temperature of roughly 2,700K.

Knowing that, what light temperature should an employer strive to achieve in your office with a circadian lighting system? Well, it will vary depending on the time of day, since a circadian lighting system mimics natural sunlight. To get sunlight at its brightest, you’d want a color temperature of somewhere in the ballpark of 5,000K for that bright, luminescent afternoon sunlight look.

How can you get circadian lighting installed in your office?  If you find your energy and productivity are way down and you think your office lighting has something to do with it, then you might want to ask your boss or manager or about them getting a circadian lighting system installed.

Start by showing them this article as well as other data, studies, and stats on the topic. Overhauling the lighting system at your office won’t come cheap, so it’s important that a company sees the benefits and perks of a circadian lighting system before starting. If you have other coworkers or colleagues who agree that your office lighting needs a change, have them pitch the idea to your boss or manager as well.

If your boss or manager is impressed and wants to move forward, they’ll pass the idea along to the HR manager. Several other key members of your company may have a hand in the decision-making as well.

Do keep in mind that a company might have to budget for such a change. Thus, it can take several months, maybe even longer, before a team comes out to install the circadian lighting system in the office.

That said, all companies should consider moving to circadian lighting systems if they don’t already have one. This benefits every employee, even those who don’t get to spend a lot of time around natural light because they lack a window in their workspace.

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The efforts for creating a bigger awareness of cleaner, sustainable environments are on the rise. There is an increased interest among corporations for building “greener” and environmentally friendly buildings. One of the most popular certification programs for green building is LEED.

What is LEED Certification? LEED Certification process is a program for designing and building energy-efficient and water-conserving buildings, for which construction will be used green and sustainable materials and resources. This program consists of a few rating systems regarding design, construction, operation, and maintenance of different types of buildings, for which the projects earn points. 

Depending on the points certain project receives, the building after it’s finished will receive one of the four LEED certifications; Certified (40-49 points), Silver (50-59 points), Gold (60-79 points), and Platinum (80-100 points). 

The LEED program (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is developed in the 1990s by the non-profit USGBC (US Green Building Council) in order to encourage organizations, companies, and individuals in adopting green and sustainable designs.

This program is mainly focused on projects for new and commercial buildings but can be also used for restoring the older ones. The program is not mandatory for the companies, but certain buildings that are LEED-certified in some states might receive certain incentives, such as tax credits, local tax breaks, grants, fee waivers, etc.

In order to receive a LEED status, the companies need to make some high expenditures upfront, that after some period of time will present massive cost savings. 

LEED Rating Systems

LEED standards are pretty flexible and can be applied to all building types no matter the phase of development. LEED Rating Systems are grouped into five categories according to which the project teams are organizing their processes and documentation. 

• – Building Design and Construction
• – Interior Design and Construction
• – BuildingOperations and Maintenance
• – Homes
• – Neighborhood Development

Building Design and Construction – BD+C

This category has 10 rating systems within, which present as guidelines for building new buildings and renovating old buildings. New construction and Core and Shell are the main certificates from this category. Under core and shell projects are the ones where the developer controls all the electrical, mechanical, fire protection, and plumbing, without touching the interior build-out. 

As an example of buildings that belong to this category are schools, data centers, hospitals, warehouses, retail, office buildings, apartment buildings, etc. 

Interior Design and Construction – ID+C

This category consists of projects that are complete interior fit-out. This category was designed for project teams that don’t have control over the building or are leasing part of a bigger commercial building but want to design an interior space that will improve the environment and the people that are part of that organization. 

Interior spaces that are part of commercial buildings, hospitals and retail are examples that fall in this category. 

Building Operations and Maintenance – O+M

This category is intended for buildings that already exist and are inefficient. The goal is by retrofitting these buildings to improve their sustainability in the overall operating systems and maintenance. However, these buildings have a less sustainable impact on the environment, than the brand new and sustainable buildings. 

This category includes any type of office space, schools, existing warehouses, data centers, hospitals, retail buildings, etc.

Homes

The LEED program for homes became available in 2008 to the public. This program was designed for family homes that are no more than three stories tall, no matter if they are multi-family or single residential buildings. 

LEED is updating its score system over some period of time in order to include all the advancements in the building industry. 

Neighborhood Development ND

The final category of LEED rating systems is meant for Neighborhood Development. This program is intended for all land projects, whether new or redevelopment ones. It is integrating all principles of designing walkability, smart growth, green spaces, urbanism, etc., from planning to completion of the project. 

Additional categories:

Cities and Communities

This category is intended for entire cities as well as certain sub-sections of the city. LEED for Cities consists of tools for measuring and managing the water consumption of the city, its energy use, transportation, waste, human experience, etc.

LEED Recertification

This category is for all projects that have been previously certified under LEED – including Building Design and Construction (BD+C) and Interior Design and Construction (ID+C), no matter their initial version or rating system.

LEED Zero

This category is available for all projects that are already certified under Building Design and Construction (BD+C) or Building Operations and Maintenance (O+M), or are registered for receiving an O+M certification. LEED Zero is meant for all projects that have net-zero goals in resources and carbon.

LEED Certification Process

LEED certification process consists of receiving points for several categories. Each of these categories suggests several opportunities to be used and integrated into the projects. When a certain project meets the required criteria from these categories earn points. The higher the number of points, the more sustainable and energy-efficient is the building. The categories that are measured by LEED are:

Location and Transportation – This category is regarding the proximity of your project to the transportation options in the area, and how the users can access the building without a problem. Also, bonus points are rewarded if the project is built near water or sewer lines, so its building doesn’t disturb the land by installing additional infrastructure. Then where the commercial building or home is built in relation to the surrounding infrastructure, other buildings, neighborhoods. 

Homes, for example, can receive extra points for not being located near endangered species, floodplains, no disturbance zones (zones where certain trees or plants should not be disturbed), etc. 

Materials and Resources – This category is regarding the use of earth-friendly, sustainable materials, re-use, renewable materials, recycling, etc. Then reducing the waste and its impact on the environment. 

Conserving resources and recycling is a popular topic these days. LEED’s guide is covering the overall construction process so there are specific limits on waste for every type of building material. When you are trying to receive LEED certification for your project, make sure that you or your builder understand the importance of using proper materials as well as conserving them. 

Water Efficiency – This category is regarding designing the building in a way that the usage of potable water will be reduced as well as reusing greywater. Conservation of water is a major focus of LEED’s guide. This measure arose because of the increased demand for water in industrial processes and personal use. 

Homes, for example, can conserve water by harvesting rainwater in barrels or different systems for watering the plants and even for drinking – after the rainwater is filtered. 

Also, the project can receive additional points for installing a system for greywater recycling and making this water potable. Greywater is leftover water from sink drains, showers, and clothes washers, and it’s non-potable water. 

Installing these systems can be quite expensive, but in the long run, you will save on utility bills. 

Energy and Atmosphere – This category is regarding improving energy performance and promoting better indoor air quality.

Sustainable Sites – This category is regarding designing the project in a way that won’t affect the environment, but the natural resources and ecosystems around the building will take part in its design and it will minimize the pollution of the environment. 

Regional Priority Credits – This category is addressing certain concerns connected with a specific location or area. The project will receive additional points for including upgrades that help in solving regional environmental concerns or problems. 

For example, if the project is located in the southeastern USA, you will be faced with a big number of sunny days throughout the year and installing solar panels will get you additional points. Or getting additional points for incorporating systems that prevent erosion for the irrigation water in the rural areas. 

All of the US can receive special credits according to this category, as well as international projects. 

Innovation in Design – This category is for awarding points for any strategies or ideas that are inventive and sustainable and are not included in the LEED Rating System, so they can be properly awarded. 

Indoor Environmental Quality – This category is addressing the environment in the building and how it is affecting the tenants or employees inside. In this category, the project receives points for indoor air quality, temperature, lighting, usage of daylight, ventilation, and indoor pollution. 

Adding air filters and systems for moisture control in the building will be awarded by the LEED program with a certain number of points. These filters and systems will help in reducing allergens and molds. Then making sure that the HVAC vents are not connecting between garages, as well as installing exhaust vents in the kitchen.

Education and Awareness – This category might seem that is not connected with protecting the environment. Actually, by educating the occupants of the LEED standards, they will be able to keep their homes, or buildings energy efficient in the years to come. LEED is awarding points for educating your tenants on how to, for example, use system for recycling rainwater, how to limit the use of water, etc. 

According to USGBC, “A property is only as an environmentally friendly as the way it is used” For example, if a homeowner has the heater on for the whole winter, but keeps his windows open all the time, no matter if his appliances are marked with Energy Star, they aren’t saving energy.

How to become LEED certified?

The process of becoming LEED certified has 4 main steps:

1. Register on the site, submit your project, and pay the registration fee;

2. Apply for the certification by submitting the completed application and paying the fee for certification review;

3. Review your LEED application by the Green Building Certification Institute;

4. Certify – Receiving the institute’s decision for certification.

The first step in the certification process is to register at http://www.usgbc.org/leed and then pay the fee for registration, between $1200 for USGBC members and $1500 for non-members. Then you need to appoint all of your team members including project administrator and agent. 

The owner has the overall control of the process and has priority in receiving responses from the LEED reviewers. Whereas the project administrator is responsible for overseeing the project, delegating and supervising the rest of the team members, and checking the accuracy of the application. 

The second step is preparing the application process by identifying the LEED credits that need to be pursued and assigned to the team members. The team is responsible for gathering the needed information, performing analysis and calculations, and preparing the documentation that demonstrates the achievement of the prerequisites. 

The project administrator needs to do a quality check of the completed documents and cross-check prerequisites and credits, to be sure that the data in the application is accurate.

The third step is reviewing the application by the Green Building Certification Institute after you have submitted it and paid the fee for certification. In this step, you still need to be an active participant. 

• Preliminary Review – GBCI is checking the application for compliance with the rating system of choice and credits, and for completeness. GBCI will give the preliminary review report within 20-25 business days. 

• Final Review – This stage is allowing you to submit additional information requested by GBCI. Then they will revise the newly submitted credits and prerequisites and respond with the final review report within 20-25 business days. 

The review can be for all rating systems or split review (BD+C and ID+C).

The fourth step is receiving the Institute’s review results for certification. You can accept the decision or appeal it.

Twelve benefits of being LEED Certified?

In order to become LEED Certified, you must take some steps in achieving bigger energy efficiency, decreasing the carbon footprint of your building, and using your resources wisely. All of this is showing your commitment to having an environmental sustainability to your customers and community. 

Even though acquiring LEED certification is an expensive process, in the long run having a high LEED score will help you in saving a significant amount of money. Especially for buildings that are for commercial use, the overhead will reduce exponentially.  Maximizing the use of natural light, reducing water consumption, and improving energy efficiency will help in reducing the utility bills and operational costs. 

Having a great indoor environment will help you to have a productive and healthier workplace for all the users of the building. Additional benefits of receiving a LEED Certification are:

1. Increased value of the building;

2. Reducing costs for operation and maintenance of the building;

3. Reduced use of water and energy;

4. Promoting better relationships between employees;

5. Promoting a better indoor environment and air quality;

6. Attracting companies that also have goals for a green, sustainable environment to be tenants in your building;

7. Increased employee satisfaction, productivity, and retention;

8. Reducing the number of sick days;

9. Reduced liability;

10. In order to optimize the performance of the building incorporating additional innovation processes;

11. During the construction process, reducing the construction waste;

12. Promoting the use of recycled resources and materials.

LEED certification system is widely recognized for environmentally sustainable buildings and homes and is accepted by engineers, architects, developers, and other professionals in the building industry. However, every business is different, and you need to do some research and assessments to check if the LEED certification is for you. 

Related Questions

What is Energy Star?  Energy Star is a program from the Department of Energy and Environmental Protection Agency that is promoting energy efficiency by providing certification to consumer products and buildings that meet strict criteria. The label of Energy Star can be found in new homes, industrial buildings, commercial; buildings, and more than 75 categories of products. 

For example, one home to be Energy Star certified needs to be more than 20% energy efficient than the regular homes. This can be achieved by making a combination of a few factors, such as installing Energy Star certified light bulbs and appliances, thermal enclosure system, ventilation, high-efficient cooling, and heating system, water management system, and more. 

LEED Certification vs. LEED Accreditation

When talking about LEED, there are two terms that are commonly confused. 

LEED Certification is referring to brand new buildings- their design, construction, and maintenance while using the best practices for having a green, sustainable building that is energy efficient, as well as buildings that undergo major renovations honoring the same practices. 

LEED Accreditation is referring to people who have knowledge regarding green building principles by passing the exam for receiving professional credentials.

What are the benefits of being LEED Accredited? Having a LEED Accreditation will provide you with a valuable overview of what sustainable development and green building mean. There are seven personal and employer benefits:

•  Accreditation makes you a valuable asset to your employer, potential client or employer;

•  Even if you have no prior experience, you have the option for a new career path;

•  Expanding your professional reach by being listed on the website directory of USGBC’s LEED professionals;

•  Being qualified for projects that require the participation of a LEED accredited professional;

• Get recognition for being involved in LEED certification processes;

•  Qualify for promotions and salary increases;

•  Encouraging and promoting a higher understanding of the LEED processes around the world. 

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