"LEED GA MOCK EXAMS" (ISBN-10: 0984374124, ISBN-13: 9780984374120) has been published!
Why "LEED GA MOCK EXAMS" is needed?
First of all, there are many people who passed the LEED GA Exam by reading my book, "LEED GA Exam Guide" ONLY. There is one reader passed the LEED GA Exam by studying my book for three days.
Secondly, people learn in many different ways. Some people learn better by doing extra mock exams. If you want to be safe and do additional sample tests to find out if you are ready for the real exam, I would suggest "LEED GA Mock Exams."
The practice questions in "LEED GA Exam Guide" are normal in term of difficulty, but its mock exam is harder than the real LEED GA Exam. We want it to be harder to make the readers nervous and force them to go back and review the study materials in my book a few more times.
This approach is apparently working. Even the people who gave my book an unfair 1-start review passed the LEED GA Exam on the first try. The only complaint they have is that I have made them study too hard. So, they complaint and gave my book a 1-star review instead of thanking me for helping them passing the LEED GA Exam. Well, I'd rather my readers pass the LEED GA Exam on the first try. It is better safe than sorry.
A set of hard mock exam can be very helpful: What does not kill you makes you stronger.
We want your LEED knowledge to peak on the day of the LEED GA Exam, NOT before or after. One way to achieve this goal is to make you nervous and keep the pressure on, and you will be willing to go back and seriously study and keep reviewing the materials in my book. It is a hard fight against human brain's natural tendency to forget things:
"The process of memorization is like filling a cup with a hole at the bottom: You need to fill it faster than the water leaks out at the bottom, and you need to constantly fill it; otherwise, it will quickly be empty.
Once you memorize something, your brain has already started the process of forgetting it. It is natural. That is how we have enough space left in our brain to remember the really important things." ---Quoted from page 5 of "LEED GA Exam Guide."
Our goal is for "LEED GA Exam Guide" to stand alone. In fact, there are readers who passed the LEED GA Exam by reading "LEED GA Exam Guide" ONLY. One reader passed the LEED GA Exam by studying it for three days. If you choose ANY other books (most of them constantly refer you back to the 700-page USGBC reference guide, and do not stand alone at all) or study materials, you need at least 3 weeks to even go through their study materials once, let alone reviewing the materials several times or passing the LEED GA Exam.
To balance your exam prep effort, the sample tests in "LEED GA Mock Exams" are very close to the real exams. They will definitely help you.
For more info, see:
http://www.architeg.com/pub-details.php?i=9
See all my published books at:
http://GreenExamEducation.com/
Sunday, August 29, 2010
Editorial Reviews for "LEED GA Exam Guide"
Finally! A comprehensive study tool for LEED GA Prep!
I took the 1-day Green LEED GA course and walked away with a power point binder printed in very small print, which was missing MUCH of the required information (although I didn't know it at the time). I studied my little heart out and took the test; only to fail it by 1 point. Turns out I did NOT study all the material I needed to in order to pass the test. I found this book, read it, marked it up, re-took the test, and passed it with a 95%. Look, we all know the LEED GA exam is new, and the resources for study are VERY limited. This one's the VERY best out there right now. I highly recommend it.
---ConsultantVA
Complete overview for the LEED GA exam
I studied this book for about three days and passed the exam. It does have some information you don't need to know for the GA exam, so I wouldn't recommend it for someone looking to just get some quick credentials. However, if you are truly interested in learning about the LEED system and green building design, this is a great place to start.
---K.A Evans
A Great Book for Preparing the LEED Exam!
I have read almost all the books for LEED Exams, and found LEED Exam Guide Series to be the best. The USGBC Reference Guide was too detailed and kind of confusing. Some other third party books have too many grammatical mistakes and are hard to understand, and way too many questions. The questions in those books are confusing instead of helpful. The USGBC workshop missed some of the very important information, like extra credits.
LEED Exam Guide Series gives you just the right amount of information for you to pass the LEED exam. Each book in the series includes study materials, sample questions and answers, as well as mock exam and answers for a specific LEED exam. It also gives you the most information for you to get your building LEED certified. A Great book!
---Ellen
Thank you for such a comprehensive review guide that was enormously helpful in passing the exam
My name is Elizabeth (last name deleted to protect her privacy) and I am a junior at the University of.... (college name deleted to protect her privacy). This summer I attained an internship with Kath Williams and Associates, a collaborative of creative independent contractors who come together to support innovative green projects, to learn about sustainable building. At the beginning of July I spoke with Kath about taking the LEED Green Associate Exam. After having no prior experience in sustainable architecture or LEED buildings I used both your review book and the study guides by USGBC as my study references. I wanted to e-mail to thank you for such a comprehensive review guide that was enormously helpful in passing the exam. Without your guide I don't know if I would have passed. Thank you so much.
---Elizabeth
A Great Timesaver!
Like other books in the LEED Exam Guide Series, this is a great timesaver! The important information that you need to memorize is already highlighted / underlined by the author. This can really save me a lot of time. I love it! A Great Timesaver!
---Alice
A Wonderful Guide for the LEED GA Exam!
After deciding to take the LEED GA exam, I started to look for the best possible study materials and resources. From what I thought would be a relatively easy task, it turned into a tedious endeavor. I realized that there vast amounts of 3rd party guides and hand books. Since the official sites are a little to no help, it became clear to me that my best chance to succeed and pass this exam is to find the most comprehensive study guide, that will not only teach me the topics, but will also give me a great background and understanding of what LEED actually is. Once I stumbled upon Mr Chen's book, all my needs were answered. This is a great study guide that will give the reader the most complete view of the LEED exam and all that it entails.
The book is written in an easy to understand language, and brings great example, tying the materials to the real world. The information is presented in a coherent and logical way, which optimizes the learning process and does not go into detail that will not be needed for the LEED GA exam, as many other guides do. This book stays dead on topic, and keeps the reader interested in the material.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that is considering the LEED GA exam. I learned a great deal from this guide, and I am feeling very confident about my chances in my upcoming exam.
---Pavel Geystrin
Easy to read, easy to understand
I have read through the book once and found it to be the perfect study guide for me. The author does a great job of helping you get into the right frame of mind for the content of the exam. I had started by studying the Green Building Design and Construction reference guide for LEED projects produced by the USGBC. That was the wrong approach. Simply too much information with very little retention. At 636 pages in a textbook format, it would have been a daunting task to get through it. Gang Chen breaks down the points helping to minimize the amount of information but maximizing the content I was able to absorb. I plan on going through the book a few more times and I now believe I have the right information to pass the LEED GA exam.
---Brian Hochstein
All in one - LEED GA prep material
Since LEED Green Associate exam is a newer addition by USGBC, there is not much information regarding study material for this exam. When I started looking around for material, I got really confused as what material I should buy? This LEED GA guide by Gang Chen is an answer to all my worries! It is a very precise book with lots of information like how to approach the exam, what to study and what to skip, links to online material and tips and tricks for passing the exam. It is like "one stop shop" for Green Associate exam. I think this book can also be a good reference guide for green building professionals. A must have!!
---SwatiD
An ESSENTIAL LEED GA Exam Reference Guide
This book is an invaluable tool in preparation for the LEED Green Associate (GA) exam. As practicing professional in the consulting realm, I found this book to be all inclusive of the preparatory material needed for sitting the exam. The information provides clarity to the fundamental and advanced concepts of what LEED aims to achieve. A tremendous benefit is the connectivity of the concepts with real world applications.
The author, Gang Chen, provides a vast amount of knowledge in a very clear, concise, and logical media. For those that have not picked up a textbook in awhile it is very manageable to extract the needed information from this book. If you are taking the exam, do yourself a favor and purchase a copy of this great guide. Applicable fields: Civil Engineering, Architectural Design, MEP, and General Land Development.
---Edwin L. Tamang
LEED GA EXAM GUIDE - A Good book
A great concise study guide for taking the LEED exams. It doesn't detour from its main purpose - - passing the LEED Green Associate exam for LEED Certification. Can't wait until I take the exam and get my results back. Gang Chen did a great service for the architecture community!!!
---Christopher Real "The Real Deal"
Recommended!
I'd definitely recommend this product. It fulfills what it claims it will do.
I'd say if you study from this source and one or two other 'big' sources (as the candidate handbook's references, rockwood's guide) you will get the knowledge and understanding needed to pass the Green Assoc. exam.
Pros:
-General studying skills are interesting to apply and are developed throughout the book.
-Straightforward 'no losing time' methodology.
-Goes the extra mile and starts preparing you for Tier 2 exams.
Cons:
- Not good enough Book Design. The way info is laid out might confuse you more than if it were better displayed.
- Might be a little overwhelming as a 1st reference. I'd say you read this when you have acquired a basic general knowledge of the LEED rating systems.
Keep up the good work Mr. Chen!
I sat for the Green Assoc. exam last week and did great.
You had a lot to do with it, I wanted to thank you!
---Daniel Cazap
One of the best "How To" books I've read!
After reading Gang Chen's book on preparation for the LEED exams, I consider it to be one of the best "How To" books I've read. He has done an extraordinary job in organizing the book in a way to make it easily understood and has provided several tips on how to study and remember
the material. I also liked the many links he provided for additional information. It is definitely a 5-Star Book.
---Hal Shipley
Clear, Concise, and Easy to Follow!
If you are beginning to look at study materials for the LEED Green Associate exam, you might feel overwhelmed by the many options, prices, and sizes of some of the resources out there. Gang Chen offers a condensed but comprehensive version of this material in the "LEED GA Exam Guide", by focusing on the really important information that every LEED examinee should memorize or be familiar with. His information is clear, concise, and arranged in a textual format, which makes the material easy to follow. He provides some interesting and useful study methods and strategies for the exam, such as the "3016 rule", as well as ready to consume mnemonics to help you memorize the actual exam material. He has even underlined all the key topics and information already, so you don't have to.
This book is a great study guide in that it offers both the technical material you need to know and a mock exam to test what you learned. I used this book as my main resource to pass the LEED GA exam, but I also think that it would be a useful read for anyone who wants to understand the basics of the new LEED 2009 v3.0 system. For further in depth LEED knowledge, there is also a good list of valuable websites and links to free study material.
---P Kortje
Outstanding - a MUST Read for Anyone Taking a Standardized Test!
LEED GA Exam Guide by Gang Chen is incredibly well written and the only tool you will need to pass the LEED GA exam. The book is extremely well organized and concise, making it easy to understand and comprehend. While Mr. Chen does an excellent job of laying out and explaining what is required to pass the exam, the book is worth purchasing just for many of the test taking tips. As an international contractor who has taken many contractor's license exams, I wish I had many of these tools available to me previously. If you are planning to take the LEED GA or any other standardized test, you need this book!
--- J. W. Zimmerman "wz pilot"
I took the 1-day Green LEED GA course and walked away with a power point binder printed in very small print, which was missing MUCH of the required information (although I didn't know it at the time). I studied my little heart out and took the test; only to fail it by 1 point. Turns out I did NOT study all the material I needed to in order to pass the test. I found this book, read it, marked it up, re-took the test, and passed it with a 95%. Look, we all know the LEED GA exam is new, and the resources for study are VERY limited. This one's the VERY best out there right now. I highly recommend it.
---ConsultantVA
Complete overview for the LEED GA exam
I studied this book for about three days and passed the exam. It does have some information you don't need to know for the GA exam, so I wouldn't recommend it for someone looking to just get some quick credentials. However, if you are truly interested in learning about the LEED system and green building design, this is a great place to start.
---K.A Evans
A Great Book for Preparing the LEED Exam!
I have read almost all the books for LEED Exams, and found LEED Exam Guide Series to be the best. The USGBC Reference Guide was too detailed and kind of confusing. Some other third party books have too many grammatical mistakes and are hard to understand, and way too many questions. The questions in those books are confusing instead of helpful. The USGBC workshop missed some of the very important information, like extra credits.
LEED Exam Guide Series gives you just the right amount of information for you to pass the LEED exam. Each book in the series includes study materials, sample questions and answers, as well as mock exam and answers for a specific LEED exam. It also gives you the most information for you to get your building LEED certified. A Great book!
---Ellen
Thank you for such a comprehensive review guide that was enormously helpful in passing the exam
My name is Elizabeth (last name deleted to protect her privacy) and I am a junior at the University of.... (college name deleted to protect her privacy). This summer I attained an internship with Kath Williams and Associates, a collaborative of creative independent contractors who come together to support innovative green projects, to learn about sustainable building. At the beginning of July I spoke with Kath about taking the LEED Green Associate Exam. After having no prior experience in sustainable architecture or LEED buildings I used both your review book and the study guides by USGBC as my study references. I wanted to e-mail to thank you for such a comprehensive review guide that was enormously helpful in passing the exam. Without your guide I don't know if I would have passed. Thank you so much.
---Elizabeth
A Great Timesaver!
Like other books in the LEED Exam Guide Series, this is a great timesaver! The important information that you need to memorize is already highlighted / underlined by the author. This can really save me a lot of time. I love it! A Great Timesaver!
---Alice
A Wonderful Guide for the LEED GA Exam!
After deciding to take the LEED GA exam, I started to look for the best possible study materials and resources. From what I thought would be a relatively easy task, it turned into a tedious endeavor. I realized that there vast amounts of 3rd party guides and hand books. Since the official sites are a little to no help, it became clear to me that my best chance to succeed and pass this exam is to find the most comprehensive study guide, that will not only teach me the topics, but will also give me a great background and understanding of what LEED actually is. Once I stumbled upon Mr Chen's book, all my needs were answered. This is a great study guide that will give the reader the most complete view of the LEED exam and all that it entails.
The book is written in an easy to understand language, and brings great example, tying the materials to the real world. The information is presented in a coherent and logical way, which optimizes the learning process and does not go into detail that will not be needed for the LEED GA exam, as many other guides do. This book stays dead on topic, and keeps the reader interested in the material.
I highly recommend this book to anyone that is considering the LEED GA exam. I learned a great deal from this guide, and I am feeling very confident about my chances in my upcoming exam.
---Pavel Geystrin
Easy to read, easy to understand
I have read through the book once and found it to be the perfect study guide for me. The author does a great job of helping you get into the right frame of mind for the content of the exam. I had started by studying the Green Building Design and Construction reference guide for LEED projects produced by the USGBC. That was the wrong approach. Simply too much information with very little retention. At 636 pages in a textbook format, it would have been a daunting task to get through it. Gang Chen breaks down the points helping to minimize the amount of information but maximizing the content I was able to absorb. I plan on going through the book a few more times and I now believe I have the right information to pass the LEED GA exam.
---Brian Hochstein
All in one - LEED GA prep material
Since LEED Green Associate exam is a newer addition by USGBC, there is not much information regarding study material for this exam. When I started looking around for material, I got really confused as what material I should buy? This LEED GA guide by Gang Chen is an answer to all my worries! It is a very precise book with lots of information like how to approach the exam, what to study and what to skip, links to online material and tips and tricks for passing the exam. It is like "one stop shop" for Green Associate exam. I think this book can also be a good reference guide for green building professionals. A must have!!
---SwatiD
An ESSENTIAL LEED GA Exam Reference Guide
This book is an invaluable tool in preparation for the LEED Green Associate (GA) exam. As practicing professional in the consulting realm, I found this book to be all inclusive of the preparatory material needed for sitting the exam. The information provides clarity to the fundamental and advanced concepts of what LEED aims to achieve. A tremendous benefit is the connectivity of the concepts with real world applications.
The author, Gang Chen, provides a vast amount of knowledge in a very clear, concise, and logical media. For those that have not picked up a textbook in awhile it is very manageable to extract the needed information from this book. If you are taking the exam, do yourself a favor and purchase a copy of this great guide. Applicable fields: Civil Engineering, Architectural Design, MEP, and General Land Development.
---Edwin L. Tamang
LEED GA EXAM GUIDE - A Good book
A great concise study guide for taking the LEED exams. It doesn't detour from its main purpose - - passing the LEED Green Associate exam for LEED Certification. Can't wait until I take the exam and get my results back. Gang Chen did a great service for the architecture community!!!
---Christopher Real "The Real Deal"
Recommended!
I'd definitely recommend this product. It fulfills what it claims it will do.
I'd say if you study from this source and one or two other 'big' sources (as the candidate handbook's references, rockwood's guide) you will get the knowledge and understanding needed to pass the Green Assoc. exam.
Pros:
-General studying skills are interesting to apply and are developed throughout the book.
-Straightforward 'no losing time' methodology.
-Goes the extra mile and starts preparing you for Tier 2 exams.
Cons:
- Not good enough Book Design. The way info is laid out might confuse you more than if it were better displayed.
- Might be a little overwhelming as a 1st reference. I'd say you read this when you have acquired a basic general knowledge of the LEED rating systems.
Keep up the good work Mr. Chen!
I sat for the Green Assoc. exam last week and did great.
You had a lot to do with it, I wanted to thank you!
---Daniel Cazap
One of the best "How To" books I've read!
After reading Gang Chen's book on preparation for the LEED exams, I consider it to be one of the best "How To" books I've read. He has done an extraordinary job in organizing the book in a way to make it easily understood and has provided several tips on how to study and remember
the material. I also liked the many links he provided for additional information. It is definitely a 5-Star Book.
---Hal Shipley
Clear, Concise, and Easy to Follow!
If you are beginning to look at study materials for the LEED Green Associate exam, you might feel overwhelmed by the many options, prices, and sizes of some of the resources out there. Gang Chen offers a condensed but comprehensive version of this material in the "LEED GA Exam Guide", by focusing on the really important information that every LEED examinee should memorize or be familiar with. His information is clear, concise, and arranged in a textual format, which makes the material easy to follow. He provides some interesting and useful study methods and strategies for the exam, such as the "3016 rule", as well as ready to consume mnemonics to help you memorize the actual exam material. He has even underlined all the key topics and information already, so you don't have to.
This book is a great study guide in that it offers both the technical material you need to know and a mock exam to test what you learned. I used this book as my main resource to pass the LEED GA exam, but I also think that it would be a useful read for anyone who wants to understand the basics of the new LEED 2009 v3.0 system. For further in depth LEED knowledge, there is also a good list of valuable websites and links to free study material.
---P Kortje
Outstanding - a MUST Read for Anyone Taking a Standardized Test!
LEED GA Exam Guide by Gang Chen is incredibly well written and the only tool you will need to pass the LEED GA exam. The book is extremely well organized and concise, making it easy to understand and comprehend. While Mr. Chen does an excellent job of laying out and explaining what is required to pass the exam, the book is worth purchasing just for many of the test taking tips. As an international contractor who has taken many contractor's license exams, I wish I had many of these tools available to me previously. If you are planning to take the LEED GA or any other standardized test, you need this book!
--- J. W. Zimmerman "wz pilot"
Do I need to do many practice questions to prepare for a LEED exam?
There is NO absolutely correct answer to your question. People learn in many different ways. Personally I am NOT crazy about doing a lot of practice questions: think about it, if you do 700 practice questions, you'll have to read 700 questions, and each question has at least 4 choices. That is at least 2,800 choices and it means a lot of words for you to read. I have seen some third party materials that have 1,200 practice questions. That will cost you even MORE time to go over the materials.
I prefer to spend most of my time to read, digest and really understand the fundamental materials, and MEMORIZE them naturally by reading the materials multiple times. This is because the fundamental materials for ANY exam will NOT change, and the scope of the exam will NOT change for the same main version of the test (until the exam moves to the next advanced version), but there are thousands of ways to ask you questions.
If you have a limited amount of time and effort like most people, it is more efficient for you to focus on the fundamental materials and actually master the knowledge that GBCI wants you to learn. If you can do that, then no matter how GBCI changes the exam format or how GBCI asks you the questions, you will do fine in the exam.
"Strategy 101 for the LEED Green Associate Exam is that you must recognize that you have only a limited amount of time to prepare for the exam. So, you must concentrate your time and effort on the most important content of the LEED Green Associate Exam...
The key to passing the LEED Green Associate Exam, or any other exam, is to know the scope of the exam, and not to read too many books. Select one or two really good books and focus on them. Actually understand the content and memorize it. For your convenience, I have underlined the fundamental information that I think is very important. You definitely need to memorize all the information that I have underlined. You should try to understand the content first, and then memorize the content of the book by reading it multiple times. This is a much better way than "mechanical" memory without understanding. ..
Most people fail the exam NOT because they cannot answer the few "advanced" questions on the exam, but because they have read the information but canNOT recall it on the day of the exam. They spend too much time preparing for the exam, drag the preparation process on too long, seek too much information, go to too many websites, do too many practice questions and too many mock exams (one or two sets of mock exams can be good for you), and spread themselves too thin. They end up missing out on the most important information of the LEED exam, and they will fail."
---Quoted from pages XIX, XXI and 6 of "LEED GA Exam Guide"
To me, Memorization and Understanding helps each other. Understanding always comes first. If you really understand something, then Memorization is really easy.
For example, I'll read a book's first chapter very slowly but make sure I REALLY understand everything in it. I'll take whatever it takes for me to REALLY understand the materials, I do NOT care others are much faster than me in reading it. Then, I'd re-read the first chapter again. This time, the reading is so much easier, and I can read it much faster, and then I'll try to re-tell the content in my own language: I re-tell the substance, not the formats or particular order of things. This is a very good way for me to understand and digest the materials, and ABSORB and TAKE the content with me.
I'll repeat the same procedure for each chapter, and then keeping re-read the book until I take the exam. This achieves two purposes:
1. I keep reinforcing the important materials that I already have memorized, and fight against human brain's natural tendency to forget things.
2. I also understand the content of the book much better by reading it multiple times.
If you asked me to memorize something without understanding it first, it'll be very hard for me to memorize it; Even if I memorize it, it'll be very easy for me to forget it.
I always find doing too many practice questions takes too much time and is not efficient. Doing 2 or 3 sets of practice questions can be helpful, NOT 7 sets or 12 sets.
This is my suggestion, and it may help you.
Copyright 2010 Gang Chen, Author, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
I prefer to spend most of my time to read, digest and really understand the fundamental materials, and MEMORIZE them naturally by reading the materials multiple times. This is because the fundamental materials for ANY exam will NOT change, and the scope of the exam will NOT change for the same main version of the test (until the exam moves to the next advanced version), but there are thousands of ways to ask you questions.
If you have a limited amount of time and effort like most people, it is more efficient for you to focus on the fundamental materials and actually master the knowledge that GBCI wants you to learn. If you can do that, then no matter how GBCI changes the exam format or how GBCI asks you the questions, you will do fine in the exam.
"Strategy 101 for the LEED Green Associate Exam is that you must recognize that you have only a limited amount of time to prepare for the exam. So, you must concentrate your time and effort on the most important content of the LEED Green Associate Exam...
The key to passing the LEED Green Associate Exam, or any other exam, is to know the scope of the exam, and not to read too many books. Select one or two really good books and focus on them. Actually understand the content and memorize it. For your convenience, I have underlined the fundamental information that I think is very important. You definitely need to memorize all the information that I have underlined. You should try to understand the content first, and then memorize the content of the book by reading it multiple times. This is a much better way than "mechanical" memory without understanding. ..
Most people fail the exam NOT because they cannot answer the few "advanced" questions on the exam, but because they have read the information but canNOT recall it on the day of the exam. They spend too much time preparing for the exam, drag the preparation process on too long, seek too much information, go to too many websites, do too many practice questions and too many mock exams (one or two sets of mock exams can be good for you), and spread themselves too thin. They end up missing out on the most important information of the LEED exam, and they will fail."
---Quoted from pages XIX, XXI and 6 of "LEED GA Exam Guide"
To me, Memorization and Understanding helps each other. Understanding always comes first. If you really understand something, then Memorization is really easy.
For example, I'll read a book's first chapter very slowly but make sure I REALLY understand everything in it. I'll take whatever it takes for me to REALLY understand the materials, I do NOT care others are much faster than me in reading it. Then, I'd re-read the first chapter again. This time, the reading is so much easier, and I can read it much faster, and then I'll try to re-tell the content in my own language: I re-tell the substance, not the formats or particular order of things. This is a very good way for me to understand and digest the materials, and ABSORB and TAKE the content with me.
I'll repeat the same procedure for each chapter, and then keeping re-read the book until I take the exam. This achieves two purposes:
1. I keep reinforcing the important materials that I already have memorized, and fight against human brain's natural tendency to forget things.
2. I also understand the content of the book much better by reading it multiple times.
If you asked me to memorize something without understanding it first, it'll be very hard for me to memorize it; Even if I memorize it, it'll be very easy for me to forget it.
I always find doing too many practice questions takes too much time and is not efficient. Doing 2 or 3 sets of practice questions can be helpful, NOT 7 sets or 12 sets.
This is my suggestion, and it may help you.
Copyright 2010 Gang Chen, Author, AIA, LEED AP BD+C
Latest trend for LEED Exams
Recently, there are quite a few readers run into the versions of the LEED exams that have many questions on refrigerants (CFC, HCFC, and HFC), the following advice will help you answer these questions correctly:
For more information, see free pdf file of "The Treatment by LEED of the Environmental Impact of HVAC Refrigerants" that you can download at link below:
http://www.gbci.org/Files/References/The-Treatment-by-LEED-of-the-Environmental-Impact-of-HVAC-Refrigerants.pdf
This is a VERY important document that you need to become familiar with. Many real LEED exam questions (CFC, HCFC, and HFC, etc.) come from this document. You need to download it for free and read it at least 3 times.
Pay special attention to the Table on ODP and GWP on page 3. You do not have to remember the exact value of all ODPs and GWPs, but you do need to know the rough number for various groups of refrigerants."
This latest trend regarding refrigerants (CFC, HCFC, and HFC) for LEED Exams has a lot to do with LEED v3.0 Credit Weighting. EA (including refrigerants) is the biggest winner in LEED v3.0, meaning the category has MORE questions than any other areas for ALL the LEED exams. See pages 36 to 38 of my book, LEED GA Exam Guide quoted below:
How are LEED credits allocated and weighted?
Answer: They are allocated and weighted per strategies that will have greater positive impacts on the most important environmental factors: CO2 reductions and energy efficiency.
They are weighted against 13 aftereffects of human activities, including carbon footprint / climate change (25%), indoor-air quality (15%), resource/fossil-fuel depletion (9%), particulates (8%), water use/water intake (7%), human health: cancer (7%), ecotoxity (6%), eutrophication (5%), land use/habitat alteration (5%), human health: non cancer (4%), smog formation (4%), acidification (3%), and ozone depletion (2%).
These 13 aftereffects were created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and are also known as "TRACI", a mnemonic for "Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts."
1) The USGBC used a reference building to estimate environmental impact in the 13 categories above.
2) The USGBC also used a tool developed by the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) to prioritize the TRACI categories.
3) The USGBC also created a matrix to show the existing LEED credits and the TRACI categories, and used data that quantify building impacts on human health and environment to allocate points for each credit.
The points for Energy and Transportation credits have been greatly increased in LEED 2009, primarily because of the importance to reduce carbon or greenhouse gas emissions. Water Efficiency is also a big winner in the credits, doubling from 5 to 10 points for some LEED rating systems.
In addition to the weighting exercise, the USGBC also used value judgments, because if they only used the TRACI-NIST tool, some existing credits would be worth almost nothing, like the categories for human health and indoor air quality. The USGBC wanted to keep the LEED system somewhat consistent and retained the existing credits including those with few environmental benefits. So each credit was assigned at least one point in the new system.
There are NO negative values or fractions for LEED points.
20% reduction of indoor water-use used to be able to gain points, now this is a prerequisite in LEED 2009.
For more information, see free pdf file of "The Treatment by LEED of the Environmental Impact of HVAC Refrigerants" that you can download at link below:
http://www.gbci.org/Files/References/The-Treatment-by-LEED-of-the-Environmental-Impact-of-HVAC-Refrigerants.pdf
This is a VERY important document that you need to become familiar with. Many real LEED exam questions (CFC, HCFC, and HFC, etc.) come from this document. You need to download it for free and read it at least 3 times.
Pay special attention to the Table on ODP and GWP on page 3. You do not have to remember the exact value of all ODPs and GWPs, but you do need to know the rough number for various groups of refrigerants."
This latest trend regarding refrigerants (CFC, HCFC, and HFC) for LEED Exams has a lot to do with LEED v3.0 Credit Weighting. EA (including refrigerants) is the biggest winner in LEED v3.0, meaning the category has MORE questions than any other areas for ALL the LEED exams. See pages 36 to 38 of my book, LEED GA Exam Guide quoted below:
How are LEED credits allocated and weighted?
Answer: They are allocated and weighted per strategies that will have greater positive impacts on the most important environmental factors: CO2 reductions and energy efficiency.
They are weighted against 13 aftereffects of human activities, including carbon footprint / climate change (25%), indoor-air quality (15%), resource/fossil-fuel depletion (9%), particulates (8%), water use/water intake (7%), human health: cancer (7%), ecotoxity (6%), eutrophication (5%), land use/habitat alteration (5%), human health: non cancer (4%), smog formation (4%), acidification (3%), and ozone depletion (2%).
These 13 aftereffects were created by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and are also known as "TRACI", a mnemonic for "Tool for the Reduction and Assessment of Chemical and Other Environmental Impacts."
1) The USGBC used a reference building to estimate environmental impact in the 13 categories above.
2) The USGBC also used a tool developed by the National Institute of Standard and Technology (NIST) to prioritize the TRACI categories.
3) The USGBC also created a matrix to show the existing LEED credits and the TRACI categories, and used data that quantify building impacts on human health and environment to allocate points for each credit.
The points for Energy and Transportation credits have been greatly increased in LEED 2009, primarily because of the importance to reduce carbon or greenhouse gas emissions. Water Efficiency is also a big winner in the credits, doubling from 5 to 10 points for some LEED rating systems.
In addition to the weighting exercise, the USGBC also used value judgments, because if they only used the TRACI-NIST tool, some existing credits would be worth almost nothing, like the categories for human health and indoor air quality. The USGBC wanted to keep the LEED system somewhat consistent and retained the existing credits including those with few environmental benefits. So each credit was assigned at least one point in the new system.
There are NO negative values or fractions for LEED points.
20% reduction of indoor water-use used to be able to gain points, now this is a prerequisite in LEED 2009.
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