LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) is the most widely used green building rating system in the world. Available for virtually all building types, LEED provides a framework for healthy, highly efficient, and cost-saving green buildings. LEED certification is a globally recognized symbol of sustainability achievement and leadership.

There are several levels of LEED certification with the highest being Platinum and requiring a minimum of 80 credits.

The City Council directed staff to achieve Platinum certification within reasonable costs and implementation strategies.

This website page shows our credits on the Path to Platinum.  Our design and construction team consists of the professionals at Clark Enersen,  McCownGordon, and Prairie Village Public Works.

On July 20, 2022 the Public Works Facility received the LEED Platinum Certification from the USBGC. 
Being recognized for this level of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design is an honor.
Thank you to the design and construction teams for their commitment to this project.

Integrative Process

All parties (design, construction, owner) engaged in a brainstorming charrette to identify ways to achieve high-performing systems. As a group, energy conservation methods (ECM) and water-savings methods were identified. These were then evaluated and incorporated into the project design.

How the research influenced the design

Massing and Orientation of Building Focus the fenestration area (arrangement of doors and windows) north/south to increase daylight availability and reduce solar gains; shading integrated into roof overhangs on south façade over office-side entry.

Basic Envelope attributes Selected metal building assembly that maintained hig h thermal performance with thermal breaks/continuous insulation; tested alternates for roof assembly performance to compare overall life cycle cost of envelope options.

Our facility earned credits by providing bicycle storage and electrical vehicle charging stations. The project encourages building users to use alternative transportation options and help reduce greenhouse gas emissions from transportation.

According to the US Department of Energy - A conventional gas powered vehicle emits over 11,400 pounds of carbon dioxide annually, while an electric vehicle emits around 3,400 pounds of carbon dioxide (taking into account its power source in Kansas).

Encouraging the use of even one electric vehicle is the same as planting 60 urban trees per year. 

 

 

  

 

 

 

In addition to the credits for the charging stations and bike storage, the PW facility was awarded credits in the following areas:

• Sensitive Land Protection for construction on a previously developed site.

• Surrounding Density and Diverse Uses for development in areas with existing infrastructure (restaurants, banks, pharmacy, etc.). To promote walkability, transportation efficiency and reduce vehicle distance traveled in addition to improving public health by encouraging daily physical activity.  With the proximity of local shopping and banking, the PW Facility easily met this requirement with 4 categories of uses and 10 locations shown on the map.

• Reduced Parking Footprint for implementing the parking spots necessary for operation versus the parking capacity recommended by the ITE Transportation Planning Handbook.  This resulted in a 38% reduction in the parking footprint.

 

 

 

For this project, a light colored roof material with a high solar reflectance was used to minimize the effects on microclimates and human/wildlife habitats. This cool roof also reduces the heat island effect.

Structures can absorb and re-emit the sun’s heat more than natural landscapes. Urban areas, where these structures are highly concentrated and greenery is limited, become “heat islands” of higher temperatures relative to outlying areas.   Heat islands contribute to higher daytime temperatures, reduced nighttime cooling, and higher air-pollution levels.  Generally, daytime temperatures in urban areas are about 1–7°F higher than temperatures in outlying areas and nighttime temperatures are about 2-5°F higher. 

Water Use Reduction methods at the new Public Works Facility resulted in a 76% reduction in water use compared to similar buildings. The project received an Exemplary Performance credit in this category.

• Outdoors: Native plants were installed which require no irrigation to help reduce water consumption.
• Outdoors: Utilization of rain garden
• Indoors: WaterSense & Energy Star fixtures and appliances were installed.

• Indoors: Rainwater harvest system was utilized to provide non-potable water for flushing the toilets.

In addition to the water reduction credits, the PW Facility was awarded credit for Water Metering. Metering use is an important step in tracking use and facilitating any additional reductions.

With the help of energy-efficient systems, efficient LED lighting, and solar photo voltaic panels on the roof, the new Public Works Facility has an overall 78% modeled energy cost savings over a comparable baseline model. 

The solar photo voltaic system is up and running at the facility and provides approximately 50% of our day to day needs. Each day staff can see how much CO₂ is avoided by using this sustainable power.  For example, on the morning reading below it was 275.6 pounds which is the equivalent of burning 138 pounds of coal or planting 2 urban trees.

The facility also has an energy efficient heating and cooling system. This Variable Refrigerant Flow (VRF) system is a large-scale ductless HVAC system that can perform at a high capacity.  Zones are individually controlled by "cassettes" and temperatures are easier to balance in the building.

The PW Facility was also awarded credits in the following areas:

• Enhanced Commissioning is a process in which a team (the commissioning authority) reviews the project, develops a plan to implement any changes made during the review, inspects the construction of the items noted to ensure follow through and documents all findings.
• Demand Response credit requires the installation of infrastructure to take advantage of future demand response programs provided through Evergy.
• Green Power and Carbon Offset 

In an effort to reduce construction and demolition waste disposed of in landfills and incineration facilities , the project and construction team was able to divert 86% of construction waste from the landfill.

Along with Construction and Demolition Waste Management, the project received credits in:

• All projects seeking LEED certification are required to have a plan for Construction and Demolition Waste along with Storage and Collection of Recyclables.
• For Life-Cycle Assessment, a project must demonstrate a minimum of 10% reduction, compared with a baseline building, in at least 3 of 6 environmental impact categories.

The Public Works Facility structure exceeded the minimum by demonstrating a reduction in 5 of the 6 categories:

• Global Warming (required)
• Stratospheric Ozone Depletion 
• Eutrophication 
• Tropospheric Ozone Formation 
• Depletion of non-renewable energy resources

The project was awarded credits in three areas of Building Product Disclosure and Optimization.  These Product Disclosures show that our team used products and materials that have environmentally, economically, and socially preferable life-cycle impacts.  The project construction team is responsible for documenting these items and received an Exemplary Performance credit.  These three areas are:

• Environmental Product Declarations
• Sourcing of Raw Materials
• Material Ingredients

Low emitting materials were installed at the Public Works Facility to provide healthier indoor air quality and to reduce concentrations of chemical contaminants that can damage air quality, human health, productivity, and the environment. These products included low VOC paints, adhesives, flooring, wood products, ceilings and insulation.

Design and Construction Team anticipate an Exemplary Performance Credit in this area.

Additionally, a building flush-out and air quality testing were completed to ensure a healthy environment for occupants.

According to the EPA, many office building have significant air pollution sources. Some office buildings may be inadequately ventilated. For example, mechanical ventilation systems may not be designed or operated to provide adequate amounts of outdoor air. Employees generally have less control over the indoor environment in their offices than they do in their homes. As a result, there has been an increase in the incidence of reported health problems. 

After cleaning the indoor air, employers have seen workplace productivity increase by up to 11 percent.

Even more impressive is a 2015 double-blind study from the Harvard School of Public Health showing that people working in well-ventilated offices with low levels of pollutants have double the cognitive function of those in offices with average levels of exactly the same pollutants.

In addition to the Low Emitting Materials credits, the PVPW Facility has received credits for:

• Interior Lighting by providing individual lighting controls that enable occupants to adjust the lighting to suit their individual tasks and preferences.
• Thermal Control which provides greater thermal comfort control with temperature and fan speed.
• Construction Indoor Air Quality Management Plan 
• Indoor Air Quality Assessment for testing the indoor air quality to assure compliance with the specifications of LEED certification.
• All projects seeking LEED certification must meet Minimum Indoor Air Quality Performance and Environmental Tobacco Smoke Control.  There will be no smoking within the LEED boundaries and signs will be posted on site as a reminder that smoking is not allowed within 25' of the building.

Regional Priority

Regional Priority credits was introduced in LEED 2009 to incentivize the achievement of credits that address geographically specific environmental, social equity and public health priorities.

RP credits are existing credits that USGBC regional councils and chapters have designated as being particularly important for their areas. The incentive to achieve the credits is in the form of a bonus point.

The PW Facility has received the following Regional Priority Credits:

• Surrounding Density and Diverse Uses (Location and Transportation)
• Bicycle Facilities (Location and Transportation)
• Green Vehicles (Location and Transportation)
• Building Life-Cycle Impact Reduction (Materials and Resources)

Innovation and Design

Innovation credits are achieved with significant, measurable environmental performance using a strategy not addressed in the LEED green building rating system. Examples are given in the LEED Innovation library and the LEED Accredited Professional documents the performance.

The PW Facility has received the following Innovation and Design Credits:

• LEED Accredited Professional
• Water Use Reduction (Exemplary Performance)
• EPD (Materials and Resource Exemplary Performance)
• Occupant Survey
• Green Building Education
• Safety First - Cleaning and Disinfecting Your Space