English
PolskiLEED & BREEAM
Recent trends in European construction industry were mainly shaped by UE (European Union) directives, which main objective focuses on sustainable construction approach. New buildings are a great minority of already existed ones. That makes it even far more important for those new objects (office buildings, shopping malls, stadiums) to fulfill ecological criteria. One can find a great variety of rating systems that evaluate buildings in the criteria of ecological solutions adopted within their construction. he most important are U.S. LEED and UK BREEAM – known worldwide. Buildings are under a strict evaluation and certification in order to clarify and easily identify their ecological, functional, technical, economic and socio-cultural, values.
Smartie Solutions can contribute even up to 37 out of 110 points in the LEED System. We can help to improve a general score even in several categories: Construction Site, Energy and Atmosphere, Materials and Resources, Quality of an Internal Environment and finally a Project’s Innovation.
LEED
LEED (The Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design) is the U.S. building certification system (awarded by the U.S. Green Building Council), that evaluates in terms of ecological solutions. It is the best known and widely used system, designed for certification of ecological investments.
LEED evaluates many aspects, among which one can find: a proper place for an investment (not influencing natural ecosystems), availability of a nearby public transport, quality of an indoor air, water and energy consumption and finally a type of materials used. 110 point in LEED system can be maximally granted. More than a half - 57 cover the following categories: Energy & Atmosphere and Construction Sites. There are four possible levels to achieve: certified level, silver level, gold level, platinum level (at least 80 points). An amount of points required to obtain the lowest level is 40.
The building that is certified in LEED system is perceived as environmentally friendly, with high standards, complex technology and professional building materials used.
BREEAM
BREEAM is British rating system for buildings’ assessment (BRE Environmental Assessment Method) which was established by the Building Research Establishment (BRE) in 1990. It is used for both new and already existed buildings as well as urban planning.
An area or a building are assessed in 10 categories (depending on the type of building and its function). Earned points are converted into percentage rates, which are then multiplied by the weight index assigned to the specific category and dependent on the type of building. Points that are calculated in such manner are finally summed, which generates an output 6-point scale, that is:
<30% - uncertified
30% - 44% - satisfactory
45% - 54% - good
55% 69% - very good
70% - 84% - excellent
85% outstanding
The majority of points can be achieved in Energy Category (21 points) and the least of them are associated with Water Category (6 points). The great advantage of this system is undoubtedly a fact that it is used worldwide, due to a flexible adjustment to the climatic conditions and legal regulations of the specific country.
For more information about certificates, please visit the following websites: