LEED = Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
LEED is quickly becoming the industry norm. Regardless of your experience level in the design and construction industry, you are making a wise investment in your career to become LEED certified.
Northern Illinois University Professional and Continuing Education has partnered with Everblue training, the largest USGBC Educational Provider in the world, to offer the best training possible for professionals in the Chicago area. Everblue has trained thousands of professionals - from individuals to the largest corporations and government agencies. LEED certification is being discovered by architects, contractors, engineers, real estate professionals, lawyers, and others who find that obtaining a LEED credential can take their career in new directions.
LEED is an internationally recognized green building certification system which provides third-party verification that a building or community was designed and built using strategies aimed at increasing performance, reducing waste, and improving quality of life. Under LEED, buildings accumulate points for things such as saving energy, having accessible mass transit, and mitigating storm water runoff. Once the points are tallied, the building earns a LEED rating. The higher the tally, the more sustainable the building is.
The LEED rating systems, created by the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), are internationally accepted benchmarks for the design, construction, and operation of high performance green buildings. Since its inception in 1998, LEED has grown to encompass more than 20,000 projects in 50 U.S. states and 30 countries. LEED promotes a whole-building approach to sustainability by recognizing performance in five key areas of human and environmental health. The LEED rating and certification system is the industry's gold-standard for environmentally sustainable building and is recognized industry-wide by architects, engineers, developers, and other building professionals, many of which have been designated LEED Accredited Professional. The LEED AP designation is a highly sought-after credential by professionals in environmental sustainability roles, as well as law, real estate and other areas.
NIU Professional and Continuing Education offers online training for a Certified Compliance Inspector of Stormwater and a Certified Preparer of Storm Water Pollution Prevention Plans. Click here for more information.
NIU Professional and Continuing Education also offers training in Facilities Managment. For more information, visit our web site at www.fm.niu.edu.
Developed by the U.S. Green Building Council, or USGBC, LEED provides a yardstick for measuring sustainable building. Founded in 1993, the USGBC now has over 20,000 member organizations, 120,000 LEED Accredited Professionals, and has been used to help guide the building of more than 3.6 billion square feet of sustainable space. While the USGBC focuses on developing and refining the LEED standards, its sister organization, the Green Building Certification Institute, or GBCI, actually runs the LEED Building Certification and LEED Professional Accreditation programs. Visit the GBCI at www.gbci.org for more information.
The LEED rating systems are grouped into five main categories: Building Design & Construction, Interior Design and Construction, Operations & Maintenance, Homes, and Neighborhood Development.
The first category, Building Design and Construction, contains five LEED rating systems. These rating systems are guidelines for new buildings and old buildings undergoing major renovations. Schools, Hospitals, Office Buildings, and Apartment Buildings are all examples of buildings that would fall into this category. For more information on Northern Illinois University and Everblue’s training courses in the Chicago area for this category, visit our web site at www.leed.niu.edu.
The second category is Green Interior Design and Construction, which includes LEED Commercial Interiors and LEED Retail Interiors. These rating systems were designed specifically for tenants leasing a portion of a larger building. For example, they could be used for a company leasing commercial office space or for a Starbucks in a strip center.
The third category is Green Building Operations and Maintenance, which includes LEED for Existing Buildings and LEED for Existing Schools. The rating systems for existing buildings can be used by building owners and operators to measure operations and maintenance as well as make minor improvements. For more information on Northern Illinois University and Everblue’s training courses in the Chicago area for this category, visit our web site at www.leed.niu.edu.
The fourth category is LEED for Homes, which was specifically designed for single and multi-family residential structures that are three stories or less. LEED for Homes is modeled after the Environmental Protection Agency’s successful Energy Star for Homes program and became available to the public in 2008. It applies to single and multi-family residential units up to three stories tall.
The fifth and final category is LEED for Neighborhood Development, which integrates the principles of smart growth, urbanism and green building into the first national program for neighborhood design. LEED for Neighborhood Development is in its pilot phase.
The LEED v3 credentialing process has three tiers for individual certification.
The first tier is the LEED Green Associate. The Green Associate Exam is a required first step and covers the basics of the LEED Green Building Rating Systems.
The second tier is the LEED AP with specialty. LEED AP with specialty consists of five specialty LEED Exams. Individuals must have documented LEED project experience before being allowed to write one of these exams. An example of this new credentialing tier is LEED Homes, which covers LEED standards for residential construction.
The third tier is LEED AP Fellow. At this time, the GBCI has not defined the LEED AP Fellow qualification criteria.
Who Does LEED impact? LEED impacts anyone involved in building design, construction, and operations. From the owner and architect to the contractors actually building a building, the entire building industry has a vested interest in making buildings that cost less to operate, are healthier and more comfortable for occupants, and are ultimately better for our country and our planet.
LEED Credentialing - Who Should Become Accredited? Any individual can become credentialed with the Green Building Certification Institute. The only Tier I credential available is called LEED Green Associate. A candidate who passes the 2-hour LEED Green Associate exam has demonstrated that they possess the knowledge and skill to support green design, construction, and operations.
There are five Tier II credentials available, which are all called LEED AP with Specialty. The LEED AP with Specialty credential signifies an advanced depth of knowledge in green building practices. Two-hour specialty exams are available for each of the five major categories of LEED. A candidate only needs to pass one of the five Specialty exams to be considered a LEED AP with Specialty.
The third and final LEED credential is the Tier III LEED AP Fellow, which has not been defined yet by the GBCI. LEED Fellows would become part of an extraordinary class of leading professionals distinguished by their years of experience and contributions to the standards of practice and body of knowledge in the green building field.
To become a LEED Green Associate, LEED GA, someone must first pass the two-hour, 100 question, LEED GA Exam. The LEED GA exam tests a candidate’s understanding of basic green building concepts.
Overview
The LEED Green Associate credential is for professionals who want to demonstrate green building expertise in non-technical fields of practice. This credential denotes basic knowledge of green design, construction, and operations. LEED Green Associate is the best introduction to green building that you will find - it is high level and comprehensive in nature, providing insights into a 100+ areas of green building.
Exam Eligibility
To sit for this exam, you must complete a training course or have documented work experience on a LEED project. Since anyone can take a Northern Illinois University and Everblue LEED Green Associate course in the Chicago area, anyone can then take the LEED Green Associate exam. For information on exam eligibility, visit www.gbci.org.
Exam Breakdown
Unlike the LEED AP Specialty exams, the two-hour, 100 question, closed-book LEED Green Associate Exam does not have a dedicated reference guide for you to study. Instead, the exam pulls content from all of the LEED rating systems and about 1000 pages of additional primary and ancillary references. Ultimately, the exam focuses on the LEED project process, including integrated design, core sustainability concepts, terminology, and various aspects of the LEED rating systems. Candidates are required to score 170 out of 200 points in order to pass.
How to Study
If you are new to LEED, we recommend you start with a live training course. The Northern Illinois University and Everblue exam prep courses walk you through the LEED project processes and LEED rating systems and we teach you what to expect on the exam. Following the course you should expect to study for 20-30 hours with the provided study materials; study guide, memorization sheets, and practice exam questions. Although the course teaches everything you need to know to pass the exam, you will need to memorize that material after the course as the exam is closed book. Once you have completed the practice exam questions and have the memorization sheets down pat, you are then ready to take the exam. To register for one of our Green Association test preparation courses, click here.
Taking the exam
When you are ready, the exam is available Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at any Prometric testing center. Visit www.gbci.org for detail. It is a computerized exam and you will not have access to anything but the exam screen. The exam is closed book so you will have to memorize all of the required knowledge. The benefit of taking the exam on a computer is that you will receive your score and find out if you passed before you leave the testing center.
To become a LEED Accredited Professional, LEED AP with Specialty, you must pass at least one two-hour, 100 question specialty exam.
There are five specialty areas available
LEED AP Specialty Overview
The LEED AP with Specialty credential is for professionals seeking to demonstrate an advanced depth of knowledge in green building practices. It will also reflect the ability to specialize in a particular LEED Rating System. For example, if you are a residential home builder, you would specialize in LEED Homes. You can attain multiple specialty designations by passing multiple exams.
Exam Eligibility
In order to become eligible to sit for the LEED AP with Specialty exam, a candidate must demonstrate that they have work experience on a LEED project. If a candidate does not have work experience, they can use their LEED Green Associate credential to gain experience if they wish to pursue a Tier II credential. The experience requirement is also very loosely defined. For example, while you would ideally have been the project's LEED administrator, more realistically you might have sold or advised on Air Conditioning equipment for a LEED project or perhaps you were a sub-contractor on a LEED project. For information on exam eligibility, visit www.gbci.org.
Exam Breakdown
The Tier II exams are 100 questions and last two hours. You must score at least 170 out of 200 in order to pass. While the LEED Green Associate focuses on concepts and terminology, the LEED AP with Specialty exam tests a candidate's in-depth understanding of one of the five main rating system categories. You will have to memorize performance thresholds, percentages of energy savings for example, and perform calculations during the exam.
How to Study
At this level, we also recommend starting with a course. A LEED AP Specialty course will jump start and focus your study efforts. The LEED AP with Specialty exams are memorization intensive, and it is critical that you focus on right material. Although the USGBC reserves the right to test you on any aspect of the rating system and the LEED certification process, in practice some areas are easier to test than others. We show you those areas. Once you have completed a course, you should expect to study for 30-40 hours with the provided study materials including study guide, memorization sheets, and practice exam questions. You will need to memorize the standards cold before writing the exam. To register for one of our LEED AP test preparation courses, click here.
Taking the Exam
When you are ready, the exam is available Monday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-8 p.m. at any Prometric testing center. Visit www.gbci.org for more information. It is a computerized exam and you will not have access to anything but the exam screen. The exam is closed book so you will have to memorize all of the required knowledge. The benefit of taking the exam on a computer is that you will receive your score and find out if you passed before you leave the testing center.
