BLUG: LEED NC v2.2 Sustainable Sites c8 on Light Pollution Reduction

LEED NC 2.2 Site Credit 8 is widely regarded as a tough nut to crack.  The intent of the credit is to minimize light trespass from the building and site, reduce sky-glow to increase night sky access, improve nighttime visibility through glare reduction, and reduce development impact on nocturnal environments.  To achieve this, the credit requires a strategy to limit light emitted from the building interior, and a second strategy to limit exterior lighting in terms of reduced power densities versus those required by ASHRAE 90.1-2004 for exterior areas and facades.  The design must meet criteria for light intensity measured at the site perimeter and fifteen feet beyond.  Achieving this credit usually requires building and uploading a photometric model of the site lighting showing conformance with criteria, as well as a number of other documents.                         

This month’s BLUG will explore different types of sites – stand alone versus campus – and review various types of light sources and lighting hardware available, design strategies, and pitfalls for the unwary. We’ll go over the basics of light sources, definitions of light trespass and luminaire cutoff, and look at a particularly challenging project – Newton North High School.  We will review the completed LEED S8 documentation for NNHS, and then open the floor for Q+A and war stories.  We look forward to hearing your experiences as well.

Snacks and drinks will be provided. 

The LEED expert for this month’s BLUG is Chris Ripman of Ripman Lighting Consultants, a five-person firm of architectural lighting consultants in Belmont, Massachusetts.  Three of the staff are LEED AP.  To date, RLC has been successful in achieving every LEED credit for which it has posted documentation.  Chris was also responsible for the brilliant display of shooting stars which complemented “There Are Angels Hovering Round” in Act One of the Christmas Revels 2009, as well as the lighting of the spire of Memorial Hall at Harvard in which the Christmas Revels takes place.  Please contact Chris at (617) 489-3366 x31 (chris@ripmanlighting.com) with any questions.

This event is free and open to the public.