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Extracted Content

REQUIREMENTS EXPLAINED

The credit encourages projects to continuously provide acceptable indoor air quality to all occupied areas of the building and incentivizes projects to go beyond minimum ventilation. Providing additional outdoor airflow, above the minimum requirements for ventilation and building pressurization, can further dilute and reduce indoor air pollutants. Research has shown increased ventilation may improve cognitive performance and associated productivity and income, reduce absenteeism in commercial offices, [107] and increase sleep quality in residential applications. [108]

For measures that provide enhanced air quality only in specific circumstances, refer to EQc6: Resilient Spaces for more guidance.

This credit uses the calculations and measurements developed in EQp1: Verification of Ventilation and Filtration . Compliance with the Ventilation Performance threshold “meet referenced standard” can be demonstrated with the prerequisite documentation. Compliance with the other Ventilation Performance thresholds (“Exceed referenced standard by 15%,” “Exceed referenced standard by 30%”) requires following the increased ventilation calculation steps as outlined below.

Increased Ventilation for Mechanically Ventilated Spaces

For mechanically ventilated spaces, increased ventilation requires providing higher outdoor airflow rates than those required in ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2022 . Most large HVAC systems can accommodate a 15% increase with minimal impacts to energy consumption. This credit includes performance thresholds at 15% and 30%.

REGULARLY OCCUPIED SPACES REQUIREMENT

At least 95% of all regularly occupied spaces must have increased ventilation. This provides flexibility for projects that cannot meet the higher thresholds in every space.

DETERMINING THE INCREASED VENTILATION REQUIREMENT

The following VRP calculations determine the increased ventilation requirement:

• Single-zone or 100% outdoor air system . Multiply the calculated minimum outdoor air flow intake for the system (Vot) by 1.15 (or 1.30 if pursuing 30% threshold).

107 D. Licina, P. Wargocki, C. Pyke, and S. Altomonte, “The Future of IEQ in Green Building Certifications,” Buildings and Cities 2, no. 1 (2021): 907–927, doi.org/10.5334/bc.148. 108 Pawel Wargocki, Mizuho Akimoto, Xiajoun Fan, Shin-ichi Tanabe, Chandra Sekhar, and Li Lan, “Ventilation and Sleep Quality,” AIVC (Air Infiltration and Ventilation Centre) , October 4–5, 2023, aivc.org/resource/ventilation-and-sleep-quality.

U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Operations and Maintenance, April 2025 Launch Edition 233