|
XERITEC
GREEN Porous Paving Systems
Leadership in Energy and
Environmental Design (LEED)
Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design is an
internationally recognized green
building certification process developed
by the United States Green Building
Council. The system6 uses a
100 point system to rate newly
constructed buildings and complexes in
metrics such as energy savings, water
efficiency, CO2 emissions
reduction, improved indoor environmental
quality, stewardship of resources and
attention paid to their impacts. Based
on the criteria outlined in the LEED
certification process, we feel that
widespread use of XeriTec can add up to
eight points to a building complex’s
LEED score. For a full outline of the
LEED certification criteria, one is
referred to the original document
published by the USGBC.
The following is a breakdown of the
points XeriTec qualifies for:
2 points
for using XeriTec to control the
quantity and quality of runoff from
storm water as explained in Credits 6.1
and 6.2 under the “Sustainable Sites”
section of the criteria.
1
point
for using XeriTec to reduce the heat
island effect. This can be accomplished
by the pervious nature of XeriTec, and
also be supplemented by using lighter
colored stones with a solar reflectance
index of at least 29. This is described
in Credit 7.1 of the “Sustainable Sites”
section of the criteria.
Up to 2-4
points for reducing irrigation for
landscaping by instead relying on
XeriTec’s natural ability to recharge
the water supply after it rains. Two
points can be assigned for reducing
water use by 50% and four points can be
assigned for eliminating water use
entirely. This is described in credit 1
of the “Water Efficiency” section of the
criteria.
Up to 1 point
for using locally sourced rocks in
XeriTec products. Technically, 1 point
is assigned for having at least 10%
locally sourced materials in a
construction’s design, and 2 points for
at least 20% locally sourced. XeriTec
is unlikely to account for 10 or 20% of
a building’s total materials used;
however its use may push the count of
locally sourced materials past the 10%
or 20% mark, thereby adding one
additional point. This is described in
Credit 5 of the “Materials and
Resources” section of the criteria.
Based on the criteria outlined above,
use of XeriTec may help add up to
eight total points to a new building’s LEED score based out of 100. Of course
each building and application will vary,
but based on this review, the
environmental “green” effects of Xeritic
are clear.
|
