The intent of this credit is to implement a thermal comfort survey to confirm occupant comfort has been provided.

Requirements for Certification:

Agree to implement a thermal comfort survey within six to 18 months after occupancy.

Agree to develop a plan for corrective action if the survey indicates more than 20% of the occupants are dissatisified with thermal comfort in the building.

Successful Strategies:

• Thermal comfort survey may be administered in person, over the phone, emailed, or on paper.
• Corrective actions may include: control adjustments, diffuser airflow adjustments, and solar control.
• Sample surveys can be found at the Center for the Built Environment and Usable Buildings Trust.

Helpful Hints:

1. Ventilation systems may be mechanical or natural. If natural ventilation and infiltration are being used, compliance with ASHRAE 62-1999 can be demonstrated using a tracer gas test (described in ASHRAE 55-1999). Otherwise, perform calculations of natural ventilation based on wind pressure and thermal buoyancy (stack-effect) driven ventilation as described in the ASHRAE Handbook of Fundamentals, Chapter 22 or the ASHRAE Standard 62-2001.
2. ASHRAE 62.1-2004 combines Standard 62-2001 and published addenda, thereby providing an easy-to-use consolidated standard. Standard 62.1-2004 specifies minimum ventilation rates and indoor air quality that will be acceptable to human occupants and are intended to minimize the potential for adverse health effects.

Historical Data (updated June 2006):

• 45% of all California LEED Certified projects achieved this credit for LEED v2.1.

Additional EDR Resources

Case Studies: Displacement Ventilation in Classrooms

Design Briefs: Underfloor Air Distribution and Access Floors

Design Briefs: Air Conditioning & Ventilation