CME 304 - Environmental Performance Measures for Building
3 Credits (3 Lecture Hours)
Lecture – Meets in 145 Baker Hall, Tuesday and Thursdays 8:00-9:20AM
Instructor – Paul Crovella
219 Baker Laboratory
Phone X-6839 (470-6839)
E-mail plcrovella@esf.edu
Webpage – www.esf.edu/scme/crovella/default.htm
Office hours – M,W, 11:30-12:30, Tu, Th 9:30 – 10:30, F, 10:30-11:30
Required Course Material – No required text
Optional Reference Texts – Guide to Green Building Rating Systems. Reeder, Linda , Green
Building Fundamentals. Montaya, Michael. Prentice Hall. 2010.
Description – The course will be an overview of how building rating systems for green
construction have developed, their present application, and future directions for growth. The
course will explore the process for development of individual standards, the different building
certification systems that have developed, and long-term development and code adoption of such
certification systems.
Student outcomes:
1. The student will be able to describe the procedure for development of standards by ANSI,
ASTM, ISO, and groups such USGBC, GBI, and NAHB.
2. Student will develop material for project metrics using a rating system as a guide.
3. Student will be introduced to and apply tools for comparing the effect of green building
options on a Life Cycle Assessment basis.
4. Student will be able to use a building rating system to evaluate an ongoing building
project and determine the documentation requirements.
5. Student will have a detailed knowledge of a major green building system, sufficient to
meet the requirements for personal accreditation regarding the system.
6. Student will be able to read literature critical of rating systems and write responses that
place the criticism in the context of other approaches.
Relation to Learning Objectives: This course directly supports the following departmental
learning objectives:
7. maintain currency in the field including requirements for the successful delivery
of construction projects, rating systems for sustainable construction projects,
awareness of new materials, codes, and construction law
9. understand and promote “stewardship of both the natural and the designed
environments (from ESF Mission Statement)” through best professional practice
of sustainable construction management and engineering, and material
utilization
Attendance - Students are expected to attend all scheduled classes and laboratories. If special
circumstances such as illness, travel difficulties, family emergencies or active participation in
college-sponsored events make absence unavoidable you must see me to make up the work. For
these cases, no student will be allowed to complete graded work after that work has been returned
to others in the class. Any student with more than 3 unexcused absences will be subject to
automatic failure of the course.
In the case of absence due to religious observance, students will be provided an opportunity to
make up any examination, study, or work requirements that may be missed provided you notify
me by e-mail before the end of the second week of classes. Further information about the SU
policy that this is based on can be found at
http://supolicies.syr.edu/emp_ben/religious_observance.htm
While in class, please keep cell phones turned off, this includes during tests (no cell phone
calculators).
To maintain the proper classroom environment, computers may not be used during lecture
without permission of the instructor. When in use they it should be strictly for class-related
activity.
Academic Accommodations - Students wishing to utilize academic accommodations due to a
diagnosed disability of any kind must present an Academic Accommodations Authorization
Letter generated by Syracuse University’s Office of Disability Services. If you currently have an
Authorization Letter, please present this to me as soon as possible so that I may assist with the
establishment of your accommodations. Students who do not have a current Academic
Accommodations Authorization Letter from Syracuse University’s Office of Disability Services
cannot receive accommodations. If you do not currently have an Authorization Letter and feel
you are eligible for accommodations, please contact Heather Rice in the Office of Counseling
and Disabilities Services, 110 Bray Hall, (315) 470-6660 or counseling@esf.edu as soon as
possible.
Academic Honesty – Honesty and integrity are major elements in professional behavior and are
expected of each student. Any assignment (including those in electronic media) submitted by a
student must be of the student's original authorship. Representation of another's work as the
student’s own shall constitute plagiarism. Cheating, in any form, is an unacceptable behavior
within all college courses, and the college policy on academic integrity (as outlined in the
handbook “Academic Integrity ESF” at http://www.esf.edu/students/handbook/ ) will be strictly
adhered to.
Grading – The course grading will be a combination of grades earned on homework, quizzes,
tests, group project work, class presentation, and the final exam.
The final grade will be based on these percentages
Homework
30%
Quizzes
30%
Rating Projects
20%
Class participation
10%
Final Exam
10%
Homework – All written work must be word-processed and spell checked. Any calculations may
be hand-written neatly with the answer labeled with units and boxed. Any homework not turned in
on-time needs to be discussed with the instructor to determine if credit will be given. No late
homework will be accepted after the assignment has been graded and returned to the rest of the
class.
Course Outline:
Overview of the history of code development, standards development, rating systems
groups and types of certifications, accreditations, and labeling and methodology.
Week 1 In class I-survey
Economic impacts of building environmental certifications.
Homework - Doing Well by Doing Good? Green Office Buildings
History of USGBC and LEED-series development
Intro to LEED for NC v3.0 – Sustainable Sites
Week 2
Homework – Green Associate questions, Report on Building Rating and
Certification in the US Building Community
Week 3
LEED for NC v3.0 – Sustainable Sites
Homework – Sustainable Sites questions
Week 4
LEED for NC v3.0 – Water Efficiency
Homework – Water Efficiency questions
Week 5
LEED for NC v3.0 – Energy and Atmosphere
Week 6 LEED for NC v3.0 – Energy and Atmosphere
Homework – Energy and Atmosphere questions
Week 7 LEED for NC v3.0 – Materials and Resources
Homework – Materials and Resources
Week 8 LEED for NC v3.0 – Indoor Environmental Quality
Homework – Indoor Environmental Quality
Week 9
Week
10
Week
11
LEED for NC v3.0 – Indoor Environmental Quality, Other LEED series
ICC 700,IGCC, ASHRAE 189.1, LCA
Homework – NY Times article, LEED critique, LEED analysis: rational and regional
application.
Life Cycle Assessment – BEES model, Green Globes, Athena LCA calculator
Homework – Evaluation of LEED Using Life Cycle Assessment Methods
Reduced Energy certifications – Passive house, Zero Energy Buildings, Energy
Performance measures (Energy Star, HERS, EUI, CBECS)
Week SEMESTER PROJECT DUE – IN CLASS ON TUESDAY
12
Homework – Regional Green Building Case Study Project: Energy Performance
Study by NBI, A post‐occupancy study of LEED projects in Illinois, Gifford article,
Scofield article, Mass. Building study
Week
13
Living Building Challenge, Environments for living
Homework - Radical Sustainable Construction
Week
14
Multiple Attribute Product Certifications - EPDs, PDRs UL environment, Green Seal,
Eco-label, Pharos, Environmentally Preferred Products (Water Sense, FSC, SFI,etc)