How to make important strides toward leed certification

Good news! Our interior sliding glass doors and walls can help you earn up to nine credits toward your goal rating.

Today, when you design, you begin with sustainability in mind. you know that energy-efficient buildings can be beautiful—think concrete or salvaged-wood floors, wide-open views and contemporary furnishings—but you also know they benefit the environment and the people who use them.

Studies show an up-front investment of 2% can result in a 20% energy savings over the life cycle of a building. Green buildings:

• - Consume 26% less energy
• - Have 13% lower maintenance cost
• - Have 27% higher occupant satisfaction
• - Have 33% less greenhouse gas emissions

But how can you ensure your design will achieve these amazing results?

LEED CERTIFICATION In 1998, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) established a certification system called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED), which recognizes best-in-class building strategies and practices.

There are five rating systems, created to address each building project’s unique needs:

• - Building Design and Construction
• - Interior Design and Construction
• - Building Operations and Maintenance
• - Neighborhood Development
• - Homes

Within those systems, a project can earn points toward certification. The number of points the project earns determines the level of LEED certification. Certification levels include:

• - Certified (40-49 points)
• - Silver (50-59 points)
• - Gold (60-79 points)
• - Platinum (80+ points)

HOW KLEIN INTERIOR GLASS DOORS CAN HELP YOU EARN LEED CREDITS

Glass is a major design element in green design. Not only does it introduce daylight and views to the building’s interior, it can also help earn credits like materials reuse and interior air quality.

Overall, our interior glass walls:

• - Extend natural daylight by maximizing glass and minimizing hardware
• - Reduce electricity use
• - Increase occupant well-being and productivity
• - Extend space visually
• - Flow between spaces, inviting better communication and teamwork

Our sliding glass door systems helped companies like Gensler Newport Beach achieve their Platinum certification when designing their 23,000 square-foot workspace.

And according to architect Johnny Birkinbine, whose firm designed the Gold-certified San Diego Wildlife Refuge, “The ability of the glass walls to extend natural daylight deep into the interior of the space helped increase energy efficiency and contributed to the ‘Daylight and Views’ credit.”

Where Klein interior sliding glass doors can help you make important strides towards LEED certification include:

BUILDING AND MATERIALS REUSE

Our interior glass sliding walls can be reused in a new building after the original building’s life cycle is over.

INDOOR AIR QUALITY Interior glass doors reduce indoor air quality issues resulting from the construction process through the use of low-emitting adhesives and sealants.

THERMAL COMFORT DESIGN Glass sliding doors and walls help regulate the interior temperature, supporting the productivity and comfort of occupants, while also eliminating barriers to communication and teamwork.

DAYLIGHT AND VIEWS Glass doors and walls create a sense of connection between environments, indoor and out, by maximizing daylight and views. They also help meet LEED’s minimum daylighting requirements.