LEED Rating System

Sustainable Sites Credit 5.2

Site Development – Maximize Open Space 1 Point

Promote biodiversity by providing a high ratio of open space to development footprint.

ESCS can be used as a growing media in small areas like planting boxes, vegetation strips and/or in a vegetated roof surface. These applications contribute to open space and credit compliance. ESCS can also be used in construction of wetland to treat stormwater runoff thereby providing biodiversity and open space.

When used in building ESCS lightweight aggregate provides significant weight reduction in floors and other building components. This weight reduction in turn optimizes land use by affording a smaller footprint, which allows surrounding space to be left in an undisturbed state.

Sustainable Sites Credit 6.11 Point

Stormwater Design – Quantity Control

Limit disruption of natural hydrology by reducing impervious cover, increasing on-site infiltration, reducing or eliminating pollution from stormwater runoff and eliminating contaminants.

ESCS can be used as part of a pervious pavements and a designed plantings scheme to reduce the amount of stormwater runoff.

ESCS is used as the underground-layered aggregate filtering fill beneath permeable paved surfaces. It stores water underground, removes pollutants and allows water to percolate into the sub grade. Compared to conventional aggregate ESCS is a significantly better medium for capturing suspended solids, hydrocarbons, metals, nitrogen and phosphorous.

ESCS can be incorporated into an engineered soil that will support healthy plant growth and allow free draining of soils. The use of ESCS in structural soil applications will allow access by heavy emergency vehicles to the edges of buildings while still supporting vegetation thereby helping to reduce the need for paved surfaces.

Sustainable Site Credit 6.2 1 Point

Stormwater Management – Quality Control

Limit disruption and pollution of natural water flows by managing stormwater runoff.

ESCS can be used to construct vegetated roofs, vegetated filter strips, rain gardens, rain basins, constructed wetlands, and bioswales to treat the site’s stormwater.

Filter Strips are areas of vegetation over which sheet or dispersed runoff flows at a very shallow depth. Filter strips are very well suited to treat runoff from impervious areas such as parking lots and may be designed into the overall landscape as parking area islands or edge borders.

Rain gardens, unlike a swale or filter strip, are designed to retain water and allow infiltration. Water is cleaned by vegetation and by simple soil systems filtration.

Rain basins are an integral part of storm water management where runoff is collected and filtered before discharge. Some of the water also infiltrates into the ground.

The voids within ESCS provide an environment suitable for beneficial microbial action that will help to filter stormwater. Compared to conventional aggregate ESCS has a greater porosity, promotes faster percolation, increased surface area and larger interstitial space. It is a better medium for storing water and capturing suspended solids, hydrocarbons, metals, nitrogen and phosphorous.

Sustainable Site Credit 7.1 1 Point

Heat Island Effect – Nonroof

Reduce heat islands (thermal gradient differences between developed and undeveloped areas) to minimize impact on microclimates and human and wildlife habitats.

ESCS promotes strong root development and when used as a soil amendment helps provide drainage, improves aeration, reduces nutrient loss, improves moisture retention, enhances soil resiliency, and increases resistance to compaction. ESCS is non-toxic, odorless, 100% inert and will not compress, degrade, decompose, or react with agricultural or horticultural chemicals.

ESCS can also be incorporated into the engineered structural soils to allow plantings in and around paved areas. If properly designed the applications will also allow access by heavy emergency vehicles to the edges of buildings while still supporting vegetation thereby helping to reduce the need for paved surfaces. The voids within ESCS provide air to the soil mixture and will not degrade, breakdown, or shrink in volume over time.

Sustainable Site Credit 7.2 1 Point

Heat Islands Effect – Roof

Reduce heat islands (thermal gradient differences between developed and undeveloped areas) to minimize impact on microclimates and human and wildlife habitats.

ESCS has been used for both intensive and extensive rooftop gardens on a number of projects. ESCS provides a lightweight component of soil blends that incorporate air into the soil mixture as well as providing tiny reservoirs that hold water and soluble nutrients for the vegetation to absorb. These green spaces help to reduce heat absorption into the structure and in some cases provide a usable recreation area.

Water Efficiency Credit 12 – 4 Points

Water Efficient Landscaping

Limit or eliminate the use of potable water or other natural surface or subsurface water resources available on or near the project site for landscape irrigation.

The porous, cellular nature of ESCS helps manage water use, reduce compaction, increase soil porosity, and maintain soil temperature. It absorbs moisture during wet periods and slowly releases it along with any soluble nutrients for plant use during dry periods. Properly designed soils and plantings can eliminate the need for irrigation.

Water Efficiency Credit 2 2 Points

Innovative Wastewater Technologies

Reduce wastewater generation and portable water demand, while increasing the local aquifer recharge.

ESCS can be used as part of an on-site sewage treatment system. ESCS can be used to improve the efficiencies of septic systems. The void structure within the aggregate provides an area for microbes to live and flourish. ESCS can also be used in living machines that process a generated waste stream through the use of innovative natural environments that filter and digest wastes in many different stages. It can also be used as filter media in packaged nutrient removal systems and in constructed wetlands.

Energy & Atmosphere Prerequisite 2

Minimum Energy Performance

Establish the minimum level of energy efficiency for the proposed building and systems to reduce environmental and economic impacts associated with excessive energy use.

The thermal efficiency of building components manufactured with ESCS can maximize the energy performance of the building while still allowing design flexibility. This improvement in thermal performance will help the building design to meet the ASHRAE/IESNA 90.1-2007 requirements.

Energy & Atmosphere Credit 1 1 – 19 Points
Optimize Energy Performance
Achieve increasing levels of energy performance beyond the prerequisite standard to reduce environmental and economic impacts associated with excessive energy use.

1-19 points can be awarded for energy cost savings of 12%-48% for new buildings and 8%-44% for existing building renovations. ESCS will improve the thermal performance of building materials and contribute toward obtaining these credits.

One of the reasons ESCS lightweight aggregate is considered a sustainable building material is because it optimizes the energy performance of concrete components. Lightweight concrete masonry units (block) and lightweight structural concrete provide higher insulating values at comparable strengths while still having the benefits of a mass wall. ESCS lightweight concrete building components maximize the effectiveness of both core and sheet insulation by the combination of R-values, thermal mass, thermal inertia and low thermal bridging. The higher thermal resistance provided by substituting ESCS in place of normal weight aggregates will improve the insulating capabilities of building components. The optimized density will provide a structural thermally efficient wall system that provides thermal lag and helps to shift the peak cooling and heating loads to off-peak times.

ESCS lightweight fills provide permanent insulation for shallow foundations, bermed construction, under concrete slabs and around water and steam lines, and other thermally sensitive elements.

Materials & Resources Credit 1.1 1 – 3 Points

Building Reuse – Maintain Existing Walls, Floors and Roof

Extend the lifecycle of existing building stock, conserve resources, retain cultural resources, reduce waste and reduce environmental impacts of new buildings as they relate to materials manufacturing and transport.

ESCS lightweight concrete masonry units and lightweight concrete have been utilized in the reuse of numerous buildings. ESCS building components are lighter while still being structural with comparable strength. These lightweight components allow buildings to be redesigned, modified and expanded while still using existing foundations, structural frame, envelopes, and concrete elements.

Materials & Resources Credit 2 1 – 2 Points

Construction Waste Management

Divert construction and demolition debris from disposal in landfills and incineration facilities. Redirect recyclable recovered resources back to the manufacturing process and reusable materials to appropriate sites.

Building component that have previously been manufactured utilizing ESCS can be crushed after demolition into usable construction aggregates.

Materials & Resources Credit 4 1 – 2 Points
Recycled Content
Increase demand for building products that incorporate recycled content materials, thereby reducing impacts resulting from extraction and processing of virgin materials.

The use of concrete products containing ESCS that meets the LEED criteria for pre-consumer recycled content contributes to the total recycled content of the project. For products such as concrete masonry containing pre-consumer recycled ESCS fines, the recycled content can significantly contribute toward the 10% or 20% goal.

Materials & Resources Credit 5 1 – 2 Points
Regional Materials
Increase demand for building materials and products that are extracted and manufactured within the region, thereby supporting the use of indigenous resources and reducing the environmental impacts resulting from transportation.

ESCS Improves the thermal performance of building components used to construct building envelopes. In concrete masonry ESCS reduces the thermal bridging that causes hot and cold spots in the wall. This improved energy performance lowers over all operating costs and improving occupant comfort for the life of a building. Radiant floors constructed with lightweight concrete also help to provide a comfortable living environment.

Innovation in Design Credit 1 1 – 5 Points
Innovation in Design
Provide design teams and projects the opportunity to achieve exceptional performance above the requirements set by the LEED Green Building Rating System and/or innovative performance in Green Building categories not specifically addressed by the LEED Green Building Rating System.

ESCS gives designers greater flexibility in creating solutions to meet current challenges of sustainability, dead load, terrain, seismic conditions, energy and fire requirements, pollution, water demands, construction schedules and budgets.

Suggested Credit – Efficient Use of Materials – The use of lightweight concrete building materials manufactured with ESCS lightweight aggregate allows delivery of more building products on each truck, compared to ordinary concrete products. This decreases the number of truckloads required to deliver the same volume of product. As a result, the project benefits from reduced deliver costs, less fuel is consumed, and the community receives the benefit of reduced air and noise pollution and less traffic congestion.

Suggested Credit – Fire Safety – Lightweight concrete masonry and structural lightweight concrete provide superior fire resistance, compared to ordinary concrete products. Because lightweight concrete slows the flow of heat through the wall or floor, the required fire rating can be achieved with a smaller volume of concrete (thinner floors and walls). This reduction in thickness means less concrete materials are used in the project, less raw materials are consumed and less transportation is required. All these benefits are obtained while providing enhanced fire safety for the building occupants.

Suggested Credit – Mold Prevention and Abatement. Lightweight concrete masonry and structural lightweight concrete made with ESCS lightweight aggregates do not contribute to “sick building syndrome” because they do not provide a food source for mold. Should mold occur in other building materials applied to a lightweight concrete substrate, the mold could be removed without damage to the substrate, reducing the economic and environmental impacts of the clean up.

Suggested Credit – Sound Absorption – Lightweight concrete masonry and structural lightweight concrete made with ESCS lightweight aggregate provide the superior sound transmission class (STC) for which concrete materials are known, while improving on the noise reduction coefficient (NRC) of ordinary concrete. In fact, lightweight concrete masonry walls have been shown to absorb twice as much sound as ordinary concrete masonry walls. Noise abatement through superior sound absorption enhances the comfort and productivity of the building occupants.

Regional Priority Credit 1 1 – 4 Points
Regional Priority
To provide an incentive for the achievement of credits that address geographically-specific environmental priorities.

ESCS may contribute towards these credits depending on which credits have been chosen locally.

Life Cycle Cost Performance

The long-term value of any building material is predicated on a combination of cost, durability, functionality, and aesthetics. Life cycle costing is the only way to evaluate the performance and long-term sustainability of a material or building project. Any increased up-front cost of components manufactured with ESCS is more than offset by the cost savings in the following areas: labor, lower dead loads, better fire resistance resulting in reduced concrete thickness, less reinforcing required in building frames, girders, piers, and footings. Long-term heating and cooling costs will be reduced due to the higher insulating properties and overall superior thermal performance of the building.

Energy Performance

The embodied energy to make ESCS includes mining, manufacturing, and transporting the material to the jobsite or building product manufacturer. The cost of this embodied energy is often paid back in a very short period of time, because of the increased thermal performance and lower transportation and labor cost associated with the building elements. Life cycle energy savings realized from using ESCS will help to conserve valuable natural resources for future generations.

Summary

ESCS structural lightweight aggregate is an environmentally friendly product that saves material, labor and transportation cost, as well as improves the functionality and service life of concrete. Additionally, using ESCS will lower the overall energy consumption of structures thereby reducing the associated life cycle costs throughout the structure’s useful life. These benefits support sustainable development and contribute to projects becoming LEED certified. Responsible design and the use of environmentally friendly building products with ESCS as a component will ensure that the needs of today are met without compromising the ability of future generation to meet there needs.