Gerber Plumbing Fixtures LLC is proud to offer water conserving plumbing products that meet the highest standards in green homebuilding. In 2009, LEED (standing for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) increased the certification process for energy and water efficiency allowing for Gerber’s plumbing products to help earn LEED certified points.

Did you know that in April 2009, Gerber provided an Ultra Dual Flush toilet and WaterSense certified Allerton faucet to the first LEED certified home in the Midwest? It is now time to promote Gerber’s water-efficient, low-flow fixtures and our relationship with water-conservation organizations like WaterSense. The information below serves as a guide in the LEED certification process and the points earned by installing our products.

Defining LEED:
LEED is a rating system devised by the United States Green Building Council (USGBC). Its purpose is to create and implement universally understood and accepted criteria for evaluating the environmental performance of a building and encourage global market transformation towards sustainable design.

As of 2009, LEED version 3 is based on a 100-point scale (plus a possible 10 bonus points for the last two metrics) and provides weighted rankings of the following metrics: Sustainable sites, Water Efficiency, Energy & Atmosphere, Materials & Resources, Indoor Environmental Quality, Innovation in Design, and Regional Priority.

There are four LEED Certification levels:

• Certified = 40 - 49 Points
• Silve = 50 - 59 Points
• Gold = 60 - 79 Points
• Platinum = 80-110 Points

The following provides ways to increase your LEED points in various categories (source: David Dubrino, 2009). Water Efficiency Credit Category: Water efficiency accounts for 10% instead of 7% of the points in the LEED 2009 (or LEED v3) ratings system. The baseline for achieving water efficiency is a minimum of 20% water savings and is a prerequisite for LEED certification.

Fixtures that Promote Water Conservation:
REDUCE BY 30 – 2 points
REDUCE BY 35- 3 points
REDUCE BY 40% – 4 points

LEED-NC 2009 has increased its baseline rates for certain plumbing fixtures compared to previous scales (eg. LEED-NC v2.2). The following is a list of LEED 2009 baseline rates (Plumbing Systems & Design, 2009):

Fixture	LEED 2009 baseline rate
Toilets	1.6 gpf (3.5 gpf for blowouts)
Urinals	1.0 gpf
Lavatory faucets, private*	2.2 gpm at 60 psi
Lavatory faucets, public	0.5 gpm at 60 psi
Lavatory faucets, metering	0.25 gallon per cycle
Residential kitchen faucets	2.2 gpm at 60 psi
Showerheads	2.5 gpm at 80 psi
Pre-rinse spray valves	1.6 gpm (no psi specified)

(Source: Shari Shapiro, 2008, http://www.greenbuildinglawblog.com/2008/12/articles/leed/leed-2009a-tweak- or-an-overhaul/ ). The following is a comparison to how earning points has changed from LEED v2.2 compared to LEED v3 in water efficiency:

Credit 3: Water Use Reduction
    •  Credit 3 is now worth 2-4 points for a 30-40% reduction in water usage

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In closing, Gerber’s Marketing Team is available to answer any questions you may have regarding LEED certification.

For additional information, please contact Ron Mudge at 630.754.0107 or by email at Ron.Mudge@gerberonline.com.