USGBC LEED Accredited Professional Building Design and Construction

The LEED AP BD+C credential suits professionals with expertise in the design and construction phases of green buildings, serving the commercial, residential, education and healthcare sectors.

 

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USGBC AP BD+C Exam Summary:

Exam Name	USGBC LEED Accredited Professional Building Design and Construction
Exam Code	AP BD+C
Exam Fee	Combined exam: $550 ($400 for USGBC members) Specialty only: $350 ($250 for USGBC members)
Exam Duration	120 Minutes
Number of Questions	100
Passing Score	170 out of 200
Format	Multiple Choice Questions
Sample Questions	USGBC LEED AP BD+C Exam Sample Questions and Answers
Practice Exam	Certified LEED Accredited Professional Building Design and Construction (AP BD+C) Practice Test

USGBC LEED Accredited Professional Building Design and Construction Syllabus Topics:

Topic	Details
LEED Process (8 Questions)	- Different avenues to achieve LEED goals (e.g., developing credit interpretation rulings/requests; Regional Priority Credits; innovative credit submittals; use of pilot credits, etc.) - LEED system synergies (e.g., energy and EQ; waste management) - Project boundary; LEED boundary; property boundary - Prerequisites and/or minimum program requirements for LEED certification - Knowing the evolutionary characteristics of LEED (e.g., development cycles of the rating systems; continuous improvement)
Integrative Strategies (9 Questions)	- Integrative process (e.g., energy and water discovery items) - Integrative project team, as applicable per project type and phase (e.g., architect; engineer; landscape artist; civil engineer; contractor; facility manager, etc.) - Value of collaboration (e.g., meeting on integrative green strategies)
Location and Transportation (9 Questions)	- Site selection ◉ Development constraints and opportunities (e.g., prime farmland; floodplains; species and habitat; water bodies; wetlands; historic districts; priority designations; brownfields) ◉ Community connectivity terms/definitions (e.g., walkability; street design) - Access to quality transit: knowledge of access and quality concepts/calculations (e.g., accessibility to multimodal transportation choices; quality transit; bicycle network) - Alternative transportation: infrastructure and design (e.g., parking capacity; bicycle storage and shower rooms; alternative-fuel fueling stations) - Green vehicles (e.g., fleet management; knowledge of regionalization of energy sources for electric power generation)
Sustainable Sites (9 Questions)	- Site assessment (e.g., topography; hydrology; climate; vegetation; soils; human use; human health impacts) - Site assessment: site as a resource (e.g., energy flows) - Construction activity pollution prevention (e.g., soil erosion, waterway sedimentation/contamination, airborne dust) - Site design and development ◉ Habitat conservation and restoration (e.g., on-site restoration or preservation; off-site habitat restoration; off-site habitat conservation; native or adaptive vegetation; disturbed or compacted soils) ◉ Exterior open space (e.g., amount of space and quality of services; vegetated outdoor space; biophilia) ◉ Exterior lighting (e.g., exterior light trespass and uplight; consequences to the development of wildlife and people) ◉ Rainwater management (e.g., historical rainfall conditions; natural hydrology; low-impact development) ◉ Heat island reduction (e.g., heat island effect; green roofs; solar reflectance; roof and non-roof strategies) ◉ Joint use (e.g., joint parking, etc.)
Water Efficiency (9 Questions)	- Outdoor water use reduction: irrigation demand (e.g., landscape water requirement; irrigation system efficiency; native and adaptive species) - Indoor water use reduction ◉ Fixture and fittings (e.g., water use reduction through fixtures such as toilets; urinals; faucets [kitchen, lavatory]; showerhead) ◉ Appliance and process water (e.g., equipment types [i.e., cooling towers, washing machines]) - Water performance management ◉ Water use measurement (e.g., water meter(s); submeters; types of water sources to measure; data management and analysis) ◉ Types and quality of water (e.g., potable; nonpotable; alternative water sources)
Energy and Atmosphere (14 Questions)	- Building loads ◉ Design (e.g., building orientation; glazing selection; clarify regional considerations) ◉ Space usage (e.g., space types [private office, individual space, shared multi- occupant spaces]; equipment and systems) ◉ Opportunities for passive design - Energy efficiency ◉ Assemblies/components (e.g., building envelope; HVAC; windows; insulation) ◉ Operational energy efficiency (e.g., schedules; set points; interactions between systems) ◉ Commissioning (e.g., commissioning authority (CxA); owner’s project requirements (OPR); basis of design (BOD); monitoring-based commissioning; envelope commissioning) - Demand response (e.g., grid efficiency and reliability; demand response programs; load shifting) - Alternative and renewable energy (e.g., on-site and off-site renewable energy; photovoltaic; solar thermal; wind; low-impact hydroelectricity; wave and tidal energy; green power, carbon offsets) - Energy performance management ◉ Advanced energy metering (e.g., energy use measurement; building automation controls) ◉ Operations and management (e.g., training of staff; operations and maintenance plan) ◉ Benchmarking (e.g., metrics used; proposed building performance rating/ baseline building performance rating; comparing building energy performance against similar buildings or historical data; tools and standards [ASHRAE, CBECS, Portfolio Manager]) - Environmental concerns: resource and ozone depletion (e.g., sources and energy resources [oil, coal and natural gas]; renewable and nonrenewable resources; chlorofluorocarbons [CFCs] and other refrigerants; stratospheric ozone layer) - Energy model as a tool - Process loads (e.g., elevator; refrigeration, etc.) - Iterative optimization
Materials and Resources (12 Questions)	- Reuse ◉ Building reuse (e.g., historic building reuse; renovation of abandoned or blighted building) ◉ Material reuse (e.g., structural elements [floors, roof decking]; enclosure materials [skin, framing]; permanently installed interior elements [walls, doors, floor coverings, ceiling systems]) - Life cycle impacts ◉ Life cycle assessment (e.g., quantify impacts; whole-building life cycle assessment; environmental attributes used in Environmental Product Declaration [EPD]; Product Category Rules [PCR]; design for flexibility) ◉ Material attributes (e.g., bio-based; wood products; recycled content; local; Extended Producer Responsibility [EPR]; durability) ◉ Human and ecological health impacts (e.g., raw material source and extraction practices; material ingredient reporting) - Waste ◉ Construction and demolition waste management (e.g., waste reduction; waste diversion goals; recycle and/or salvage nonhazardous construction and demolition materials; waste management plan) ◉ Operations and ongoing (e.g., waste reduction; storage and collection of recyclable materials [mixed paper, corrugated cardboard, glass, plastics, metals]; safe storage areas for batteries and mercurycontaining lamps) - Environmental concerns of materials (e.g., where materials came from; how they are used/exposures; where they might go/impacts)
Indoor Environmental Quality (11 Questions)	- Indoor environmental quality: ◉ Ventilation levels (e.g., natural vs. mechanical; outdoor air; regional climate conditions) ◉ Tobacco smoke control (e.g., prohibiting smoking; environmental tobacco smoke transfer) ◉ Management of and improvements to indoor air quality (e.g., source control; filtration and dilution; construction indoor air quality; air testing; ongoing monitoring) ◉ Low-emitting materials (e.g., product categories [paints and coatings, adhesives and sealants, flooring, etc.]; volatile organic compound (VOC) emissions and content; evaluating environmental claims) - Lighting: electric lighting quality (e.g., tradeoffs [color, efficiency]; surface reflectance; types of fixtures) - Daylight (e.g., building massing and orientation; glare; human health impacts; illuminance) - Acoustic performance (e.g., exterior and interior noise; background noise; dead vs. live spaces) - Occupant comfort, health and satisfaction: controllability of systems (e.g., thermal; lighting) - Thermal comfort design (e.g., strategies to promote occupants’ productivity and comfort; values of occupant satisfaction) - Quality of views (e.g., connection to outdoor environment; direct line of sight to outdoors)
Project Surroundings and Public Outreach (4 Questions)	- Regional design (e.g., regional green design and construction measures as appropriate) - Cultural awareness; impacts and challenges; historic or heritage awareness - Educational outreach; public relations for the building