LEED AP BD+C study materials
LEED AP BD+C study resources

LEED AP BD+C study plan

LEED AP BD+C · Give each week a clear focus.

8 weeks · About 7 hours per week

Week 1

Integrative Process & Energy and Atmosphere

  • Diagram the four integrative process discovery-phase analyses and map each to the credit or decision it informs.

  • Separate every Energy and Atmosphere prerequisite from its credits and record the numeric threshold for each prerequisite.

  • Compute percent energy cost savings for three sample buildings and convert each result into a point total using a simplified percentage-to-points table.

  • Distinguish the roles of owner, commissioning authority, and contractor across fundamental versus enhanced commissioning.

Your checkpoint

A one-page EA prerequisite/credit matrix (name, threshold, referenced standard, points) plus five solved energy-cost-savings problems scored at 80% or better against an answer key.

Week 2

Energy and Atmosphere

  • Calculate refrigerant environmental impact by converting charge weights using ozone depletion and global warming potentials.

  • Sequence the commissioning process from owner's project requirements through seasonal testing and list the document produced at each step.

  • Identify which building systems must be covered by energy metering and sub-metering and explain how the data supports credit achievement.

  • Quantify on-site renewable energy production against total annual building energy consumption to assign points.

Your checkpoint

A 25-question self-authored EA quiz with a written answer key plus a one-page commissioning sequence flowchart.

Week 3

Materials and Resources

  • Calculate construction and demolition waste diversion rate from a sample tonnage log and translate the rate into points.

  • Rank material attribute categories (recycled content, salvaged, biobased, rapidly renewable, wood certification) and match each to the credit it earns.

  • Trace the life-cycle assessment credit path and list the required scope and impact categories.

  • State every Materials and Resources prerequisite with its exact threshold and required documentation.

Your checkpoint

Completed waste-diversion and recycled-content worksheets for a hypothetical 50,000 sq ft project, with a point tally and justification for each point claimed.

Week 4

Water Efficiency

  • Compute indoor water use reduction percentages from fixture flow and flush rates against a baseline fixture set.

  • Summarize outdoor water use reduction requirements, including native and adaptive plant criteria and irrigation efficiency options.

  • Explain cooling tower water use and dedicated metering requirements and how each contributes points.

  • Solve ten Water Efficiency calculation problems and identify the error pattern behind each miss.

Your checkpoint

A WE calculation packet of ten worked problems plus a half-length timed quiz (30 questions across domains 1, 4, 5, and 6) scored at 75% or higher.

Week 5

Indoor Environmental Quality

  • Determine minimum outdoor air ventilation requirements for sample spaces and connect the results to the monitoring credit pathway.

  • Classify low-emitting material product categories and outline the documentation required for each category.

  • Diagram a construction indoor air quality management plan covering pre-construction, during construction, and flush-out or air testing.

  • Compare thermal comfort, daylight, and acoustic performance credits by intent, strategy, and verification method.

Your checkpoint

A 40-card IEQ flashcard deck organized by credit intent, plus a full IEQ practice set scored at 80% or higher.

Week 6

Location and Transportation & Sustainable Sites

  • Rank alternative transportation strategies by their contribution to Location and Transportation credits and describe the evidence each requires.

  • Assess a hypothetical site against the Sustainable Sites prerequisites using a structured site checklist.

  • Explain heat island reduction, light pollution reduction, and rainwater management requirements in terms of measured outcomes.

  • Differentiate sensitive land protection, open space, and site development density credits by threshold and calculation basis.

Your checkpoint

A two-page site assessment memo for a hypothetical project that claims specific LT and SS credits and justifies each claim with a stated threshold and evidence source.

Week 7

Innovation & Regional Priority & Project Surroundings and Public Outreach

  • Formulate two innovation credit proposals that meet the pilot or innovation criteria and specify the documentation each would need.

  • Explain how Regional Priority credits are assigned by project zip code and describe the point ceiling for the category.

  • Outline public outreach strategies appropriate to a project's surroundings and describe how surrounding context steers credit selection.

Your checkpoint

A one-page Innovation and Regional Priority worksheet listing four candidate innovation proposals and documenting the regional priority lookup process step by step.

Week 8

Integrative Process & Location and Transportation & Sustainable Sites & Water Efficiency & Energy and Atmosphere & Materials and Resources & Indoor Environmental Quality & Innovation & Regional Priority & Project Surroundings and Public Outreach

  • Reconstruct the full prerequisite list across all domains from memory and verify against source material at 90% accuracy or better.

  • Complete two full-length timed practice exams and classify every missed item by domain and failure type.

  • Compile a single formula sheet covering every calculation-based credit and rehearse it under time pressure.

Your checkpoint

Two completed timed practice exams at 80% or higher with a written error log categorizing every missed question by domain and root cause.

Milestones

Week 2: Recite every Energy and Atmosphere prerequisite and its threshold from memory without notes, and score 80% or higher on the self-authored EA quiz.

Week 4: Score 75% or higher on the 30-question timed quiz covering domains 1, 4, 5, and 6, and state the threshold for every prerequisite in those four domains.

Week 6: Complete the site assessment memo with every claimed credit traceable to a stated threshold, and score 75% or higher on a mixed LT/SS/IEQ set.

Week 8: Score 80% or higher on both full-length timed practice exams and demonstrate a written error log covering 100% of missed questions.