LEED AP BD+C study plan
LEED AP BD+C · Give each week a clear focus.
8 weeks · About 7 hours per week
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.