LEED FAQ
  1. Environmental Product Declarations (Building product disclosure and optimization credit)--EFCO has obtained Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) for most of our products. EFCO’s EPDs can be used toward the Materials & Resources, Building Disclosure and Optimization – Environmental Product Declarations credit under Option 1 as a Product Specific Type III EPD.
  2. Quality Views (Indoor environmental quality credit)—EFCO’s products can help achieve a direct line of sight to the outdoors via vision glazing.
  3. Acoustic Performance (Indoor environmental quality credit)—With the right combination of high-performance glazing and framing system, some of EFCO’s products can achieve STC ratings of over 45. Contact your local EFCO sales representative for more information.
  4. Daylight (Indoor environmental quality credit)—EFCO’s products can help provide building occupants with a connection to the outdoors


According to the USGBC, “LEED v4 is different from LEED 2009 in that it applies lifecycle thinking at the whole-building and product level. LEED 2009 credits were based on single attributes of materials, such as recycled content. That approach told only part of the story as a product could have higher than average performance on that one attribute but far lower than average performance on others. LEED v4 captures a more complete picture of materials and products, enabling project teams to make more informed decisions that will have greater overall benefit for the environment, human health, and communities.” 

The LEED definition of pre-consumer material is: “Material diverted from the waste stream
during the manufacturing process. Excluded is reutilization of materials such as rework, regrind or
scrap generated in a process and capable of being reclaimed within the same process that
generated it.”
Example: Wooden saw dust and saw chips used in a completely different process such as making
particle board. 
The LEED definition of post-consumer material is: “Waste material generated by
household or by commercial, industrial and institutional facilities in their role as end-users of the
product, which can no longer be used for its intended purpose.”
Example: Aluminum Soda cans or Aluminum Transmission housings being melted down and used
in secondary aluminum billet.
The LEED standard only refers to sealants, adhesives, paints and coatings, that are applied “On Site”. These credits would apply to materials used during installation, not during manufacturing.
Photovoltaic cells, when located in spandrel areas can generally be glazed into any framing system without coordination with the framing system, similar to glass or panels. Some of the newest innovations in photovoltaic glazing are made for vision areas and could require coordination of the wiring within the framing and must be UL approved. EFCO does not currently have UL listings for these types of applications, and would have to review the requirement on a job by job basis.