Jody L. Henry, DESIGN COMPLETE FOR 105,000-SF, LEED-GOLD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL IN SPRING ISD NEAR HOUSTON

Today’s WhatIs.com Word of the Day is LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design). It’s a certification for green buildings.

Dr. Ujjval K. Vyas says:

Owners’ prime interest in sustainable design remains economically driven, since many LEED projects show clear life-cycle cost advantages and will often help smooth the way for community approval. Contractors, on the other hand, are interested in responding to the changing marketplace (this is especially the case for contractors involved in the public sector) and seek to obtain first-in-time status to acquire a competitive edge.

It seems like every datacenter architect has the letters LEED AP after their names.  I get the LEED part, but I can’t seem to find out what the letters “A” and “P” stand for.  Approved Person?

I’m also interested in finding out why LEED certification is such a hot topic.  Are there tax advantages? Is it just for PR?  I can understand why a building owner would want to upgrade his heating/electrical etc. to save money by improving efficiency, but why would go after the LEED certification when you’re retrofitting an older building?  Are bragging rights worth the hassle of getting certified?

Smrutiranjan Das, Hot aisle – cold aisle design best practices for data centers

Today’s WhatIs.com Word of the Day is hot aisle – cold aisle contaiment.