Because Standard 189.1 covers such a wide range of key topics—site sustainability, water and energy use efficiency, indoor environmental quality, and buildings’ impact on the atmosphere, materials, and resources—its users need a thorough understanding of how all these items come together to create a sustainable building. The 189.1 User’s Manual provides architects and engineers with the guidance needed to apply the standard to design. It helps general and specialty contractors construct buildings that comply. And it helps plan examiners and field inspectors in enforcing the standard where adopted into code.

For ease of use, the User’s Manual follows Standard 189.1’s organization, with a corresponding chapter for each of the standard’s major sections. Many of the manual’s chapters contain compliance forms that clearly illustrate the requirements for each section, including requirements under prescriptive or performance options. With sample calculations, application examples, and references to helpful resources and Web sites, the manual is also suitable for use in educational programs.

A CD-ROM accompanying the manual includes compliance forms as well as spreadsheets for the calculations needed to determine compliance.