THE WELL - Storyblok

THE

WELL

Applies to The WELL Community StandardTM

Q2 2021

PERFORMANCE VERIFICATION GUIDEBOOK

WELL Performance Verification Guidebook for the WELL Community Standard, Q2 2021

© 2018-2021 by International WELL Building Institute, PBC. All rights reserved.

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Copyright © 2018-2021 by International WELL Building Institute pbc. All rights reserved.

International WELL Building Institute pbc authorizes individual use of this WELL™ Performance Verification Guidebook. In exchange for this authorization, the user agrees:

1. to retain all copyright and other proprietary notices contained in the Performance Verification Guidebook.

2. not to sell or modify the Performance Verification Guidebook,

3. not to reproduce, display or distribute the Performance Verification Guidebook in any way for any public or commercial purpose, unless authorized in writing by IWBI, and

4. to ensure that any and all authorized uses of the Performance Verification Guidebook, including excerpts thereof, should be accompanied by attribution, including the appropriate addendum (indicated, for example, by "Q2 2019").

Unauthorized use of the Performance Verification Guidebook violates copyright, trademark and other laws and is prohibited. International WELL Building Institute™, IWBI™, WELL™, WELL Building Standard™, the WELL Community Standard™ pilot, WELL Certified™ and others and their related logos are trademarks of the International WELL Building Institute pbc in the US and other countries.

Disclaimer

None of the parties involved in the funding or creation of the WELL Community Standard™ pilot and the Performance Verification Guidebook, including its owners, affiliates, members, employees, or contractors, assume any liability or responsibility to the user or any third-parties for the accuracy, completeness, or use of or reliance on any information contained in the WELL Community Standard and the Performance Verification Guidebook, or for any injuries, losses, or damages (including, without limitation, equitable relief) arising from such use or reliance. Although the information contained in the WELL Community Standard and the Performance Verification Guidebook is believed to be reliable and accurate, all materials set forth within are provided without warranties of any kind, either express or implied, including but not limited to warranties of the accuracy or completeness of information or the suitability of the information for any particular purpose. This document and the WELL Community Standard are intended to educate and assist real estate owners and tenants in their efforts to create healthier work and living spaces, and nothing in this document or the WELL Building Standard should be considered, or used as a substitute for, quality control, safety analysis, legal compliance (including zoning), comprehensive urban planning, medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.

As a condition of use, the user covenants not to sue and agrees to waive and release the International WELL Building Institute, pbc, its owners, affiliates, members, employees, or contractors from any and all claims, demands, and causes of action for any injuries, losses or damages (including, without limitation, equitable relief) that the user may now or hereafter have a right to assert against such parties as a result of the use of, or reliance on, the WELL Community Standard or the Performance Verification Guidebook.



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TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................4

Performance Verification ................................................................................................................................. 4

Purpose of this Guidebook ............................................................................................................................... 4

Data Collection ................................................................................................................................................ 4

DATA COLLECTION PROTOCOLS FOR THE WELL COMMUNITY STANDARD ...............................................5

Air ................................................................................................................................................................... 5

Water .............................................................................................................................................................. 8

GLOSSARY ..........................................................................................................................................9



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Introduction This Performance Verification Guidebook contains details regarding the Performance Verification phase

of WELL Certification for projects pursuing the WELL Community Standard™ pilot.

For more information on WELL Certification and the steps involved in scheduling WELL performance

testing, refer to the WELL Certification Guidebook: WELL Community Standard.

Performance Verification Performance Verification for the WELL Community Standard entails a data collection phase followed by a

Performance Review by a Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI) WELL Reviewer. Submission of these

data is a requirement for WELL Certification and the results of the data collected for each applicable

feature are reviewed by GBCI to determine whether or not a feature has been achieved.

Purpose of this Guidebook This guidebook dictates the data collection protocol for parameters covered in the following features in

the WELL Community Standard:

• Air

o AQU Fundamental Air Quality

o LTA Long-Term Air Quality

o LTE Enhanced Long-Term Air Quality

o STA Short-Term Air Quality

o STE Enhanced Short-Term Air Quality

• Water

o WQT Drinking Water Quality

o WAD Public Water Additives

o PWT Periodic Water Testing

o WQO High Quality Drinking Water

o WFS Water Feature Sanitation

Data Collection The project team is responsible for gathering environmental data (as applicable) during on-site conditions

in accordance with this guidebook. Data collected on-site must be analyzed and the results must be

reviewed by GBCI before feature compliance can be determined.

For the purposes of certification, submission of performance data can only occur after the project has

successfully passed Documentation Review. Details of when collection of data can occur are described

within the descriptions of the test methods below.



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Data Collection Protocols for the WELL Community Standard

Air Within the five performance-based features in the WELL Air Concept, the following pollutants must be

monitored: particulate matter (both PM10 and PM2.5), ozone (O3), sulfur dioxide (SO2), nitrogen dioxide

(NO2) and carbon monoxide (CO). Some pollutants and some measurement intervals (e.g., annual average

nitrogen dioxide levels) are only relevant for a particular optimization. If the project is not pursuing the

relevant feature, it is not required to collect and submit this information.

These guidelines present two data acquisition methods for ambient air quality measurements: monitors

installed by the project team (method 1) and publicly available data already collected from existing air

quality monitoring stations (method 2). For each pollutant and each measurement interval (e.g.,

maximum 8-hr average of ozone), project teams may use either of the two methods, and may take an

approach that combines methods, using method 1 in some cases and method 2 in others.

Method 1: Project-Based Monitoring This method requires projects to conduct an investigation of the outdoor air quality of the site and its

immediate surroundings by installing monitoring devices to measure environmental data.

Sensitivity The monitoring devices used must meet the requirements described in Table 1.

Table 1: Instrument specification and sensitivity

Particulate

Matter

Ozone Sulfur

dioxide

Nitrogen

dioxide

Carbon

monoxide

Instrument type Real-time light

scattering

airborne

particle

counter

Real-time

direct

reading

instrument

Real-time

direct

reading

instrument

Real-time

direct

reading

instrument

Real-time

direct

reading

instrument

Measurement range 1-1,000 μg/m3 0-500 ppb 0-500 ppb 0-500 ppb 0-25 ppm

Instrument resolution < 15% at 0.5

μm

1 ppb 0.5 ppb 0.5 ppb 0.1 ppm

On-screen resolution 1 μg/m3 1 ppb 1 ppb 1 ppb 1 ppm

Lower detectable limit 1 μg/m3 3 ppb 10 ppb 3 ppb 0.1 ppm

Location and Proximity Sampling should be representative of the local outdoor air quality of the site and its immediate

surroundings and meet the following criteria:

• Sampling occurs within the project boundary.

• Not located in unusually dusty or dirty areas.



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• Separated from the edge of the nearest traffic lane by at least 10 m [33 ft].

• Positioned 1-2 m [3.3-6.6 ft] above ground level.

• Positioned at least 5 m [16 ft] away from any buildings, walls, or drip line of trees. If no such

location exists, a probe may be located closer to a structure so long as it is on the windward side

of the building (i.e., not in the lee of the structure, based on prevailing winds).

• O3 and NO2 (if measured) must be sampled from the same location.

• To the extent possible, the monitoring device should be powered continuously. This may be

accomplished via battery-dependent devices, but batteries must be replaced or re-charged

promptly, as necessary.

• Monitoring devices must also be enclosed in an appropriate shelter at all times to protect

instruments from moisture and direct sunlight.

• Monitoring devices must be secured to prevent tampering or loss.

Timing For Feature AQU, data must be continuously collected for no less than seven consecutive days at four

times each year, with the first day of measurement two to four months apart. For projects to be eligible

for optimizations related to air quality (features LTA, LTE, STA, STE), data must be collected for no less

than 90 days total, with at least 20 consecutive days per season. All data submitted for Performance

Review must have been collected within the previous 12 months.

Frequency Devices must report data at intervals no longer than the following:

• Particulate matter: at least one measurement per 24 hours.

• Ozone: at least one measurement per 8 hours.

• Carbon monoxide: at least one measurement per 8 hours.

• Nitrogen dioxide: at least one measurement per hour for feature STA and at least one

measurement per 24 hours for features LTA and LTE.

• Sulfur dioxide: at least one measurement per hour.

Calibration and Maintenance Instrument calibration is vital for accurate data. Project teams must ensure that the instrument is

operating within its calibration period during data collection. Documentation attesting to instrument

calibration must be submitted through WELL Online.

Instrument performance should be maintained over the measurement period. Instrument maintenance

processes include regularly cleaning the internal surfaces (especially optics) to prevent the buildup of

debris or dust, replacing filters and/or batteries. The project team should also regularly examine site

conditions near monitoring devices to ensure that no significant changes to the landscape have occurred.

Reporting & Compliance Project must submit the complete data set for all environmental parameters measured, including dates

and times of monitoring, the instrument type and placement details (including photographs), plus general

information about the site.



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Compliance is based on values collected during the measurement period compared against the

requirements in WELL plus a tolerance of 20% for particulate matter, and 5% for ozone, carbon monoxide,

nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.

Method 2: Data Station Monitoring Projects may utilize data from an existing data station located within 4 km [2.5 mi] of the project

boundary. The regional outdoor air quality information can be obtained from any data station or reported

measurements in compliance with device sensitivity requirements listed in Method 1: Project-Based

Monitoring or from data sources such as:

• The World Health Organization at http://www.who.int/airpollution/data/cities/en/ for

particulate matter data for the entire world.

• The U.S. EPA website at https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data for the United States.

• European Environment Agency at http://aidef.apps.eea.europa.eu for Europe.

• New South Wales Office of Environment and Heritage at

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/AQMS/search.htm for Australia.

Projects must provide the exact source of information, providing any relevant links or documentation, as

appropriate.

Timing Data must be available over the course of one year, with at least 75% of time periods accounted for with

valid measurements, and with no less than 50 days of data per season. Analysis may not discard any data

that are available within the one-year period (i.e., data filtering is not permitted). Projects must use the

most recent data available. Reported data must not be older than 5 years.

Frequency See Frequency in Method 1: Project-Based Monitoring.

Reporting & Compliance Projects must submit all information published by the data source on relevant features and measured

environmental parameters. For example, Feature AQU includes thresholds for the fourth highest 24-hour

average (the 99th percentile) of PM2.5. If the data source publishes data labeled as the 99th percentile, the

project would submit that value; if the source published the 24-hour average PM2.5 for all days in the year,

the project would submit all the values in addition to the calculated 99th percentile.

Projects may extrapolate data that are available to a more stringent reporting value. For example, if a

project has data available showing the highest daily PM10 level is less than 150 µg/m³, it may infer that

the fourth highest is also less than 150 µg/m³ and the requirement for Part 1.d of Feature AQU is met.

However, the project would not be able use 95th percentile data in lieu of 99th percentile, since the 99th

percentile value will always be higher than the 95th percentile.

Compliance is based on values collected during the measurement period compared against the

requirements in WELL plus a tolerance of 20% for particulate matter, and 5% for ozone, carbon monoxide,

nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide.

http://www.who.int/airpollution/data/cities/en/

https://www.epa.gov/outdoor-air-quality-data

http://aidef.apps.eea.europa.eu/?source=%7B%22query%22%3A%7B%22match_all%22%3A%7B%7D%7D%2C%22display_type%22%3A%22tabular%22%7D

http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/AQMS/search.htm



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Water Features WQT, WAD, PWT and WQO require testing contaminant levels in outdoor drinking water

fountains located in public use areas. Note that the contaminant concentrations obtained for PWT are not

used for certification purposes. Refer to the instructions in the Water section of the WELL Performance

Verification Guidebook for buildings for instructions on how to collect and report this information.

Projects must test at 5% of relevant water fountains (rounding up), with a maximum of three fountains.

Feature WFS requires tests in water used for various recreational purposes. Part 1 requires tests for

coliforms in several bodies of water, performed every two weeks. Refer to the WELL Performance

Verification Guidebook for buildings for instructions. Part 2 requires testing of different chemicals

associated with water disinfection. Tests for chlorine or bromine levels and pH are done on a daily basis

while the interactive water feature is in operation. Projects are only required to test for the disinfectant(s)

they use. Tests for cyanuric acid are done every seven days (while the water feature is in operation) and

are only necessary if chlorine is used as a disinfectant.



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Glossary Lee of the structure – Side that is sheltered from the wind.

Measurement period – The time during which measurements are gathered for the purpose of

Performance Review.

Optics – The components of a measurement device responsible for emitting, reflecting and collecting

light.

Performance Review – GBCI review of performance testing data to verify that all testing and analysis is

accurate and conducted in accordance with the WELL Performance Verification Guidebook.

Performance Verification – The final phase required for WELL Certification, consisting of performance

testing and Performance Review.

WELL Reviewer – An agent from GBCI who reviews and approves all documentation and performance test

results for WELL. WELL Reviewers are trained to understand proper adherence to testing protocols for

evaluating WELL performance criteria and confirm that all design, construction, operational and policy

documentation submitted by the project accurately attests to achievement of WELL features.

Windward side – Side that is in or facing the direction from which the wind is blowing.

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