If you’re planning or working on a WELL project, then you’re likely already familiar with what sets the WELL v2 Building Standard apart: performance-based standards. The strong emphasis on evidence-based, data-driven requirements positions WELL as a leading certification for healthy building, as projects must prove that their buildings and spaces are doing what they’re designed to do.
The way that you prove this is, of course, by taking measurements and submitting the data. Depending on the exact concept and feature, most often, WELL provides two pathways to validate your building’s performance: performance testing and sensor data. In today’s article, we are going to focus on how performance testing can help you meet WELL’s requirements for verification.
P.S. If you’re interested in sensor data, read our blog on how to use sensor data to meet WELL’s requirements without performance testing.
Performance testing is an on-site, third-party evaluation of your building’s indoor environment. This testing takes place after construction is complete and during occupancy (or near-occupancy), and the goal is to verify that your building meets the performance thresholds set by the WELL v2 Building Standard for a variety of health-related metrics.
For certain metrics, like lighting, measurements can be documented and submitted as soon as they’re taken. For other metrics, like air or water, samples must be collected from your building and analyzed at a certified lab to determine whether or not they meet WELL’s requirements.
The results are then uploaded to the WELL platform by your WELL performance testing agent, where they become part of your final documentation package and help determine whether you qualify for certification.
All performance testing must be conducted by a testing agent who works for an approved WELL Performance Testing Organization (PTOrg). These agents are independent, third-party professionals who:
Have completed the WELL Performance Testing Agent Training
Maintain high ratings from both clients and the Green Business Certification Inc. (GBCI)
Are experts in the built environment and indoor environmental quality testing
Are prohibited from consulting on your project or assuming any role that introduces conflicts of interest
You can find a testing agent in two ways:
Complete the International WELL Building Institute (IWBI)’s WELL Performance Verification (PV) Scheduling Form. If you have a preferred PTOrg in mind, you can note this on the form. After submitting, the IWBI PV Coordination Team will reach out to match you with a testing agent (Note: for WELL v2, you must use this method).
Directly search for PTOrgs on the Works with WELL directory. Click “Performance Testing Provider” on the “AFFILIATION” filter, and then use the “SERVICE AREA” filter to find approved WELL Performance Testing Organizations in your specific location.
Performance testing can be used for five concepts, and 13 features within those concepts, in WELL v2. Here’s a quick breakdown of every feature and concept that offers performance testing:
Performance testing can be used for three of the five parts in A01 to verify that your project maintains acceptable air quality levels:
Part 1: Verify that PM2.5 and PM10 levels are below the threshold in occupiable spaces.
Part 2: Complete laboratory-based volatile organic compound (VOC) tests for benzene, formaldehyde, and toluene.
Part 3: Verify that carbon monoxide (CO) and ozone are below the threshold in occupiable spaces.
You can score up to 4 points in all three parts of A05 by showing that your project meets lower thresholds than those in A01:
Part 1: Earn up to 2 points for showing that PM2.5 and PM10 levels are below the thresholds.
Part 2: Show that six VOC levels (acetaldehyde, acrylonitrile/caprolactam, benzene, formaldehyde, naphthalene, and toluene) are below the thresholds.
Part 3: Verify that CO and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) levels are below the thresholds.
Did you know? Air Concept performance tests are the tests that most WELL projects fail and have to redo multiple times, which is why more projects are instead using the sensor data pathway (and are getting more points at the same time!). Read our blog post about how sensor data can replace performance testing for the Air Concept and help you earn up to nine points in WELL.
Performance testing is the only verification method for W01, which requires that water intended for human contact meets the thresholds for turbidity and coliforms.
Performance testing can meet the requirements in both parts of W02 to ensure that drinking water in the building is healthy for human consumption:
Part 1: At least one drinking water dispenser must meet the thresholds for arsenic, cadmium, chromium (total), copper, fluoride, lead, mercury (total), nickel, nitrate, nitrite, and total chlorine. The water in these dispensers must also not exceed thresholds for residual chlorine, total trihalomethanes, and haloacetic acids.
Part 2: Drinking water dispensers must be tested for at least two pesticides and at least three organic contaminants.
You can earn up to 1 point for ensuring that water intended for human consumption meets enhanced (lower) thresholds for aluminum, chloride, copper, manganese, iron, silver, sodium, sulfate, zinc, total dissolved solids, and free chlorine.
Performance testing satisfies Option 4 of L01, which requires meeting the threshold of Tier 1 in Feature L03 (see below).
Performance testing meets the requirements for both options in L02:
Option 1: Verify that indoor and outdoor spaces comply with illuminance thresholds in any one lighting reference guideline.
Option 2: If over half of the occupants are under the age of 65 and if the outdoor space within the project is less than 5% of the interior project area, then the project must comply with minimum illuminance thresholds (which vary based on the type of space).
You can get up to 3 points in this feature (1 point for Tier 1; 3 points for Tier 2) by using performance testing to prove that your space achieves the threshold of Equivalent Melanopic Lux (EML), a measurement of light’s effects on the circadian cycle, for at least four hours at a height of 18 inches above workstations (approximately eye level) in occupied spaces.
Performance testing comes into play for Part 1 of Option 1 in feature T01, which requires mechanically conditioned spaces to maintain thermal comfort condition thresholds for at least 90% of occupied hours in 90% of regularly occupied spaces. Or, if the space is naturally conditioned, then the indoor operative temperature must stay within a specified range.
You can earn 1 point for T07 by using performance testing to verify that the mechanical system can maintain relative humidity levels between 30% and 60% at all times in regularly occupied areas.
Your project can get up to 3 points (1 point for Tier 1; 3 points for Tier 2) by proving that the background noise levels in the space do not exceed certain Sound Pressure Level (SPL) thresholds.
Performance testing can be used to satisfy the requirements for Part 2 of S03, for a total of 2 possible points. There are two options to choose from:
You can achieve 2 points with performance testing by pursuing Option 2, which requires that reverberation time thresholds are met in projects with certain room types (learning areas, dining areas, etc.) that make up at least 10% of the occupiable project area.
The key to performance testing is to plan ahead (often several months in advance) to make sure your project completes certification on time. Here’s what a typical testing timeline looks like:
Many WELL projects choose to conduct a pre-test, which is essentially a dry run to identify any areas of non-compliance before the official test. A preliminary test can be especially helpful because it can surface issues that take time to correct, like poor air or water quality, before they impact your official test results.
While optional, pre-testing can reduce the risk of non-compliance and ensure you pass your test the first time (instead of having to do multiple rounds of testing, which substantially adds to your project costs and can delay certification).
You’ll need to coordinate with your WELL performance testing agent several weeks ahead of time to complete a project questionnaire (to confirm site access, testing scope, and features you’re pursuing) and block off days when your space will be accessible for testing.
It’s crucial to schedule your test as far out as possible to allow time for the agent to finalize traveling logistics, reserve lab equipment, and to prepare your building to have the best possible conditions on the day of your test.
Once all testing logistics are confirmed, schedule some time a week or two before your performance test with your entire WELL project team. You should do a final walkthrough, confirm that all systems are functioning, and make sure that occupants are aware of when and where testing will happen. Doing this final step will help prevent any testing disruptions and ensure you get the most accurate results.
On the day of your test, your testing agent will arrive on-site with specialized equipment and a checklist based on your project’s targeted features. Here’s what to expect and/or provide:
Photographic documentation. The testing agent will walk around your building to take pictures of visual features, such as signage, plants, and light placement, to submit as evidence for your certification.
After testing is complete, your agent will submit samples for lab analysis and begin compiling your results. Once everything is ready, they will upload your testing results to the WELL portal. What happens next depends on whether you passed or failed.
If you passed, then your performance testing is complete, and your project can proceed to final certification. You’ll receive a final WELL report confirming your achievement. If you didn’t pass, then you’ll have the opportunity to try again.
For each feature you didn’t meet the requirements for, you’ll be notified of your result and have time to correct the issue before the agent comes back for a retest. Keep in mind that retesting will add to your project costs and should be factored into your overall timeline and budget.
It depends. While taking measurements is a foundational component of WELL, recent changes to the standard now offer sensor data as an alternative verification pathway to performance testing. While sensor data cannot be used for every concept, such as water, it can be used to meet all of WELL’s requirements for performance verification in the air and thermal comfort concepts.
To learn more about the differences between performance testing and sensor data, read this article for an in-depth comparison between performance testing and sensor data and see which is the best approach for your project.
The Sensedge Go, for example, is an indoor air quality monitor that allows projects to meet three preconditions (A01, A03, T01) while getting up to 9 points across several features in the Air and Thermal Comfort concepts. To find out how, read this article for the full breakdown of how sensor data can help you skip performance testing and earn more points for your WELL certification.
If you’re curious to know more about the different performance verification pathways and how to implement them in your WELL project, reach out to a WELL AP on our team today!