Fitwel vs WELL: Which Standard is Right for Your Building?

The indoor environment plays a big role in human health. If you’re operating a multifamily dwelling, your tenants are spending much of their lives in your building. If you operate an office building or some other commercial building, workers and customers are there for a good portion of their week. Poorly designed and ventilated buildings can lead to sick building syndrome. 

You can prevent sick building syndrome and attract tenants with a healthy building. But how do you prove your building is healthy? With a certification, of course. 

The Fitwel and WELL building certifications are two of the most common ones. Here, we'll break down Fitwel vs. WELL and help you choose the right certification for your building. 

An Overview of Fitwel and WELL Certifications

Both Fitwel and WELL take a holistic approach to assessing how your space contributes to public health. This includes factors such as air and water quality and whether or not the space is designed to promote physical activity. For example, adding a fitness center to a residential building and locating it in a mixed-use area encourages people to work out. Smart buildings designed to promote wellness also guide people to make healthier choices. 

Fitwel Certification

The Fitwel certification focuses on creating healthy communities. The certification was developed by experts using their experience and academic research studies to determine how the built environment impacts human health. It was created by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the U.S. General Services Administration. 

Fitwel offers separate certifications for new constructions and existing buildings. The certification measures areas such as location, building access, outdoor spaces, indoor spaces, air and water quality, access to healthy food and beverages, and emergency preparedness. 

WELL Certification

The WELL Building Standard is a collection of policies and standards aimed at improving the health and well-being of people in a building. 

The WELL rating system measures how your building helps improve people’s physical and mental wellness. It's more focused on individual health, measuring aspects of a building that can negatively impact your tenants. 

For example, in residential dwellings, how you reduce noise between units impacts sleep quality and mental health. In an office building, poor lighting and air pollution can increase burnout. 

Fitwel vs. WELL: 5 Key Differences

Along with their broad scope, there are other differences between the Fitwel and WELL certifications. 

1. Cost

Fitwel charges a registration fee of $500. Its workplace, multifamily residential, retail, and senior housing certification fees start at $7,500 and increase depending on square footage. If your building is more than 3 million square feet, you need to contact the agency for pricing.

Once you’ve been certified, you'll need to pay $500 for each recertification. You can reduce your fees by becoming a Champion Company or Champion Provider.

To achieve WELL certification, you pay a $3,000 enrollment fee and pay for the certification based on your building's size and desired certification. You need to renew your certification every three years. Renewal ranges from $6,000 to $30,000 depending on your building's size and the certification. 

2. Ease of Use

Fitwel certification is easier, because there are no prerequisites. WELL certification requires you to prove your building is healthy before you can even apply. You need to submit proof of air quality, water quality, light exposure, sound, building materials, and other standards. 

For example, WELL requires strategic planning to reduce noise exposure throughout your building. If your acoustics aren’t up to par, you can’t apply for certification. 

WELL’s certification process is also more intensive. A team will come to your building to test the water supply, air quality, and other aspects to make sure your building falls within the required limits. Fitwel lets you do the inspection yourself and submit documentation to a user portal. 

3. Stringency

Of the two certifications, WELL is much more stringent and harder to achieve. First, you have to prequalify your building. The organization requires specific design features that impact human health. You can also highlight optimizations to your building that exceed the prerequisites, which will earn you more points. 

WELL does tend to overlap with other rating systems, including LEED and the UL Verified Healthy Building Mark. If your building is already LEED certified, you likely meet the prequalification criteria for WELL. 

Fitwel is more flexible and easier to achieve. If you’re not certified at first, the organization offers recommendations with steps you can take to improve your building. 

4. Applicability

Because the Fitwel certification is less rigid, it's applicable to a wider range of buildings. However, if your residential building is located in a rural area, you would lose points because there's limited access to public transportation and physical activity. Fitwel does apply different criteria for various projects, such as commercial and industrial sites operated by one owner. 

WELL offers certifications for various sectors, including office buildings, residential, retail, education, industrial, and hospitality. 

5. Recertification

WELL certification is more expensive to achieve and renew. However, it offers a holistic approach to building evaluation. Each certification is valid for three years. You can recertify your building with Fitwel anytime between one and three years following your initial certification. If you let your certification expire, you have to recertify it within a year of the expiration date. 

WELL requires you to regularly report and recertify your building within three years. When you apply for recertification, you need to prove that your building still meets the criteria. If you’ve made any changes to the building, the team may come back to inspect the new or renovated areas.

Optimize Your Building With Attune

People who live and work in healthy buildings report being happier and more satisfied with their jobs and lives. Healthy buildings are more inviting and make people feel more comfortable when they walk in. 

You and other building owners can attract more tenants to your buildings by following healthy design principles. Attune’s IoT solutions help you monitor your indoor air and water quality to positively impact occupants' health. WELL and Fitwel ensure indoor air quality. You can make sure your building continues meeting these standards with our customizable solution. Our IoT sensors collect data and transmit it to a dashboard, which you can then use to prove that your building meets the certification's requirements. 

Contact us today to take your first step toward certification.