SPECIAL REPORT
LEEDuser expert
Ben Stanley
WSP - Built Ecology
Senior Sustainability Manager
SPECIAL REPORT
LEEDuser’s viewpoint
Frank advice from LEED experts
LEED is changing all the time, and every project is unique. Even seasoned professionals can miss a critical detail and lose a credit or even a prerequisite at the last minute. Our expert advice guides our LEEDuser Premium members and saves you valuable time.
Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intent
To reduce the environmental and economic harms associated with excessive energy use by establishing a minimum level of operating energy performance.
Requirements
Establishment
Calibrate meters within the manufacturer’s recommended interval if the building owner, management organization, or tenant owns the meter. Meters owned by third parties (e.g., utilities or governments) are exempt.
Performance
Meter the building’s energy use for a full 12 months of continuous operation and achieve the levels of efficiency set forth in the options below. Each building’s energy performance must be based on actual metered energy consumption for both the LEED project building(s) and all comparable buildings used for the benchmark.
Case 1. ENERGY STAR Rating
For buildings eligible to receive an energy performance rating using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager tool, achieve an energy performance rating of at least 75. For projects outside the U.S., consult ASHRAE/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1–2010, Appendixes B and D, to determine the appropriate climate zone.
Case 2. Projects not eligible for ENERGY STAR Rating
Projects not eligible to use EPA’s rating system may compare their buildings’ energy performance with that of comparable buildings, using national averages or actual buildings, or with the previous performance of the project building.
Option 1. Benchmark against typical buildings
Path 1. National average data available
Demonstrate energy efficiency performance that is 25% better than the median energy performance of similar buildings by benchmarking against the national source energy data provided in the Portfolio Manager tool.
Path 2. National average data not available
If national average source energy data are unavailable for buildings of similar type, benchmark against the building site energy data of at least three similar buildings, normalized for climate, building use, and occupancy. Demonstrate a 25% improvement.
OR
Option 2. Benchmark against historical data
If national average source energy data are unavailable, compare the building’s site energy data for the previous 12 months with the data from three contiguous years of the previous five, normalized for climate, building use, and occupancy. Demonstrate a 25% improvement.
Pilot Credits Available
The following pilots are available as an alternative to the requirements listed above:
EApc67: Energy Jumpstart
EApc106: ISO 50002 Energy Audit
EApc120: District Energy
What does it cost?
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »Frequently asked questions
The LEED Reference Guide states that Case 1 “is available if the building has an official ENERGY STAR label that was awarded within the 12 months preceding the end of the LEED performance period” but it also seems to indicate that the ENERGY STAR score is required to coincide with the end of the performance period. Can you please help clarify the requirements?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Is there a way to earn this prerequisite without meeting the Energy Star score of 75 or achieving a 25% improvement over the median building?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Documentation toolkit
The motherlode of cheat sheets
LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit is loaded with calculators to help assess credit compliance, tracking spreadsheets for materials, sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions, and examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects for you to check your work against. To get your plaque, start with the right toolkit.
Get the inside scoop
Our editors have written a detailed analysis of nearly every LEED credit, and LEEDuser premium members get full access. We’ll tell you whether the credit is easy to accomplish or better left alone, and we provide insider tips on how to document it successfully.
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Intent
To reduce the environmental and economic harms associated with excessive energy use by establishing a minimum level of operating energy performance.
Requirements
Establishment
Calibrate meters within the manufacturer’s recommended interval if the building owner, management organization, or tenant owns the meter. Meters owned by third parties (e.g., utilities or governments) are exempt.
Performance
Meter the building’s energy use for a full 12 months of continuous operation and achieve the levels of efficiency set forth in the options below. Each building’s energy performance must be based on actual metered energy consumption for both the LEED project building(s) and all comparable buildings used for the benchmark.
Case 1. ENERGY STAR Rating
For buildings eligible to receive an energy performance rating using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager tool, achieve an energy performance rating of at least 75. For projects outside the U.S., consult ASHRAE/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1–2010, Appendixes B and D, to determine the appropriate climate zone.
Case 2. Projects not eligible for ENERGY STAR Rating
Projects not eligible to use EPA’s rating system may compare their buildings’ energy performance with that of comparable buildings, using national averages or actual buildings, or with the previous performance of the project building.
Option 1. Benchmark against typical buildings
Path 1. National average data available
Demonstrate energy efficiency performance that is 25% better than the median energy performance of similar buildings by benchmarking against the national source energy data provided in the Portfolio Manager tool.
Path 2. National average data not available
If national average source energy data are unavailable for buildings of similar type, benchmark against the building site energy data of at least three similar buildings, normalized for climate, building use, and occupancy. Demonstrate a 25% improvement.
OR
Option 2. Benchmark against historical data
If national average source energy data are unavailable, compare the building’s site energy data for the previous 12 months with the data from three contiguous years of the previous five, normalized for climate, building use, and occupancy. Demonstrate a 25% improvement.
Pilot Credits Available
The following pilots are available as an alternative to the requirements listed above:
EApc67: Energy Jumpstart
EApc106: ISO 50002 Energy Audit
EApc120: District Energy
Cost estimates for this credit
On each BD+C v4 credit, LEEDuser offers the wisdom of a team of architects, engineers, cost estimators, and LEED experts with hundreds of LEED projects between then. They analyzed the sustainable design strategies associated with each LEED credit, but also to assign actual costs to those strategies.
Our tab contains overall cost guidance, notes on what “soft costs” to expect, and a strategy-by-strategy breakdown of what to consider and what it might cost, in percentage premiums, actual costs, or both.
This information is also available in a full PDF download in The Cost of LEED v4 report.
Learn more about The Cost of LEED v4 »In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:
- Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
- Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
- Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
- Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
- Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
- Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.
The LEED Reference Guide states that Case 1 “is available if the building has an official ENERGY STAR label that was awarded within the 12 months preceding the end of the LEED performance period” but it also seems to indicate that the ENERGY STAR score is required to coincide with the end of the performance period. Can you please help clarify the requirements?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
Is there a way to earn this prerequisite without meeting the Energy Star score of 75 or achieving a 25% improvement over the median building?The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial » (If you're already a premium member, log in here.) |
LEEDuser expert
Ben Stanley
WSP - Built Ecology
Senior Sustainability Manager