Log in
LEED v4
Existing Buildings
Energy and Atmosphere

Fundamental refrigerant management

LEED CREDIT

EBOM-v4 EAp4: Fundamental Refrigerant Management Required

See all forum discussions about this credit »
View the LEED v4.1 version of this credit »

SPECIAL REPORT

LEEDuser expert

Trista Brown

LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador

WSP USA
Project Director

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

USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Establishment

Do not use chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-based refrigerants in heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems unless a third-party audit shows that system replacement or conversion is not economically feasible or unless a phase-out plan for CFC-based refrigerants is in place. The replacement or conversion of HVAC&R equipment is considered not economically feasible if the simple payback of the replacement or conversion is greater than 10 years. Perform the following economic analysis:

Simple payback =

Cost of replacement or conversion

> 10

Resulting annual energy cost difference + Resulting annual maintenance and refrigerant cost difference
If CFC-based refrigerants are maintained in the building, reduce annual leakage to 5% or less using the procedures in the Clean Air Act, Title VI, Rule 608, governing refrigerant management and reporting (or a local equivalent for projects outside the U.S.), and reduce the total leakage over the remaining life of the unit to less than 30% of its refrigerant charge. Small HVAC&R units (defined as containing less than 0.5 pound (225 grams) of refrigerant), standard refrigerators, small water coolers, and any other cooling equipment that contains less than 0.5 pound (225 grams) of refrigerant are exempt.

Performance

None. See all forum discussions about this credit »

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

We don’t control tenant supplied supplemental cooling equipment for uses like server closets, data centers, etc. Are we required to address the tenant equipment for the prerequisite?

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.)

Are HCFC or HFC refrigerants considered CFC-based refrigerants?

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.)

See all forum discussions about this credit »

Addenda

1/27/2017Updated: 1/30/2017
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Remove existing text under “Campus Approach” and replace with “Ineligible.”
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
See all forum discussions about this credit »

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.

LEEDuser expert

Trista Brown

LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador

WSP USA
Project Director

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.

USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Establishment

Do not use chlorofluorocarbon (CFC)-based refrigerants in heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) systems unless a third-party audit shows that system replacement or conversion is not economically feasible or unless a phase-out plan for CFC-based refrigerants is in place. The replacement or conversion of HVAC&R equipment is considered not economically feasible if the simple payback of the replacement or conversion is greater than 10 years. Perform the following economic analysis:

Simple payback =

Cost of replacement or conversion

> 10

Resulting annual energy cost difference + Resulting annual maintenance and refrigerant cost difference
If CFC-based refrigerants are maintained in the building, reduce annual leakage to 5% or less using the procedures in the Clean Air Act, Title VI, Rule 608, governing refrigerant management and reporting (or a local equivalent for projects outside the U.S.), and reduce the total leakage over the remaining life of the unit to less than 30% of its refrigerant charge. Small HVAC&R units (defined as containing less than 0.5 pound (225 grams) of refrigerant), standard refrigerators, small water coolers, and any other cooling equipment that contains less than 0.5 pound (225 grams) of refrigerant are exempt.

Performance

None.

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.

We don’t control tenant supplied supplemental cooling equipment for uses like server closets, data centers, etc. Are we required to address the tenant equipment for the prerequisite?

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.)

Are HCFC or HFC refrigerants considered CFC-based refrigerants?

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.)

1/27/2017Updated: 1/30/2017
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Remove existing text under “Campus Approach” and replace with “Ineligible.”
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes

LEEDuser expert

Trista Brown

LEED AP O+M, BD+C, Fitwel Ambassador

WSP USA
Project Director

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Subscribe to new discussions about EBOM-v4 EAp4 View the LEED v4.1 version of this credit