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Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
For ALL medical equipment in the project, demonstrate that potable water use will be minimized for equipment cooling. Potable water usage is ONLY acceptable in emergency backup systems or where local requirements mandate. The following is required:
- No potable water use for once through cooling for ALL medical equipment that rejects heat. (Note: This credit does not apply to potable water for cooling tower makeup or for other evaporative cooling systems. Refer to WE Credit 4: Process Water Use Reduction for more details.)
- Where local requirements mandate limiting the discharge temperature of fluids into the drainage system, a tempering device must be used that runs water only when the equipment discharges hot water. Alternatively, provide a thermal recovery heat exchanger that allows drained discharge water to be cooled below code-required maximum discharge temperatures while simultaneously preheating inlet makeup water or, if the fluid is steam condensate, return it to the boiler.
- An owner may elect to use potable water in an open-loop (once-through) configuration as the emergency back-up cooling system only, not as the primary cooling system. The primary cooling system in these critical applications MUST be a closed-loop system requiring no potable water usage. Such emergency back-up systems shall only be used in the event that the primary, closed-loop cooling equipment has failed, and such a failure is visually and audibly indicated at the point-of-use and alarmed at a continuously monitored location.
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Cost estimates for this credit
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Frequently asked questions
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LEEDuser tip sheets, written by our team of LEED experts, fill gaps in knowledge we’ve observed between the LEED Reference Guide, LEED Online, and LEED Interpretations. We update them regularly so that our members get the most relevant guidance for current issues on their projects.
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© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
Requirements
For ALL medical equipment in the project, demonstrate that potable water use will be minimized for equipment cooling. Potable water usage is ONLY acceptable in emergency backup systems or where local requirements mandate. The following is required:
- No potable water use for once through cooling for ALL medical equipment that rejects heat. (Note: This credit does not apply to potable water for cooling tower makeup or for other evaporative cooling systems. Refer to WE Credit 4: Process Water Use Reduction for more details.)
- Where local requirements mandate limiting the discharge temperature of fluids into the drainage system, a tempering device must be used that runs water only when the equipment discharges hot water. Alternatively, provide a thermal recovery heat exchanger that allows drained discharge water to be cooled below code-required maximum discharge temperatures while simultaneously preheating inlet makeup water or, if the fluid is steam condensate, return it to the boiler.
- An owner may elect to use potable water in an open-loop (once-through) configuration as the emergency back-up cooling system only, not as the primary cooling system. The primary cooling system in these critical applications MUST be a closed-loop system requiring no potable water usage. Such emergency back-up systems shall only be used in the event that the primary, closed-loop cooling equipment has failed, and such a failure is visually and audibly indicated at the point-of-use and alarmed at a continuously monitored location.
