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LEED v4
New Construction
Water Efficiency

Water metering

LEED CREDIT

NC-v4 WEc4: Water metering 1 point

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View the LEED v4.1 version of this credit »

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

Requirements

Install permanent water meters for two or more of the following water subsystems, as applicable to the project:

  • Irrigation. Meter water systems serving at least 80% of the irrigated landscaped area. Calculate the percentage of irrigated landscape area served as the total metered irrigated landscape area divided by the total irrigated landscape area. Landscape areas fully covered with xeriscaping or native vegetation that requires no routine irrigation may be excluded from the calculation.
  • Indoor plumbing fixtures and fittings. Meter water systems serving at least 80% of the indoor fixtures and fitting described in WE Prerequisite Indoor Water Use Reduction, either directly or by deducting all other measured water use from the measured total water consumption of the building and grounds.
  • Domestic hot water. Meter water use of at least 80% of the installed domestic hot water heating capacity (including both tanks and on-demand heaters).
  • Boiler with aggregate projected annual water use of 100,000 gallons (378 500 liters) or more, or boiler of more than 500,000 BtuH (150 kW). A single makeup meter may record flows for multiple boilers.
  • Reclaimed water. Meter reclaimed water, regardless of rate. A reclaimed water system with a makeup water connection must also be metered so that the true reclaimed water component can be determined.
  • Other process water. Meter at least 80% of expected daily water consumption for process end uses, such as humidification systems, dishwashers, clothes washers, pools, and other subsystems using process water.
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

Are there any requirements for the frequency of meter reading/recording?

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If a building only has one of the required systems, is it enough to submeter that one or are you not eligible for the credit at all?

The answer to this question is available to LEEDuser premium members. Start a free trial »

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See all forum discussions about this credit »

Addenda

1/10/2020 – Updated: 6/9/2021
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Under "Step 1. Identify candidate systems for submetering", add a new bullet point to the end of the bulleted list:

"If flush fixtures and flow fixtures as described in WE Prerequisite Indoor Water Use Reduction are submetered separately (i.e. not aggregated), this approach contributes as two water subsystems for credit compliance."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
7/2/2018
LEED Interpretation
Inquiry:

Our project is pursuing LEED v4 BD+C certification, and we are located on a campus. The landscape within our LEED project boundary is served by an irrigation loop which irrigates land beyond the boundary. The irrigation loop is metered at the campus level, and it is cost-prohibitive for us to install a new irrigation meter for the small patch of grass within our LEED project boundary receiving irrigation. Is it possible for us to achieve LEED v4 WE prerequisite Building-Level Water Metering using the campus irrigation data?

Ruling:

The project is requesting clarification as to how to document compliance with LEED v4 WE prerequisite Building-Level Water Metering, given that the project landscape is served by an irrigation loop which is part of a campus system.

For compliance with LEED v4 WE prerequisite Building Level Water Metering, projects whose water use for irrigation is metered at the campus system level may submit an engineering calculation that accurately reflects the water consumption of the landscaped area within the project boundary, or prorate irrigation data for the project boundary from the campus meter.

If the project chooses to prorate irrigation data from the campus meter in lieu of installing irrigation meter(s) to track landscape water consumption within the project boundary for WE prerequisite Building Level Water Metering, irrigation water systems are excluded from the list of water subsystems eligible for WE credit Water Metering.

**Made applicable to LEED v4.1 on 4/18/2023**

Campus Applicable
Yes
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
See all forum discussions about this credit »

Documentation toolkit

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LEEDuser expert

headshot

Maeve Donohue

LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, LFA, Fitwel Ambassador

Introba
Consultant

Get the inside scoop

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USGBC logo

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

Requirements

Install permanent water meters for two or more of the following water subsystems, as applicable to the project:

  • Irrigation. Meter water systems serving at least 80% of the irrigated landscaped area. Calculate the percentage of irrigated landscape area served as the total metered irrigated landscape area divided by the total irrigated landscape area. Landscape areas fully covered with xeriscaping or native vegetation that requires no routine irrigation may be excluded from the calculation.
  • Indoor plumbing fixtures and fittings. Meter water systems serving at least 80% of the indoor fixtures and fitting described in WE Prerequisite Indoor Water Use Reduction, either directly or by deducting all other measured water use from the measured total water consumption of the building and grounds.
  • Domestic hot water. Meter water use of at least 80% of the installed domestic hot water heating capacity (including both tanks and on-demand heaters).
  • Boiler with aggregate projected annual water use of 100,000 gallons (378 500 liters) or more, or boiler of more than 500,000 BtuH (150 kW). A single makeup meter may record flows for multiple boilers.
  • Reclaimed water. Meter reclaimed water, regardless of rate. A reclaimed water system with a makeup water connection must also be metered so that the true reclaimed water component can be determined.
  • Other process water. Meter at least 80% of expected daily water consumption for process end uses, such as humidification systems, dishwashers, clothes washers, pools, and other subsystems using process water.

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 »

Are there any requirements for the frequency of meter reading/recording?

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.)

If a building only has one of the required systems, is it enough to submeter that one or are you not eligible for the credit at all?

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.)
1/10/2020 – Updated: 6/9/2021
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Under "Step 1. Identify candidate systems for submetering", add a new bullet point to the end of the bulleted list:

"If flush fixtures and flow fixtures as described in WE Prerequisite Indoor Water Use Reduction are submetered separately (i.e. not aggregated), this approach contributes as two water subsystems for credit compliance."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
7/2/2018
LEED Interpretation
Inquiry:

Our project is pursuing LEED v4 BD+C certification, and we are located on a campus. The landscape within our LEED project boundary is served by an irrigation loop which irrigates land beyond the boundary. The irrigation loop is metered at the campus level, and it is cost-prohibitive for us to install a new irrigation meter for the small patch of grass within our LEED project boundary receiving irrigation. Is it possible for us to achieve LEED v4 WE prerequisite Building-Level Water Metering using the campus irrigation data?

Ruling:

The project is requesting clarification as to how to document compliance with LEED v4 WE prerequisite Building-Level Water Metering, given that the project landscape is served by an irrigation loop which is part of a campus system.

For compliance with LEED v4 WE prerequisite Building Level Water Metering, projects whose water use for irrigation is metered at the campus system level may submit an engineering calculation that accurately reflects the water consumption of the landscaped area within the project boundary, or prorate irrigation data for the project boundary from the campus meter.

If the project chooses to prorate irrigation data from the campus meter in lieu of installing irrigation meter(s) to track landscape water consumption within the project boundary for WE prerequisite Building Level Water Metering, irrigation water systems are excluded from the list of water subsystems eligible for WE credit Water Metering.

**Made applicable to LEED v4.1 on 4/18/2023**

Campus Applicable
Yes
Internationally Applicable:
Yes

LEEDuser expert

headshot

Maeve Donohue

LEED AP BD+C, WELL AP, LFA, Fitwel Ambassador

Introba
Consultant

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Subscribe to new discussions about NC-v4 WEc4 View the LEED v4.1 version of this credit