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LEED v4
Neighborhood Development Plan
Green infrastructure & buildings
Optimize building energy performance

LEED CREDIT

ND-Plan-v4 GIBc2: Optimize building energy performance 1-2 points

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SPECIAL REPORT

SPECIAL REPORT

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Explore this LEED credit

Post your questions on this credit in the forum, and click on the credit language tab to review to the LEED requirements.

Credit language

USGBC logo

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

Requirements

The requirements apply to 90% of the total building floor area (rounded up to the next whole building) of all nonresidential buildings, mixed-use buildings, and multiunit residential buildings four stories or more constructed as part of the project or undergoing major renovations as part of the project. Each counted building must comply with one of the following efficiency options.

Option 1. Whole-building energy simulation (1–2 points)
New buildings must demonstrate an average percentage improvement of 12% (1 point) or 20% (2 points) over ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1–2010, with errata. Buildings undergoing major renovations as part of the project must demonstrate an average percentage improvement of 10% (1 point) or 18% (2 points). Core and shell buildings must demonstrate an average percentage improvement of 11% (1 point) or 15% (2 points). To determine percentage improvement, follow the method outlined in GIB Prerequisite Minimum Building Energy Performance.

OR

Option 2. Prescriptive compliance: ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide (2 points)
To be eligible for Option 2, project must comply with all of requirements of Option 2 in GIB Prerequisite Minimum Building Energy Performance. AND Comply with the applicable recommendations and standards in Chapter 4, Design Strategies and Recommendations by Climate Zone, for the appropriate ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide and climate zone. For projects outside the U.S., consult ASHRAE/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1–2010, Appendixes B and D, to determine the appropriate climate zone. ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small to Medium Office Buildings
  • Building envelope, opaque: roofs, walls, floors, slabs, doors, and continuous air barriers
  • Building envelope, glazing: vertical fenestration
  • Interior lighting, including daylighting and interior finishes
  • Exterior lighting
  • Plug loads, including equipment and controls
ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide for Medium to Large Box Retail Buildings
  • Building envelope, opaque: roofs, walls, floors, slabs, doors, and vestibules
  • Building envelope, glazing: fenestration - all orientations
  • Interior lighting, excluding lighting power density for sales floor
  • Additional interior lighting for sales floor
  • Exterior lighting
  • Plug loads, including equipment choices and controls
ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide for K–12 School Buildings
  • Building envelope, opaque: roofs, walls, floors, slabs, and doors
  • Building envelope, glazing: vertical fenestration
  • Interior lighting, including daylighting and interior finishes
  • Exterior lighting
  • Plug loads, including equipment choices, controls, and kitchen equipment
ASHRAE 50% Advanced Design Guide for Large Hospitals
  • Building envelope, opaque: roofs, walls, floors, slabs, doors, vestibules, and continuous air barriers
  • Building envelope, glazing: vertical fenestration
  • Interior lighting, including daylighting (form or nonform driven) and interior finishes
  • Exterior lighting
  • Plug loads, including equipment choices, controls, and kitchen equipment
For new single-family residential buildings and new multiunit residential buildings three stories or fewer, 90% of the buildings must reduce absolute estimated annual energy usage by 20% compared with the LEED Energy Budget for each building. Follow the method outlined in LEED v4 for Homes, EA Credit Annual Energy Use.

Pilot Alternatives Available

The following pilot alternative compliance path is available for this credit. See the pilot credit library for more information. EApc107 - Energy Performance Metering Path
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 »

Addenda

10/14/2019 – Updated: 10/14/2019
Regional ACP
Description of change:
At the end of ND GIB prerequisite Minimum Building Energy Performance prerequisite language, add the following text:

Alternative Compliance Paths (ACPs)

Canada ACP – NECB and EnerGuide
For buildings in Group 1. Nonresidential, mixed-use, and multiunit residential buildings four stories or more, projects in Canada may instead demonstrate a percentage improvement in the proposed building performance rating compared with the baseline according to the National Energy Code for Buildings (NECB) 2011. Refer to the LEED v4 BD+C EA prerequisite Minimum Energy Performance Canada ACP for NECB 2011 for additional guidance.

For buildings in Group 2. Single-family residential and multiunit residential three stories or less, projects in Canada may instead demonstrate compliance using the EnerGuide Rating System and additional prescriptive requirements. Refer to the LEED v4 Homes Canada ACP for EA prerequisite Minimum Energy Performance for additional guidance.

To achieve points under EA credit Optimize Building Energy Performance, 90% of the Group 2 buildings must demonstrate performance equivalent to at least 15 points under the LEED v4 Homes Canada ACP for EA Credit Annual Energy Use.


At the end of ND GIB credit District Heating and Cooling credit language, add the following text:

Canadian projects can use the NECB 2011 as an alternative to by ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1–2010 for demonstrating the minimum efficiency requirements for equipment:

Each system component that is addressed by the NECB 2011 must have an overall efficiency performance at least 10% better than that specified by the Code’s mandatory limitations. Additionally, annual district pumping energy consumption that exceeds 2.5% of the annual thermal energy output of the heating and cooling plant must be offset by increases in the component’s efficiency beyond the 10% improvement. If a combined heat and power (CHP) system is used to comply with the credit requirements, show equivalence by demonstrating that energy consumption savings from the CHP plant at least equals the energy savings that would result from using a conventional district energy system with components that are 10% better than the NECB 2011. When determining equivalency, take into account the pumping energy as described above.


LEED v4 ND reference guide:

GIB credit District Heating and Cooling: add the following text to the Further Explanation > International Tips section:
"Canada
Canadian projects using the Canadian ACP for NECB 2011, refer to sections 5.2 and 6.2 in place of ASHRAE 90.1–2010, Sections 6.4 and 7.4, for eligible equipment overall efficiency requirements. In addition, NECB, table 5.2.12.1 must can be used in place of ASHRAE 90.1–2010, Table 6.8.1C for minimum efficiency for water chilling packages."

GIB credit Renewable Energy Production: add the following text to a new Further Explanation > International Tips section:
"Canada
"Canadian projects teams can use the following to calculate the project’s annual electrical and thermal energy cost when using the prescriptive option under GIB prerequisite Minimum Building Energy Performance:

For Non-residential buildings, use the Survey of Commercial and Institutional Energy Use (SCIEU) data contained within Portfolio Manager Technical Reference: Canadian National Energy Use Intensity By Property Type.

For Residential buildings, both multifamily and single family, use data from the Survey of Household Energy Use from Natural Resources Canada. [http://oee.nrcan.gc.ca/corporate/statistics/neud/dpa/menus/sheu/2011/tab..."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
10/1/2014 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Rating System Correction
Description of change:
Revise the first sentence in the last paragraph to: "For new single-family residential buildings and new multiunit residential buildings three stories or fewer, 90% of the buildings must reduce absolute estimated annual energy usage by 20% compared with the LEED Energy Budget for each building."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
10/1/2014 – Updated: 2/14/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Revise the first sentence in the last paragraph to: "For new single-family residential buildings and new multiunit residential buildings three stories or fewer, 90% of the buildings must reduce absolute estimated annual energy usage by 20% compared with the LEED Energy Budget for each building."
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
10/17/2016
LEED Interpretation
Inquiry:

Do LEED v4 ND projects using earlier versions of ASHRAE Standard 90.1 comply with LEED v4 Green Infrastructure and Buildings (GIB) credit Optimize building energy performance?

Ruling:

Yes. Group 1 buildings that were modeled using earlier versions of ASHRAE 90.1 Appendix G may use these models to document credit compliance using the conservative revised point thresholds from Table 1 below. Unfinished spaces or systems in a building may be modeled in the proposed case using the ASHRAE 90.1-2010 baseline values, and may be modeled in the baseline case using the baseline values from the referenced version of ASHRAE 90.1.

Campus Applicable
Yes
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.

USGBC logo

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

Requirements

The requirements apply to 90% of the total building floor area (rounded up to the next whole building) of all nonresidential buildings, mixed-use buildings, and multiunit residential buildings four stories or more constructed as part of the project or undergoing major renovations as part of the project. Each counted building must comply with one of the following efficiency options.

Option 1. Whole-building energy simulation (1–2 points)
New buildings must demonstrate an average percentage improvement of 12% (1 point) or 20% (2 points) over ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1–2010, with errata. Buildings undergoing major renovations as part of the project must demonstrate an average percentage improvement of 10% (1 point) or 18% (2 points). Core and shell buildings must demonstrate an average percentage improvement of 11% (1 point) or 15% (2 points). To determine percentage improvement, follow the method outlined in GIB Prerequisite Minimum Building Energy Performance.

OR

Option 2. Prescriptive compliance: ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide (2 points)
To be eligible for Option 2, project must comply with all of requirements of Option 2 in GIB Prerequisite Minimum Building Energy Performance. AND Comply with the applicable recommendations and standards in Chapter 4, Design Strategies and Recommendations by Climate Zone, for the appropriate ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide and climate zone. For projects outside the U.S., consult ASHRAE/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1–2010, Appendixes B and D, to determine the appropriate climate zone. ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide for Small to Medium Office Buildings
  • Building envelope, opaque: roofs, walls, floors, slabs, doors, and continuous air barriers
  • Building envelope, glazing: vertical fenestration
  • Interior lighting, including daylighting and interior finishes
  • Exterior lighting
  • Plug loads, including equipment and controls
ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide for Medium to Large Box Retail Buildings
  • Building envelope, opaque: roofs, walls, floors, slabs, doors, and vestibules
  • Building envelope, glazing: fenestration - all orientations
  • Interior lighting, excluding lighting power density for sales floor
  • Additional interior lighting for sales floor
  • Exterior lighting
  • Plug loads, including equipment choices and controls
ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide for K–12 School Buildings
  • Building envelope, opaque: roofs, walls, floors, slabs, and doors
  • Building envelope, glazing: vertical fenestration
  • Interior lighting, including daylighting and interior finishes
  • Exterior lighting
  • Plug loads, including equipment choices, controls, and kitchen equipment
ASHRAE 50% Advanced Design Guide for Large Hospitals
  • Building envelope, opaque: roofs, walls, floors, slabs, doors, vestibules, and continuous air barriers
  • Building envelope, glazing: vertical fenestration
  • Interior lighting, including daylighting (form or nonform driven) and interior finishes
  • Exterior lighting
  • Plug loads, including equipment choices, controls, and kitchen equipment
For new single-family residential buildings and new multiunit residential buildings three stories or fewer, 90% of the buildings must reduce absolute estimated annual energy usage by 20% compared with the LEED Energy Budget for each building. Follow the method outlined in LEED v4 for Homes, EA Credit Annual Energy Use.

Pilot Alternatives Available

The following pilot alternative compliance path is available for this credit. See the pilot credit library for more information. EApc107 - Energy Performance Metering Path
See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Unsubscribe from discussions about ND-Plan-v4 GIBc2