LEEDuser overview
Post your questions on this credit in the forum, and click on the credit language tab to review to the LEED requirements.
Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
For nonresidential buildings, mixed-use buildings, and multifamily residential buildings four stories or more: Indoor water usage in new buildings and buildings undergoing major renovations as part of the project must be an average 20% less than in baseline buildings. The baseline usage is based on the requirements of the United States Energy Policy Act of 1992 and subsequent rulings by the Department of Energy, the requirements of the United States Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the fixture performance standards in the 2006 editions of the Uniform Plumbing Code or International Plumbing Code as to fixture performance. Calculations are based on estimated occupant usage and include only the following fixtures and fixture fittings (as applicable to the project scope): water closets (toilets), urinals, lavatory faucets, showers, kitchen sink faucets, and prerinse spray valves. The water efficiency threshold is calculated as a weighted average of water usage for the buildings constructed as part of the project based on their conditioned area. Projects may also follow the LEED for Multiple Buildings and On-Campus Building Application Guide alternative calculation methodology to show compliance with this prerequisite.
Commercial fixtures, fittings, or appliances |
Baseline water usage |
|---|---|
Commercial toilet |
1.6 gpf1 (6 lpf1) |
Commercial urinal |
1.0 gpf (4 lpf) |
Commercial lavatory (restroom) faucet |
2.2 gpm at 60 psi (8.5 lpm) at 4 bar ( 58 psi), private applications only (hotel-motel guest rooms, hospital patient rooms) |
Commercial prerinse spray valve (for food service applications) |
Flow rate ≤ 1.6 gpm (6 lpm) (no pressure specified; no performance requirement) |
1 EPAct 1992 standard for toilets applies to both commercial and residential models. |
|
Residential Fixtures, Fittings, and Appliances |
Baseline water usage |
|---|---|
Residential toilet |
1.6 gpf3 (6 lpf3) |
Residential lavatory (bathroom) faucet |
2.2 gpm at 60 psi (8.5 lpm) at 4 bar ( 58 psi) |
Residential kitchen faucet |
|
Residential showerhead |
2.5 gpm at 80 psi per shower stall4 (9.5 lpm) at 5.5 bar (80 psi) |
gpf = gallons per flush; psi = pounds per square inch. |
|
What does it cost?
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.
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Checklists
LEEDuser’s checklists walk you through the key action steps you need to earn a credit, including how to avoid common pitfalls and save money.
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Documentation toolkit
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.
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Addenda
In the 2/2/2011 Addenda, replace the baseline in the related note below table with “Default duration for the metering type / autocontrol lavatory faucet is 0.25 gallons per cycle (gpc) for the baseline case and 12 seconds for the design case.”
Replace both instances of "Table 8" with "Table 9"
In the sixth row (Lavatory faucet) replace the duration (sec) of 15 with 30; add a superscript "b" next to "Lavatory faucet" and add note "b" below table: "Default duration for the metering type / autocontrol faucet is 15 seconds for the baseline and 12 seconds for the design case."
Add "United States" in front of "Energy Policy Act of 1992"
Under the third paragraph replace "square footage" with "area"
In the third line, insert "WE" after "2008" so the text becomes "Homes 2008 WE Credit 3"
In the third line, insert "WE" after "2008" so the text becomes "Homes 2008 WE Credit 3"
In the second line of the paragraph, replace "8" with "9" so the text becomes "...according to Table 9..."
Replace the section text with the following:This prerequisite is limited to savings generated by the following water-using fixtures and fixture fittings as applicable to the project: water closets, urinals, lavatory faucets, showers, kitchen sink faucets and pre-rinse spray valves, as shown in Table 1. The "Kitchen sinks" category encompasses all sinks in public or private buildings that are used with patterns and purposes similar to a sink in a residential kitchen; break room sinks would be included. However professional grade / commercial faucets such as those used in a commercial kitchen would not be included. The "Public lavatory faucets" and "Private lavatory faucets" categories encompass all sinks used primarily for hand-washing regardless of location. Faucets whose usage patterns and flow rates are regulated for medical or industrial purposes (e.g. laboratory sinks) and do not fall under the definition of private or public use are not included. Faucets used exclusively for filling operations (e.g. pot-filler) can be excluded. All other fixtures and fixtures fittings must be included in the calculations unless there are special circumstances that justify excluding them.
See revised image
Does a single-occupant lockable bathroom in a commercial establishment count as "private" for flush & flow rate calculations?
The project team is requesting a ruling on whether restrooms at a commercial establishment that are only usable by one individual or family at a time are considered private or private-use facilities. The facilities that are usable by one individual or family at a time at a commercial establishment are not considered private or private-use facilities. The private or public categories for lavatory faucets are based on the UPC and IPC Standards for plumbing fixtures, and are referring to the anticipated uses and performance expectations of such faucets. Public restroom faucets are used almost exclusively for hand washing or simple rinsing, compared to lavatory faucets in homes and in other private bathrooms that are used for various purposes. Therefore the single occupancy restroom facilities at a commercial establishment are not private-use facilities and the baseline case must be calculated according to the public lavatory faucet baseline flow rate. Applicable internationally.
Credit language
© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.
For nonresidential buildings, mixed-use buildings, and multifamily residential buildings four stories or more: Indoor water usage in new buildings and buildings undergoing major renovations as part of the project must be an average 20% less than in baseline buildings. The baseline usage is based on the requirements of the United States Energy Policy Act of 1992 and subsequent rulings by the Department of Energy, the requirements of the United States Energy Policy Act of 2005, and the fixture performance standards in the 2006 editions of the Uniform Plumbing Code or International Plumbing Code as to fixture performance. Calculations are based on estimated occupant usage and include only the following fixtures and fixture fittings (as applicable to the project scope): water closets (toilets), urinals, lavatory faucets, showers, kitchen sink faucets, and prerinse spray valves. The water efficiency threshold is calculated as a weighted average of water usage for the buildings constructed as part of the project based on their conditioned area. Projects may also follow the LEED for Multiple Buildings and On-Campus Building Application Guide alternative calculation methodology to show compliance with this prerequisite.
Commercial fixtures, fittings, or appliances |
Baseline water usage |
|---|---|
Commercial toilet |
1.6 gpf1 (6 lpf1) |
Commercial urinal |
1.0 gpf (4 lpf) |
Commercial lavatory (restroom) faucet |
2.2 gpm at 60 psi (8.5 lpm) at 4 bar ( 58 psi), private applications only (hotel-motel guest rooms, hospital patient rooms) |
Commercial prerinse spray valve (for food service applications) |
Flow rate ≤ 1.6 gpm (6 lpm) (no pressure specified; no performance requirement) |
1 EPAct 1992 standard for toilets applies to both commercial and residential models. |
|
Residential Fixtures, Fittings, and Appliances |
Baseline water usage |
|---|---|
Residential toilet |
1.6 gpf3 (6 lpf3) |
Residential lavatory (bathroom) faucet |
2.2 gpm at 60 psi (8.5 lpm) at 4 bar ( 58 psi) |
Residential kitchen faucet |
|
Residential showerhead |
2.5 gpm at 80 psi per shower stall4 (9.5 lpm) at 5.5 bar (80 psi) |
gpf = gallons per flush; psi = pounds per square inch. |
|
Addenda
In the 2/2/2011 Addenda, replace the baseline in the related note below table with “Default duration for the metering type / autocontrol lavatory faucet is 0.25 gallons per cycle (gpc) for the baseline case and 12 seconds for the design case.”
Replace both instances of "Table 8" with "Table 9"
In the sixth row (Lavatory faucet) replace the duration (sec) of 15 with 30; add a superscript "b" next to "Lavatory faucet" and add note "b" below table: "Default duration for the metering type / autocontrol faucet is 15 seconds for the baseline and 12 seconds for the design case."
Add "United States" in front of "Energy Policy Act of 1992"
Under the third paragraph replace "square footage" with "area"
In the third line, insert "WE" after "2008" so the text becomes "Homes 2008 WE Credit 3"
In the third line, insert "WE" after "2008" so the text becomes "Homes 2008 WE Credit 3"
In the second line of the paragraph, replace "8" with "9" so the text becomes "...according to Table 9..."
Replace the section text with the following:This prerequisite is limited to savings generated by the following water-using fixtures and fixture fittings as applicable to the project: water closets, urinals, lavatory faucets, showers, kitchen sink faucets and pre-rinse spray valves, as shown in Table 1. The "Kitchen sinks" category encompasses all sinks in public or private buildings that are used with patterns and purposes similar to a sink in a residential kitchen; break room sinks would be included. However professional grade / commercial faucets such as those used in a commercial kitchen would not be included. The "Public lavatory faucets" and "Private lavatory faucets" categories encompass all sinks used primarily for hand-washing regardless of location. Faucets whose usage patterns and flow rates are regulated for medical or industrial purposes (e.g. laboratory sinks) and do not fall under the definition of private or public use are not included. Faucets used exclusively for filling operations (e.g. pot-filler) can be excluded. All other fixtures and fixtures fittings must be included in the calculations unless there are special circumstances that justify excluding them.
See revised image
Does a single-occupant lockable bathroom in a commercial establishment count as "private" for flush & flow rate calculations?
The project team is requesting a ruling on whether restrooms at a commercial establishment that are only usable by one individual or family at a time are considered private or private-use facilities. The facilities that are usable by one individual or family at a time at a commercial establishment are not considered private or private-use facilities. The private or public categories for lavatory faucets are based on the UPC and IPC Standards for plumbing fixtures, and are referring to the anticipated uses and performance expectations of such faucets. Public restroom faucets are used almost exclusively for hand washing or simple rinsing, compared to lavatory faucets in homes and in other private bathrooms that are used for various purposes. Therefore the single occupancy restroom facilities at a commercial establishment are not private-use facilities and the baseline case must be calculated according to the public lavatory faucet baseline flow rate. Applicable internationally.