Pilot-Credits EApc107: Energy performance metering path 1-18 points

Credit language

Intent

The intent of this pilot alternative compliance path is to allow an alternate performance method for documenting performance improvement when using Option 1. Whole Building Simulation as the compliance path in EA Prerequisite Minimum Energy Performance, EA Credit Optimize Energy Performance, EA Credit Renewable Energy Production, and EA Credit: Green Power and Carbon Offsets. This method will use metered energy performance data to document achievement of the credit intent: “To reduce the environmental and economic harms of excessive energy use by achieving a minimum level of energy efficiency for the building and its systems”.

Eligibility:
This pilot alternative compliance path is available to all LEED BD&C, ID&C and Homes Midrise projects that meet the following eligibility requirements:

• Metering:
  • BD+C and Homes Midrise: Meet the requirements for EA prerequisite Building-Level Energy Metering for each fuel and energy source (including thermal energy) that accounts for all energy used within the project boundary, including locally generated sources of energy. Any energy used outside of the project boundary must be separately metered.
  • ID+C: Have energy meters for each fuel and energy source (including thermal energy) that accounts for all energy used within the project boundary. Energy used inside the project boundary includes thermal energy and energy from air handling units including dedicated outside air units. Note: It is unlikely that spaces sharing air handling units with other spaces will be able to comply with this requirement for LEED ID+C projects.

• Minimum Occupancy: Meet or exceed the ENERGY STAR minimum annual average occupancy requirements within ten months of initial occupancy (or 75% minimum occupancy if the project is not ENERGY STAR eligible). Occupancy refers to “the percentage of your property’s Gross Floor Area (GFA) that is occupied and operational. The ENERGY STAR minimum occupancy requirements are:
  • Office/Bank/Courthouse/Financial Center – 50%
  • Hotel – 55%
  • Multifamily – 75%

• Timeline: The project must achieve the minimum occupancy thresholds noted above before the start of the performance period. The 12-month performance period must begin within eleven months of initial project occupancy and must end no more than 60 days prior to the project construction phase submittal. The project (including this pilot credit) must be submitted for initial construction phase LEED certification review within two years of initial project occupancy.
• Energy-using systems for Non-Energy Star Eligible buildings: The building function and type of building operation must remain consistent throughout the performance period. (Note: It would be unacceptable for an energy-intensive data center to be added to the project during the performance period. Similarly, it would be unacceptable for a manufacturing production line that performs a separate function from earlier production lines to be added to the project during the performance period).
• Performance Verification: The project CxA or a Licensed Professional (LP) must verify the building metered data.

Requirements

EA Prerequisite Minimum Energy Performance

• Mandatory ASHRAE 90.1 Provisions: Comply with all mandatory provisions of ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1–2007, with errata (or a USGBC-approved alternative standard such as Title-24 2005 or 2008, or Seattle Energy Code 2012).
• Minimum ASHRAE 90.1 or Local Code Compliance: Comply with all requirements of the current local energy code; or for jurisdictions with no local energy code, comply with ASHRAE 90.1-2007.
• Metered Performance: Meter the building’s energy use for a full 12 months of continuous operation and achieve the levels of efficiency set forth in the options below. Each building’s energy performance must be based on actual metered energy consumption for both the LEED project building(s) and (if applicable) all comparable buildings used for the benchmark. All projects, regardless of building type or ENERGY STAR eligibility, are required to establish an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager profile. Enter all energy consumption data, building space types, and usage patterns into Portfolio Manager. Access to this account and energy meters must be shared with the USGBC. All projects must also report their Energy Score using the Arc Platform. The project’s energy consumption data generates the Energy Score and can be automated to the Arc Platform by providing access to the account in Portfolio Manager.

Track the following usage on a monthly basis:

• Occupancy per space type.
• Operational property use details (i.e. number of workers, number of PCs, operating hours, etc.)
• Completely vacant or unused spaces (identification of all spaces). This includes any space that is not yet occupied or operational.

Upon completion of the performance period, USGBC requires a licensed professional (LP) or the project Commissioning Authority (CxA) to verify the metered performance for the pilot credit. If using an LP, the LP must meet the Eligibility Criteria for Individuals Verifying Applications for ENERGY STAR in the ENERGY STAR Licensed Professional’s Guide (http://www.energystar.gov/sites/default/files/tools/LPGuideRevised_July2...). For projects outside the United States or Canada, the LP must possess a current professional engineer or architecture license, or where no licensure is available, a bachelor’s degree in engineering or architecture with at least four years of building engineering, operations, or architectural experience.

Case 1. ENERGY STAR Rating

BD&C: For buildings eligible to receive an energy performance rating using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager tool, achieve an energy performance rating of at least 75. For projects outside the U.S., consult ANSI/ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1, Appendixes B and D, to determine the appropriate climate zone. The CxA or LP must verify the ENERGY STAR score in accordance with the ENERGY STAR Licensed Professional’s Guide. ID+C: For LEED ID+C projects with spaces in buildings eligible to receive an energy performance rating using the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ENERGY STAR® Portfolio Manager tool: o When entering “how many physical buildings do you consider part of your property”, select “None. My property is part of a building.” o Enter the property use as the primary function of the building the space is located in. Enter the Property Use and Use Details for each space function within the project boundary. Enter the actual metered data for all energy used within the project boundary. The CxA or LP must verify that all energy serving the ID+C project (including thermal energy) is metered, verify that the project space is not served by any shared air handling units, and verify the primary function, gross floor area, annual occupancy, site energy use summary, energy intensity, and energy meters in accordance with the ENERGY STAR Licensed Professional’s Guide.

Case 2. Projects not eligible for ENERGY STAR Rating

Projects not eligible to use EPA’s rating system may compare their buildings’ energy performance with that of comparable buildings, using national averages or actual buildings.

Path 1. National average data available

For building (BD+C / Homes Midrise) or portion of a building (ID+C) types identified in Path 1, demonstrate energy efficiency performance that is 25% better than the median energy performance of similar buildings by benchmarking against the national source energy data provided in the Portfolio Manager tool. The CxA or LP must verify the building metered data.

Path 2. National average data not available (BD+C projects only. This path is not available for ID+C)

If national average source energy data is unavailable for buildings of similar type, benchmark against the building source energy data* of all similar buildings in an available dataset with a minimum of three buildings. The benchmark dataset must be normalized for climate, building use, and occupancy; or alternatively, the dataset must be limited to buildings in the same climate zones, and having the same building use and occupancy. Demonstrate a 25% improvement. * Source energy for Case 2 Path 2: The total source energy consumption shall be calculated for the proposed building, and for each building in the dataset using the same site-to-source ratios per utility. Use the ENERGY STAR Source-Site Ratios for each building energy source from the Energy Star Portfolio Manager Technical Reference: Source Energy for projects in the U.S. and Canada. For international projects, use the U.S. source-to-site ratios or published source-to-site ratios for the country or region where the project is located. The database may NOT use different source-to-site ratios per utility for different buildings in the database.

EA Credit Optimize Energy Performance

In addition to the requirements identified in EA Prerequisite Minimum Energy Performance, meet the following requirements:

• Early Design Phase Energy Performance Target: Establish an energy performance target no later than the schematic design phase. The target must be established as kBtu per square foot-year (kWh per square meter-year) of source energy use.
• Early Design Phase Energy Analysis:
  • Analyze efficiency measures during the design process and account for the results in design decision making. Use energy simulation of efficiency opportunities, past energy simulation analyses for similar buildings, or published data (e.g., Advanced Energy Design Guides) from analyses for similar buildings.
  • Analyze efficiency measures, focusing on load reduction and HVAC-related strategies (passive measures are acceptable) appropriate for the facility. Project potential energy savings and holistic project cost implications related to all affected systems.
• Metered Performance Meet the following performance thresholds:

ENERGY STAR Score (Case 1 BD&C)		Percent Improvement beyond Median (Case 1 ID&C, Case 2, Path 1) / Percent Improvement beyond Average (Case 2, Path 2)*		Points (NC, Schools, Retail)	Points (CS)		Points (Healthcare)		Points (Homes Midrise)		Points (ID&C)
76		26%		1	3		1		3		1
77		27%		2	4		2		4		2
78		28%		3	5		3		6		3
79		29%		4	6		5		7		4
80		30%		5	7				9		5
81		31%		6	8		7		10		6
82		32%		7	9				12		7
83		33%		8	10		9		13		8
84		34%		9	11				15		9
85		35%		10	12		11		16		10
86		36%		11	13				18		11
87		37%		12	14		13		19		12
88		38%		13	15		14		21
89		39%		14	16		15		22
90		40%		15	17		16		24		17
91		41%		16	18		17		25
92		42%					18		26
93		43%		17	19		19		27
94		44%					20		28
95		45%		18	20		21		29
96		46%							30
97		47%		19	21		22		31		22
98		48%					23		32
99		49%							33
100		50%					24		34

EA Credit Renewable Energy Generation

Separately meter the qualifying renewable energy generation. Comply with all credit requirements with the following modifications:

• Renewable Source Energy Offset: For each qualifying renewable energy source, multiply the site generation from the renewable energy source by the source-to-site factors for the fuel replaced by the renewable energy generation (e.g. electricity for photovoltaics; natural gas for a building served by natural gas with solar thermal energy generation).
• Revised Total Source Energy Consumption shall be recalculated from the Portfolio Manager output as follows:
  • Portfolio Manager Renewable Source Energy: For each qualifying renewable energy source, calculate the Portfolio Manager source energy for the annual renewable energy generation (e.g. source-to-site ratio of 1.0 for electric generation from photovoltaics; source-to-site ratio of 0.0 for solar thermal generation since it is fully excluded from the Portfolio Manager annual source energy)
  • Portfolio Manager Total Source Energy Consumption Excluding Renewables: Subtract the total Portfolio Manager Renewable Source Energy calculated above from the total source energy consumption reported in Portfolio manager
  • Revised Total Source Energy Consumption: Add the Portfolio Manager Total Source Energy Consumption Excluding Renewables and the Renewable Source Energy Offset.
• Percent Renewable Generation: Divide the Renewable Source Energy Offset by the Revised Total Source Energy Consumption.
• Use the same source-to-site factors as were used for EA Prerequisite: Minimum Energy Performance.
  • Case 1 and Case 2, Path 1: Use the ENERGY STAR Source-Site Ratios for each building energy source from the Energy Star Portfolio Manager Technical Reference: Source Energy for projects in the U.S. and Canada.
  • Case 2, Path 2: For international projects, use the U.S. source-to-site ratios or published source-to-site ratios for the country or region where the project is located. The database may NOT use different source-to-site ratios per utility for different buildings in the database.

EA Credit Green Power

Comply with all credit requirements except that the annual consumption for each utility shall be determined as follows

• Projects with occupancy averaging 90% or greater during the performance period: Use the annual utility consumption.
• Projects with occupancy less than 90% during the performance period: Calculate the annual utility consumption as:
(Metered Annual Energy) / 2 x (1 + 90% / (Avg. Occupancy) )

See all forum discussions about this credit »