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LEED v4
Existing Retail
Energy and Atmosphere

Advanced energy metering

LEED CREDIT

Retail-EBOM-v4 EAc5: Advanced Energy Metering 2 points

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Ben Stanley

WSP - Built Ecology
Senior Sustainability Manager

SPECIAL REPORT

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

Requirements

Establishment

Install advanced energy metering for the following:
  • all whole-building energy sources used by the building; and
  • major end uses that represent 20% or more of the total annual consumption of the building minus plug load use.
The advanced energy metering must have the following characteristics.
  • Meters must be permanently installed, record at intervals of one hour or less, and transmit data to a remote location.
  • Electricity meters must record both consumption and demand. Whole-building electricity meters should record the power factor, if appropriate.
  • The data collection system must use a local area network, building automation system, wireless network, or comparable communication infrastructure.
  • The system must be capable of storing all meter data for at least 36 months.
  • The data must be remotely accessible.
  • All meters in the system must be capable of reporting hourly, daily, monthly, and annual energy use.

Performance

Program the facility’s energy management system to set an alarm whenever the energy consumption and peak demand rise above the anticipated amount by more than 5%. The anticipated consumption and peak should be determined by analyzing historical facility performance and weather and operating conditions and should be set on at least monthly, preferably daily. Demand measurements must be taken in time increments no longer than the increments used for utility billing or in one-hour increments, whichever is less time. On at least a monthly basis, report the facility’s utility peak demand and total consumption and compare it with the data for the previous month and the same month from the previous year. See all forum discussions about this credit »

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Frequently asked questions

Are tenant spaces considered to be an “energy end use”? In other words, can we achieve this credit by metering tenant energy consumption?

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Do we have to meter plug loads separately? Based on our energy end-use breakdown, plug loads account for more than 20% of my building’s total annual energy consumption.

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Do we need to separately meter our onsite renewable energy system? If so, do the meters need to meet the advanced metering requirements?

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Do manually read meters meet the credit requirements?

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Do we have to complete an ASHRAE Level 2 audit in order to identify energy end uses and achieve this credit?

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See all forum discussions about this credit »

Addenda

4/10/2020Updated: 4/22/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
In Further Explanation, Determining Major Energy End Uses, before the paragraph starting with “Choosing what equipment and components to group”, add the following paragraph:

It is acceptable to exclude a small portion of the total loads from each end-use category. Not more than 10% of the total connected load of any of the required end-uses is permitted to be excluded from that end-use advanced metering data collection. Not more than 10% of the total connected load of any of the end-uses where metering is required is permitted to consist of loads not part of that end-use.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No
See all forum discussions about this credit »

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LEEDuser expert

Ben Stanley

WSP - Built Ecology
Senior Sustainability Manager

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USGBC logo

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

Requirements

Establishment

Install advanced energy metering for the following:
  • all whole-building energy sources used by the building; and
  • major end uses that represent 20% or more of the total annual consumption of the building minus plug load use.
The advanced energy metering must have the following characteristics.
  • Meters must be permanently installed, record at intervals of one hour or less, and transmit data to a remote location.
  • Electricity meters must record both consumption and demand. Whole-building electricity meters should record the power factor, if appropriate.
  • The data collection system must use a local area network, building automation system, wireless network, or comparable communication infrastructure.
  • The system must be capable of storing all meter data for at least 36 months.
  • The data must be remotely accessible.
  • All meters in the system must be capable of reporting hourly, daily, monthly, and annual energy use.

Performance

Program the facility’s energy management system to set an alarm whenever the energy consumption and peak demand rise above the anticipated amount by more than 5%. The anticipated consumption and peak should be determined by analyzing historical facility performance and weather and operating conditions and should be set on at least monthly, preferably daily. Demand measurements must be taken in time increments no longer than the increments used for utility billing or in one-hour increments, whichever is less time. On at least a monthly basis, report the facility’s utility peak demand and total consumption and compare it with the data for the previous month and the same month from the previous year.

In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:

  • Calculators to help assess credit compliance.
  • Tracking spreadsheets for materials purchases.
  • Spreadsheets and forms to give to subs and other team members.
  • Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
  • Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
  • Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.

Are tenant spaces considered to be an “energy end use”? In other words, can we achieve this credit by metering tenant energy consumption?

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.)

Do we have to meter plug loads separately? Based on our energy end-use breakdown, plug loads account for more than 20% of my building’s total annual energy consumption.

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.)

Do we need to separately meter our onsite renewable energy system? If so, do the meters need to meet the advanced metering requirements?

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.)

Do manually read meters meet the credit requirements?

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.)

Do we have to complete an ASHRAE Level 2 audit in order to identify energy end uses and achieve this credit?

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.)

4/10/2020Updated: 4/22/2020
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
In Further Explanation, Determining Major Energy End Uses, before the paragraph starting with “Choosing what equipment and components to group”, add the following paragraph:

It is acceptable to exclude a small portion of the total loads from each end-use category. Not more than 10% of the total connected load of any of the required end-uses is permitted to be excluded from that end-use advanced metering data collection. Not more than 10% of the total connected load of any of the end-uses where metering is required is permitted to consist of loads not part of that end-use.
Campus Applicable
No
Internationally Applicable:
No

LEEDuser expert

Ben Stanley

WSP - Built Ecology
Senior Sustainability Manager

See all LEEDuser forum discussions about this credit » Subscribe to new discussions about Retail-EBOM-v4 EAc5