Retail-EBOM-v4 EAc8: Enhanced Refrigerant Management 1 point

Credit language

Intent

To reduce ozone depletion and support early compliance with the Montreal Protocol while minimizing direct contributions to climate change.

Requirements

Option 1. No refrigerants or low-impact refrigerants (1 point)

Do not use refrigerants, or use only refrigerants (naturally occurring or synthetic) that have an ozone depletion potential (ODP) of zero and a global warming potential (GWP) of less than 50.

OR

Option 2. Calculation of refrigerant impact (1 point)

Select refrigerants that are used in heating, ventilating, air-conditioning, and refrigeration (HVAC&R) equipment to minimize or eliminate the emission of compounds that contribute to ozone depletion and climate change. The combination of all new and existing base building and tenant HVAC&R equipment that serve the project must comply with the following formula:

IP units   LCGWP + LCODP x 105 ≤ 100

SI units LCGWP + LCODP x 105 ≤ 13

Calculation definitions for LCGWP + LCODP x 105 ≤ 100 (IP units)	Calculation definitions for LCGWP + LCODP x 105 ≤ 13 (SI units)
LCODP = [ODPr x (Lr x Life +Mr) x Rc]/Life	LCODP = [ODPr x (Lr x Life +Mr) x Rc]/Life
LCGWP = [GWPr x (Lr x Life +Mr) x Rc]/Life	LCGWP = [GWPr x (Lr x Life +Mr) x Rc]/Life
LCODP: Lifecycle Ozone Depletion Potential (lb CFC 11/Ton-Year)	LCODP: Lifecycle Ozone Depletion Potential (kg CFC 11/(kW/year))
LCGWP: Lifecycle Direct Global Warming Potential (lb CO2/Ton-Year)	LCGWP: Lifecycle Direct Global Warming Potential (kg CO2/kW-year)
GWPr: Global Warming Potential of Refrigerant (0 to 12,000 lb CO2/lbr)	GWPr: Global Warming Potential of Refrigerant (0 to 12,000 kg CO2/kg r)
ODPr: Ozone Depletion Potential of Refrigerant (0 to 0.2 lb CFC 11/lbr)	ODPr: Ozone Depletion Potential of Refrigerant (0 to 0.2 kg CFC 11/kg r)
Lr: Refrigerant Leakage Rate (2.0%)	Lr: Refrigerant Leakage Rate (2.0%)
Mr: End-of-life Refrigerant Loss (10%)	Mr: End-of-life Refrigerant Loss (10%)
Rc: Refrigerant Charge (0.5 to 5.0 lbs of refrigerant per ton of gross AHRI rated cooling capacity)	Rc: Refrigerant Charge (0.065 to 0.65 kg of refrigerant per kW of AHRI rated or Eurovent Certified cooling capacity)
Life: Equipment Life (10 years; default based on equipment type, unless otherwise demonstrated)	Life: Equipment Life (10 years; default based on equipment type, unless otherwise demonstrated)

For multiple types of equipment, calculate a weighted average of all base building HVAC&R equipment, using the following formula:

IP units		SI units
∑ ( LCGWP + LCODP x 105 ) x Qunit	≤ 100	∑ ( LCGWP + LCODP x 105 ) x Qunit	≤ 13
Qtotal		Qtotal

Calculation definitions for [ ∑ (LCGWP + LCODP x 105) x Qunit ] / Qtotal ≤ 100	Calculation definitions for [ ∑ (LCGWP + LCODP x 105) x Qunit ] / Qtotal ≤ 13
(IP units)	(SI units)
Qunit = Gross AHRI rated cooling capacity of an individual HVAC or refrigeration unit (Tons)	Qunit = Eurovent Certified cooling capacity of an individual HVAC or refrigeration unit (kW)
Qtotal = Total gross AHRI rated cooling capacity of all HVAC or refrigeration	Qtotal = Total Eurovent Certified cooling capacity of all HVAC or refrigeration (kW)

Meet Option 1 or 2 for all HVAC systems. Stores with commercial refrigeration systems must comply with the following.

• Use only non-ozone-depleting refrigerants.
• Achieve an average HFC refrigerant charge of no more than 1.75 pounds of refrigerant per 1,000 Btu/h (2.72 grams of refrigerant per kW) total evaporator cooling load.
• Achieve a store-wide annual refrigerant emissions rate of no more than 15%.

Alternatively, stores with commercial refrigeration systems may provide proof of attainment of EPA GreenChill’s silver-level store certification for fully operational food retail stores. 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

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