"Building Completed 1993 or Later" Tab on Graph

The language for this credit is notoriously confusing, so thank you for helping us to fine-tune our explanation! There are several options to document compliance with this credit depending on the age of the project building and/or plumbing system.

If your building was completed after 1/1/1993, it is assumed that it meets all relevant UPC/IPC codes and you can earn one point without performing additional calculations.

The same situation applies if all relevant building fixtures/fittings were replaced after 1/1/1993.

If your building was completed before 1993, you need to use Option 4 to analyze all of your building fixtures and use the data to calculate the potable water consumption and compare it to the LEED baseline.

As you've pointed out, the baseline is calculated at 160% of UPC/IPC codes for pre-1993 fixtures and 120% for post-1993 fixtures; if your building has fixtures from before and after 1993, a weighted average is used to determine the LEED baseline.

So, the credit option is designed to help you account for older and newer fixtures and develop a comprehensive picture of potable water consumption, regardless of whether your building was completed prior to 1993.

...mmm...different countries have different codes also at different times. just food for thought.

Our project building was built in 2000, therefore if I can provide an inventory of all fixtures meeting or exceeding the UPC/IPC standards I achieve the WEp1. Above Jason stated in 2nd paragraph you can earn one point w/o performing additional calculations, does he mean you can earn the pre-req, not one point?

Prerequisite and one point as I understand it Paul. If your fixtures are UPC/IPC compliant, you will be able to document a reduction of greater than 10% of the EBOM baseline (which is UPC/IPC + 20%).

Are there any more recent understandings regarding this topic? We are experiencing the same questions as addressed above. In the WEp1 form we found the following note:

"Note: To earn WE Credit 2, complete either the LEED Design & Construction Streamlined Path option OR the Performance Calculation option. The other streamlined paths are not applicable to WE Credit 2."

Based on this note, it is our understanding that projects using options 2 and 3 are not eligible to earn points in WEc2. Is this your interpretation?

If so, the language within the checklists tab of WEp1 stating "Project buildings built in 1993 or later will automatically earn additional points under WEc2...." is misleading. Your input or feedback is appreciated!

Leah, the language is a bit confusing, but what we tried to express was that buildings that are built to current code will have water consumption performance levels that are good enough to earn at least one point under Option 4 without any type of retrofits required. If your building meets all current UPC/IPC standards, you technically qualify to use either Option 2, Option 3 or Option 4. However, if you pick one of the streamlined paths (Option 2 or Option 3), you give up the opportunity to try to earn additional points under WEc2.

So, in theory, a project building built in 2005 could demonstrate a reduction in potable water consumption of 45% below the LEED baseline, but if the project team didn't feel like doing all the legwork to conduct the fixture inventory and perform the calculations, they could just use Option 2 to show that they meet the prerequisite. In doing so, they would leave a lot of points on the table, but even though it's a good idea, there's no requirement to show exactly how well your building is performing for WEp1 if you meet the criteria to use Option 2 or Option 3.