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Retail-CI-v2009 EAc5:On-site renewable energy

Calculation based on chilled water meters

Maria Isabel Conde

Owner

Aqua Terra (Panama) S.A.

LEEDuser Basic Member

6 thumbs up

Project location :

Panama

April 18, 2016

Our comercial interior project is located in a building that has photovoltaic panels that feed the central chilled water plant. We have: 1. Energy meters for the chilled water consumed by each space supplied by the chiller, including our CI project 2. Energy meters to measure the amount of energy supplied by the PV installation and the utility network In order to claim points for the Renewable Energy credit, would it be acceptable to assume that the proportion of the cooling energy consumed by our project equals our renewable energy consumption? We would perform the following calculation: CI Renewable Energy Consumption = Metered Cooling Energy consumed * XX% of cooling energy generated by PV Thank you in advanced for your help!

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Marcus Sheffer

LEED Fellow

7group / Energy Opportunities

LEEDuser Expert

4454 thumbs up

Mon, 04/25/2016 - 13:39

Your approach seems reasonable however, I am not certain you can claim any renewables unless the PV is within your scope of work. I don't have the Reference Guide supplement but that is where I would look first for the answer.

Maria Isabel Conde

Owner

Aqua Terra (Panama) S.A.

LEEDuser Basic Member

6 thumbs up

Mon, 04/25/2016 - 16:49

Hi Marcus, the owner of the CI project is the owner of the PV panels and also the owner of the building where the CI project is located. Therefore, the PV installation server not only the CI project but the whole building. Do you think under these circumstances we could claim the renewable credits? We will look into the supplement anyway. Thanks.

Marcus Sheffer

LEED Fellow

7group / Energy Opportunities

LEEDuser Expert

4454 thumbs up

Mon, 04/25/2016 - 17:48

Maybe. What this does is make me wonder if this is really a CI project? What percentage of the building does the owner occupy? Guidance on selecting the appropriate rating system is here - http://www.usgbc.org/sites/default/files/LEED-2009-Rating-System-Selection-Guidance.pdf

Maria Isabel Conde

Owner

Aqua Terra (Panama) S.A.

LEEDuser Basic Member

6 thumbs up

Mon, 04/25/2016 - 23:02

Although the client owns the whole building, their interest is to certify their retail space only, that is totally independent. That is why the project has already been registered for CI Retail certification. This has been accepted by the GBCI and therefore we understand it should be OK.

Marcus Sheffer

LEED Fellow

7group / Energy Opportunities

LEEDuser Expert

4454 thumbs up

Tue, 04/26/2016 - 00:00

Thanks for the clarification. I don't think that ownership has anything to do with it. Most of the time the tenant does not own the building or its major systems. Is the central plant a part of the building? Does the PV array feed electricity into the whole building or just the central plant? Sounds like you will be basing this on the actual energy use so you would need to wait a year after occupancy.