I am working with a convention center that is currently Silver certified under the v2009 EBOM rating system.
This facility has a very high event turnover and consequently uses energy consistently due to the high level of activity and it's EUI is penalizing due to the fact that it is a small facility (not a large convention center). For this reason, despite being an efficient facility, during the certification process out of the 18 points available for credit EAc1 we were only able to get 1 credit. Even the prereq ECp2 was in danger of not being met.
As none of the options for calculating performance are suitable to improve this situation, we are trying to see if Case 2 Option 2C, which includes use of historical data and comparable building, can support our case that more points should be awarded based on the actual energy performance of the building. We contacted several convention centers to try and obtain comparable energy data but we have not been too lucky.
Does anyone have any advice on where to get this information (e.g., databases) or on another approach to take to be able to get more recognition for this facility? It seems like an issue in LEED that needs to be worked out. A large convention center with lower level of activity may get lots of points in credit EAc1 because of the large square footage and fewer events.
Thanks.
David Eldridge
Energy Efficiency NinjaGrumman/Butkus Associates
67 thumbs up
January 15, 2019 - 5:53 pm
What path did the project pursue under the previous EBOM certification?
Have you had any luck mining the municipal benchmarking data? That may be less information that you need if the feeling is that number of visitors and quantity of events is a factor. I'm not sure exactly what the normalization will look like - other convention centers are very busy as well, but the monthly weighted average of exhibit area is probably a strong driver that you won't be able to get from publicly available sources.
How small is the facility if you can provide a range? Is it part of an educational or hospitality campus?
Patrick Cellie
Sustainability ConsultantAECOM
January 15, 2019 - 6:15 pm
The facility is about 72,000 sqf. It's a stand alone building that has a hotel that was not included in the certification.
David Eldridge
Energy Efficiency NinjaGrumman/Butkus Associates
67 thumbs up
January 22, 2019 - 4:14 pm
You could try CBECS to see if there are enough sites that you can filter for a more comparable size facility. I think this will hurt you rather than help though, since these sites won't be providing occupancy percentages to CBECS.
Can you make an energy model and perform an asset rating evaluation, such as ASHRAE bEQ or DOE Asset Score?
LEED isn't setup the best to make a case for alternate compliance. As an engineer it would be satisfying in the assessment to see all of the upgrades listed and then their impact on modeled energy use, given consistent occupancy.