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We are proposing to metering a new building with a single controller. The controller has the capability to monitor each individual end use (lighting, plug loads, HVAC, water, gas, etc.). Can we meter everything on a distribution board except one specific

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NC-v4 EAc3:Advanced energy metering

EAc3 - Clarification on the Advanced Energy Metering.

Hello All,

There seems to be some challenges with clarity on the wording of this credit instructions, our team Electrical Engineer and I had this conversation and it became necessary to post it up here for some expert insight... See reference and question below. Thank you

The LEED document states this metering shall be installed for the following:

  • All whole-building energy sources used by the building; and
  • Any individual energy end uses that represent 10% or more of the total annual consumption of the building

It is my interpretation that the second point is intended to cover an individual branch circuit or load.  Please confirm.

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Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow
7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
4454 thumbs up

Fri, 09/07/2018 - 15:22

The second item requires metering for any energy end use (i.e. lighting, heating, cooling, fans, pumps, plug loads, etc.) that constitutes more than 10% of the total energy use of the building. In the case where you have both electric and gas consumption, convert it all to some sort of common unit. So this might be a branch circuit or load depending on the electrical panel configuration or piping configuration.

Fri, 09/07/2018 - 16:29

Thanks Marcus... your feedback is most appreciated. Let me send this off to our team Electrical Engineer asap.

Thu, 09/13/2018 - 15:17

Hello Marcus, This seems a quite unclear venture as answered questions as received was returned with some more itemized ones; our in-house MEP Team still needs clarification on the proposed plan to achieve the EAc3-Advanced Energy Metering Credit. Below is the plan for items to submeter as well as clarifying questions; these are definitely items requiring experience with this credit and the dynamics of the metering systems and components:  
  • Two major End Uses of equipment are planned to be metered for the Advanced Energy Metering Credit. These categories are more than 10 % of the total building energy load:
    1. Packaged Air Handlers
    2. Space Heating – (VAVs, Unit Heaters)
  • There is equipment that is inside the building that is supplied from a panel in another building.
    1. This equipment is –  (4) welding receptacles, and (4) maintenance shop tools.
    2. Does this equipment count towards the total building load for electrical energy consumption of the building?
    3. IF these loads do count, they will be categorized into their own end use category of maintenance shop tools. They will NOT be lumped into a generic receptacle category.
  • Receptacle End Uses / Categories:
    1. Any receptacles for equipment serving critical control systems – (power plant control room computers, server racks, etc.) – will be categorized in a separate end use from typical 120 V/1 receptacles in the rest of the building.
    2. There is a generic category of receptacles – (such as typical office receptacles, hallways, kitchen equipment).
    3. Again IF the maintenance equipment listed above must count toward the total building energy consumption, it will be its own individual end use / category of maintenance shop tools.
    4. Only Receptacle Category / End Use C (directly above) for receptacles would represent a load over 10 % of the building total load. So IF that must be counted, that is the only receptacle category that would be metered.
  • In general:
    1. This will be achieved by installing multi circuit meters that will monitor the sum total of each group by subtraction. See attached electrical panel schedule. In yellow is space heating and in red is packaged air handlers.
    2. The data will be fed to and recorded by the Building Automation System. The meters are compatible with BACnet.
    3. The whole building energy use metering and prerequisite for building level metering will be accomplished by submeters for all electrical panels in this building.
    4. There is a panel inside this building that supplies another building (that is non LEED). Would that count towards in the total load?
For clarity; this is a pre-engineered metal building, a mixed use facility that consist of the Administrative, mini-warehouse and IT/ security unit of the facility. Please confirm the above plan is acceptable as per above questions; due to the context and volume of questions, for clarity please place answers in same order to applicable questions. Thank you
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Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow
7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
4454 thumbs up

Thu, 09/13/2018 - 16:02

Who is preparing your energy model? You will need to coordinate with them because this is how the reviewer will evaluate your metering plan. I can't evaluate it without seeing the energy modeling results. A few comments on the items above. A packaged air handler is not an energy end use. It is a piece of equipment that will include fans and maybe heating or cooling. These are energy end uses. All energy use within and associated with the project must be included in the energy model so must be included in the metering plan. Other buildings not included within the LEED project boundary do not have to be metered. This is really quite simple, any energy end use over 10% of the total energy use must be metered. You have considerable flexibility to structure your energy model in a way that generates more or less detailed results. However, if your break down is so detailed that it is clearly designed to reduce energy end uses below 10% then that would be considered playing games with the system and would not be viewed favorably.  In general the following energy end uses are typically included in a model - interior lighting, exterior lighting, space heating, space cooling, fans, pumps, heat rejection, service hot water, receptacles, other process loads (which are often separated like elevators, hard wired equipment, etc.). If there is another energy source beside electricity then those would be separate energy end uses (i.e. space heating for both electricity and natural gas). There should be no need to separate different receptacles as separate energy end uses unless you are trying to claim energy savings for a process load.
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Jessica Malta
MCW Consultants Ltd
LEEDuser Basic Member
0 thumbs up

Tue, 02/12/2019 - 23:35

Hi Marcus - in determining the 10% end uses, have you ever seen external radiant heating considered as space heating in energy models? For example, in the case of a snowmelt system and/or a heated balcony? 
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Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow
7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
4454 thumbs up

Tue, 02/12/2019 - 23:51

It could be lumped into space heating but that is not good practice. It should be modeled on a separate meter within the model since it is a process load so its energy use can be revealed separately in the modeling results.

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