Dear All,
We are working on a hospital project outside USA where we have air cooled chiller because the region has shortage of water. We are losing big time in energy consumption as water cooled chillers are super efficient.
Our concern is that baseline energy cost should include water cost per month in order to have a fair comparison. Can we include make up water cost in this credit to prove that cost wise we are achieving mandatory 5 % even through we are losing in energy terms?
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5909 thumbs up
February 25, 2019 - 6:36 pm
This issue has been raised multiple times by projects primarily in the Middle East and I think such comparisons are not allowed. You could try to make your case with the reviewer to justify the rate difference but Appendix G is very clear about using identical rates.
Jean Marais
b.i.g. Bechtold DesignBuilder Expert832 thumbs up
February 26, 2019 - 12:53 am
I applaud the bigger picture thinking. LEED does have specific water credits and regional bonuses will apply if water is important in your region, but the design of the entire LEED certification has paid mind to how and where the points are distributed.
Junaid Naseer
AECOMFebruary 26, 2019 - 1:00 am
Thanks for your responses. Much appreciated.