Our proposed project is to add about 30,000 square feet to an existing 55,000 square foot University science building. The existing building is LEED Gold under NC-2009. We hope to pursue LEED-BD+C certification in v4. The addition will utilize steam and chilled water from the existing central plant. All downstream systems and equipment will be separate from the existing building.
What is the best approach to take in order to avoid modeling the entire building? Should we treat the central plants as District Energy Systems? I have seen an interpretation (ID #li-5496) that would allow proportioning energy use from the central plant. However, this seems to be for LEED v2 and I'm guessing may not apply.
Thanks for your help!
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5909 thumbs up
June 26, 2020 - 9:17 am
Interesting, we submitted that interpretation. It sounds like it might be a bit different than your situation. In tht case the "plant" only served that building and no others. It was originally built with enough additional capacity to also serve an addition. If this is the same as your situation then I would think that it may still apply. If you are getting steam and chilled water from a larger plant that serves multiple buildings then I do not think it applies. Since your addition is separate from the existing building mechanically perhaps it makes the mose sense to think of it as an independent building and model it accordingly.