Our project team is attempting the whole building metering along with the submetering option. Everything was going smoothly up until the start of the performance period, when it became evident that the main building water meter had stopped working. Since the meter is owned by the utility company, the site team had them come out and verify that the meter was in fact malfunctioning. However, since we're working with the local utility company, they don't seem to share the same urgency in getting the meter replaced.
We're now entering our third and final month of the performance period, and there seems to be no guarantee that a new meter will be installed before we reach the end of the performance period. Is it still possible to earn this credit if it's obvious that the meter is malfunctioning, and that we've done everything possible to have the issue corrected?
Trista Brown
Project DirectorWSP USA
456 thumbs up
August 2, 2013 - 3:23 pm
Hi Edward,
I think it's worth a shot to provide water use data for the time you could collect it along with an explanation of what happened. It would help your case if you could demonstrate that a new meter was installed before you submit your application; this would give the reviewer more confidence that there are working meters and that normal readings will resume. But I understand that there's not much you can do when the utility is responsible for replacement. Unfortunately I'm not too hopeful that you'll be awarded these points since the requirement for weekly readings is strictly enforced, but you have nothing to lose by trying to make your case. Good luck!
Barry Giles
Founder & CEO, LEED Fellow, BREEAM FellowBuildingWise LLC
LEEDuser Expert
338 thumbs up
August 2, 2013 - 3:37 pm
Edward. In this case a clear and concise narrative...with any supporting documentation, should be provided to GBCI. While Trista is quite right that the weekly readings are required, in this case you are not in control of the utility meter and 'despite your best efforts' replacement has been slow in arriving. I'm sure that your submeters are being read weekly, and those details will help support the process.