Dear forum,
We are working with an industrial plant that is seeking to obtain the LEED Certification. Since most of the energy consumption comes from process loads, we are using an Alternative Compliance Path to claim energy savings from the process equipment, comparing its performance with 4 similar industrial plants. Since the industrial plant produces beverages, the unit we are comparing is the energy consumption per liter of beverage produced (kWh/Liter). We believe this is a reasonable unit for comparing it to the other plants, since they all produce the same beverage. Do you think this approach will be accepted? Many thanks in advance.
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5921 thumbs up
September 2, 2013 - 2:24 pm
Maybe.
It is a reasonable unit to compare plants but that does not make it reasonable for showing energy savings for a specific plant.
In general the baseline for comparison when claiming process load savings should be "standard industry practice when building a new plant in your location". Comparing the process energy use to older plants may or may not be a valid comparison depending on the age and location of the existing plants.
Santiago Rodriguez
Revitaliza Consultores65 thumbs up
September 13, 2013 - 12:16 pm
Thanks for your comment Marcus, the other plants we are using for the comparison have changed their equipment in less than 5 years, so we think it will be valid. I do have another question, the energy consumption for process loads is approximately 95% of the total energy demand of the building, so, is it necessary to do the whole energy modeling process or just do the Exceptional Calculation Method?
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5921 thumbs up
September 13, 2013 - 12:24 pm
You must model all of the energy use within and and associated with the project. So yes all of the process loads must be included. To claim any savings associated with the process you will need to follow the exceptional calculation method. Basically you will create a Proposed model which includes the process loads identical to the baseline process loads. You then do an exceptional calculation model which includes the items you are implementing to claim savings.