On the surface, the basic credit requirements to meter whole building energy sources and major energy end uses seem accessible.
However, the requirements for advanced metering are more rigorous than standard practice. For example, all metering for your building energy sources— including electricity, gas, steam, and so on—must be connected to a communications infrastructure such that you can access the data remotely.
Many buildings with utility owned meters will not meet this component of the credit requirements, even though all of the energy sources are separately metered.
In addition, all energy sources and major sub-systems that make up at least 20% of the annual energy consumption must be separately metered according to the advanced metering requirements. This includes taking meter readings at specific intervals with specific reporting and communication capabilities. You’ll also need to develop a baseline for energy demand and consumption via historic data or energy modeling for each meter, and then program the building automation system (BAS) to generate an alarm if the actual consumption/demand is more than 5% higher than the predicted baseline.
Overall, this credit requires an integrated approach to energy management and metering and will likely require a significant amount of time and planning to implement if your building does not already comply.
What’s New in LEED v4
- System-level metering and building automation systems, which were included in LEED 2009 as MPR#6 and as EAc3.1: Performance Measurement—Building Automation System, have been combined into this credit.
Readiness Review Questions
- What energy sources and major energy end uses are already submetered?
- Do meters log data at intervals of one hour or less?
- Is there a building automation system (BAS) in place? If so, submetering can be integrated into the existing BAS.
- Does the data collection system meet the credit requirements? For example, can meter data be stored for at least 36 months? Do electricity meters record demand energy use in addition to consumption?
- Does the building energy management system have the required alarm capabilities?