I am confused by the table above with the tab that says building completed 1993 or later its says the baseline is 160%, the table also has a tab that says fixtures installed after 1993 or later, and the baseline for that is 120%. If the building was completed after 93' then the fixtures would of had to be installed after 93' as well. So why are these percentages different? Could someone please explain because the above explanation does not answer my question.
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Jason Franken
Sustainability ProfessionalLEEDuser Expert
608 thumbs up
March 11, 2010 - 10:55 am
Rachel, the diagram has been revised recently, so please take a look and see if it makes more sense now. The previous diagram did not accurately explain the distinction between the different baselines. You only need to think about this issue with the baseline if you're using the Option 4 compliance path and doing performance calculations and even then, the LEED credit form does all the work for you.
Buildings that were built before the Energy Policy Act of 1992 had different building codes to follow. It's assumed that they have fixtures that use more water, so LEED uses the higher baseline (160%) when performing calculations to allow them more breathing room. So, if your building is pre-1993, the higher baseline is used and if it is post-1993, the lower baseline is used. Another common scenario is a pre-1993 building that has some of the original fixtures and others that have been retrofitted in the last 15 years; in this case, the baseline is pro-rated to be somewhere between 160% and 120%, based on the relevant number of fixtures and when they were installed.