We are working to certify and industrial plant and we are not sure whether the energy consumption from the machinery used for product manufacturing should be included in the energy modeling. ASHRAE 90.1 Section 2.3 states that "The provisions of this standard do not apply to:
a…
b…
c. equipment and portions of building systems that use energy primarily to provide for industrial, manufacturing, or commercial process"
Does the statement above apply for LEED projects? Is industrial load from the machinery considered a type of process energy for LEED? My understanding is that LEED certifies buildings, not processes, therefore this type of process energy should not be included in the calculations. But would like to hear your opinions and interpretations on this issue.
Thanks
David Hubka
Director of OperationsTranswestern Sustainability Services
527 thumbs up
October 16, 2012 - 4:06 pm
ASHRAE 90.1 does not apply to the energy loads you've noted however they will need to be included in the energy model per the language of the reference guide.
Marcio Alberto Casado Pereira
181 thumbs up
October 16, 2012 - 4:25 pm
Thanks David.
I'd still like to elaborate a bit more on that, I'm afraid I'm not asking the question correctly. The RG says on p. 237: "For the purpose of this analysis, process energy is considered to include, but is not limited to, office and general miscellaneous equipment, computers, elevators and escalators, kitchen cooking and refrigeration, laundry washing and drying, lighting exempt from the lighting power allowance (e.g., lighting integral to medical equipment) and other (e.g., waterfall pumps)."
It never mentions industrial load, such as machinery and, by analogy, we can infer that load from production equipment doesn't compare with the types of load mentionded in the RG. Even though load from the machinery could pontentially be included under "Other", that would be a nonsense, since in industries, over 90% of the energy consumption is from the machines used for product manufacturing (this is the case of our project, the plant produced automobile pieces). Such situation, would make it unfeasible for most industrial plants to pursue LEED certification, because of the 10% reduction required in EAp2. Unless, of course, the client decides to interfere in his production process, which is not what LEED is aimed for in my understanding, since LEED is for bulding, not processes...
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5909 thumbs up
October 16, 2012 - 4:32 pm
In this case the purpose of LEED is to save energy. It does not matter if it is process or non-process energy use.
David is right the requirements for this prerequisite and credit are clear - all energy use within and associated with the project must be included. So for an industrial facility to produce sufficient savings the process loads need to be addressed. There are many industrial facilities that have demonstrated energy savings related to their process and earned LEED certification.
Think beyond the building.
Kath Williams
LEED Fellow 2011, PrincipalKath Williams + Associates
147 thumbs up
October 16, 2012 - 4:50 pm
Along this same line, our newest project is an incinerator for a BSL3/4 Lab. We are assuming that the incinerator itself is process load as the rest of the building is an office and support spaces. Would the energy model be required to show "significant savings"? Over what as a baseline?
Marcus Sheffer
LEED Fellow7group / Energy Opportunities
LEEDuser Expert
5909 thumbs up
October 16, 2012 - 5:17 pm
Hey Kath,
The incinerator is definitely process. The baseline is always Appendix G. The process is included but is modeled identically in the baseline and proposed models. The project would be required to show a 10% savings relative to 90.1-2007. If the incinerator uses a very high percentage of the overall energy use then you will need to find savings from the incinerator process using the exceptional calculation method. Are there more efficient incinerators than others? Can you do waste heat recovery off the stack?
Think beyond the baseline.