Projects that certify to ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction (ESMFNC) may claim credit under Path 1 or Path 2, and document additional points for Home Size Adjuster as indicated below. Projects must use a version and revision applicable to the project location at the time of permitting in accordance with the “ENERGY STAR MFNC Applicable Program Requirements, Versions, and Revisions by Location”. Projects that achieve ESMFNC certification under version 1.1 or later are automatically compliant with the EA Prerequisite: Minimum Energy Performance Commissioning or Testing and Verification requirements.
Path 1. Equivalent ASHRAE 90.1-2010 Appendix G performance improvement
Projects may document achievement of points for the equivalent ASHRAE 90.1-2010 Appendix G improvement indicated in Table 1 for each metric.
Table 1. Credit for ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction Certification
ENERGY STAR MFNC Certification Version
Equivalent ASHRAE 90.1-2010 Appendix G Percentage Improvement awarded for each metric
Energy Efficiency Metric (Cost or Source Energy)
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Metric
National v1 (LEED project registration before March 1, 2024)
5%
N/A
National v1.1
15%
15%
National v1.2 Rev. 02, Oregon and Washington v1.2, or California v1.2
15%
15%
Caribbean v1
15%
15%
National v1.2, Rev. 03 or later
20%
20%
California v1.3
24%
27%
California v1.4
26%
31%
Path 2. ERI Path
Projects certifying under the ENERGY STAR MFNC ERI path from version 1.1 or later with combined retail or commercial space less than 20,000 square feet AND less than 20% of the conditioned floor may follow the LEED BD+C: Homes Annual Energy Use requirements to document up to 29 points (where ERI replaces instances of HERS).
AND
Home Size Adjuster (Paths 1 and 2)
Earn 1 point for every 7% decrease in conditioned floor area compared with the ENERGY STAR for Homes, version 3, reference home (Table 2). Buildings that are larger than the reference home lose 1 point for every 7% increase in conditioned floor area. Projects cannot exceed the maximum number of points in the EA section.
Table 2. Conditioned floor area of reference home, by number of bedrooms
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8 or more
Floor Area (square feet)
1,000
1,600
2,200
2,800
3,400
4,000
4,600
+ 600 ft2 per additional bedroom
Floor Area (square meters)
93
148
204
260
315
371
426
+ 55.6 square m2per additional bedroom
For multifamily buildings, home size includes only in-unit space.
International projects:
International projects that are ineligible to achieve ENERGY STAR certification may document achievement of the ENERGY STAR Multifamily New Construction certification requirements rather than submitting the ENERGY STAR MFNC Certificate. Projects registered after March 1, 2024 must use MFNC National v1.1 Rev. 03 or later or MFNC National v1.2 Rev. 03 or later. All Mandatory and Prescriptive requirements apply, except for analogous requirements with LEED approved exceptions for International projects (e.g. LEED Interpretation 10443 allowing exceptions to HERS Qualified Energy Raters, LEED Interpretation 10444 allowing visual inspections in lieu of HERS testing, etc.).
Updated March 1, 2024 to align with changes in the LEED v4 Energy Update and to recognize credit for Home Size Adjuster.