The LEED Technical and Scientific Advisory Committee recently released its final report entitled "The Treatment by LEED of the Environmental Impacts of Refrigerants," downloadable from: https://www.usgbc.org/Docs/LEED_tsac/TSAC_Refrig_Report_Final-Approved… USGBC is submitting this inquiry and ruling to indicate how the report\'s recommendations affect LEED-NC EAc4. The question at hand is: Can project teams use the report\'s methodology defined in section 5.0, 5.1 and 5.2 and recommended in section 6 of this report for projects registered under LEED-NC v2.0 and v2.1?
THE RULING BELOW HAS BEEN RESCINDED by vote of the USGBC Board of Directors, for v2.1 projects registering after 9/30/05. The proposal is being included in the v2.2 member ballot. Further details can be found in the September 20th news item, http://www.usgbc.org/News/usgbcnews_details.asp?ID=1833. -------------------------------------------------------- Yes. For LEED-NC projects registered under v2.0 or v2.1 project teams are eligible for EAc4 if documentation with the following requirements is provided: REQUIREMENTS: Install base building level HVAC and refrigeration equipment that uses refrigerants that comply with the following formula: LCGWP + LCODP x 100,000 < or = 100 Where: LCODP = [ODPr x (Lr x Life +Mr) x Rc]/Life LCGWP = [GWPr x (Lr x Life +Mr) x Rc]/Life LCODP: Lifecycle Ozone Depletion Potential (lbCFC11/Ton-Year) LCGWP: Lifecycle Direct Global Warming Potential (lbCO2/Ton-Year) GWPr: Global Warming Potential of Refrigerant 0 < GWPr < 12,000 lbCO2/lbr ODPr: Ozone Depletion Potential of Refrigerant 0 < ODPr < 0.2 lbCFC11/lbr Lr: Refrigerant Leakage Rate (% of charge per year) 0.5% < Lr < 3%/Year Mr: End-of-life Loss (% of charge) 2% < Mr < 10 % Rc: Refrigerant Charge (lbs refrigerant per Ton of cooling capacity) 0.9 < Rc < 3.3 Life: Equipment Life (Years) 10 < Life < 35 Years For projects with multiple units of base building level HVAC and refrigeration equipment, a weighted average of all base building level HVAC and refrigeration equipment shall be applied to the formula above: [ SUM (LCGWP + LCODP x 105) x Qunit ] / Qtotal < or = 100 Where: Qunit = Cooling capacity of an individual HVAC or refrigeration unit (Tons) Qtotal = Total cooling capacity of all HVAC or refrigeration equipment (Tons) AND install fire suppression systems that do not contain ozone depleting substances - CFCs, HFCs, HCFCs or Halons. SUBMITTALS: Provide a letter from the architect or engineer demonstrating that the building HVAC and refrigeration systems use refrigerants that comply with the formula: LCGWP + LCODP x 100,000 < or = 100 and listing the fire suppressions installed and declaring that all fire suppression systems are free of ozone depleting substances. The refrigerant charge per Ton of cooling capacity and refrigerant type will be detailed in this letter. The letter will use default values of 1.0% leakage per year (Lr) with an end-of life loss of charge of 3% (Mr) over an assumed 30year life (Life). Alternative figures may exceptionally be used provided the project can justify the assumptions made. Please note: This set of requirements is provided as an alternative compliance path for EAc4. Project teams may choose to document compliance with the existing EAc4 language in LEED-NC v2.0 and v2.1. Applicable internationally.