Project is pursuing EA Credit 1 points under OPTION 3 - PRESCRIPTIVE COMPLIANCE PATH: Advanced Buildings Core Performance Guide. The proposed building is a 50,000 sq. ft. office building located in climate zone 3a. According to ASHRAE Standard 90.1 2004 an air-side or water-side economizer is not required, although the project will utilize water-side economizers. Section 2.13 of the Core Performance Guide details performance and operational requirements of air-side economizers but does not mandate the usage thereof. We have three related questions: 1) Must a project have air-side economizers to comply with Section 2.13 of the Core Performance Guide? 2) If an economizer is required, can a water-side economizer be utilized in lieu of the air side economizer. 3) The EAc1 Template does not make provision to document Option 3. What documentation and template format is required in order to document the points claimed under Option 3?
The applicant is requesting clarification to various economizer related issues associated with NBI\'s Core Performance Guide. The following responses address the number items in the request. 1) Yes, air-side economizers must be installed. Section 2.13 of the Core Performance Guide states the purpose of the requirements and criteria are established to ensure the proper performance of outside-air (OA) economizers. 2) No, water-side economizers are not an acceptable equivalent to air-side economizers. 3) It is recommended that for submission a signed LEED EAc1 Submittal Template declaring compliance with Option 3, a document comparing and supporting, at minimum, that prescriptive requirements stated in sections one and two of the Core Performance Guide have been satisfied. Above these requirements, it will be left to the discretion of the team if additional documentation is needed to support credit compliance. Applicable Internationally.