I'm working on a project in UAE, where the thermal heat load summary considers an occupancy of around 1,500 people. However, when calculating occupancy according to LEED occupancy counts based on the gross floor area (GFA), I only get 652 occupants.
I've used the same occupant count (652) for various LEED calculators throughout the project (WATER, BICYCLE ETC). My question is: Should I also maintain the same occupant number (652) for the thermal heat load summary?
Looking forward to your insights!
Andrey Kuznetsov
ESG consultant, LEED AP BD+CSelf Employed
27 thumbs up
September 2, 2024 - 6:03 am
No, you don't.
LEED FTE for water, bycicle etc. calculations should not to be used for any other purposes (like heating loads, ventilation, etc.) since it would underestimate it.
At LEED 2009 refguide it was specific warning not to use defualt LEED FTE for such calculations for the same reason - it would underestimate it (for example - it would give lower count for people per sqm than consider ASHRAE 62.1 for ventilation calculation).
If you have your national standards that regulate minimal occupancy rates (I bet it would be higher than LEED FTE) - than use it or higher if client want so. If no - and you can use best practices around the world - use rates of ASHRAE 62.1 or other that gives higher rates, or per Owner Project Requirements (in some some countries it is called technical assignment / terms of reference that provides basic consumer requirements for the design).