Your project can achieve a total of five points by pursuing both options. 

Determine if one or both of these options are most appropriate for your space type: 

installing a submetering system to measure energy use within your space (for two points); 
or negotiating a lease under which you pay for your actual energy usage, rather than a fixed energy bill (for three points).

Case 1: Projects with less than 75% of total building area

The cost implications of this credit vary greatly from project to project. The main factors determining price are:  

the complexity of the metering and submetering system; 
the cost of commissioning; 
and the size and complexity of the building.

Determine if your project falls under Case 1 or Case 2:

Case 1 projects occupy less than 75% of the total building area. 
Case 2 projects occupy 75% or more of the total building area. 

All Cases

The payback period for a submetering program depends on its initial cost and whether the M&V program identifies inefficiencies that wouldn’t have been found otherwise—substantial fixes can pay for the metering system. The true return on investment, however, depends on the commitment of the tenant, owner, and operational staff. Because M&V monitors actual building operation over time, the data provided can lead to valuable operational savings by uncovering system design, installation, and control issues not caught during commissioning. 

Encourage the operations team to focus on running the building at optimal efficiency. 

Meters and submeters should be recalibrated periodically according to manufacturers’ recommendations.

Inform tenants, including potential tenants, about the M&V plan and metering network that has been installed for their use. This can be a great selling point, especially for tenants planning to pursue LEED-CI certification. Provide a copy of your M&V plan early on so that they can determine if LEED-CI or tenant submetering is right for their project.