Use the calculator built into the LEED Online submittal template to help facilitate decision-making. Re-run comparisons between the baseline and design-case water budgets until the final selections of water fixtures and strategies have been made and the project’s water-reduction goals are satisfied.  

Using 0.5 gpm lavatory faucets is a cheap and easy way to help earn the majority of your water use reduction points.

Run preliminary water use calculations to establish the baseline water use and confirm goals for water-use reduction. This should include clearly identifying target flow and flush rates for fixtures. 


This credit only includes core water uses—bathroom sinks, toilets, urinals, showers, and kitchen faucets.

The FTE occupancy number you use must be consistent with the FTE occupancy numbers used in all your other LEED credit submittals, including: 

WEc2: Innovative Wastewater Technologies
SSc4.2: Alternative Transportation—Bicycle Storage and Changing Rooms
SSc4.3: Alternative Transportation—Low-Emitting and Fuel Efficient Vehicles

SSc4.4: Alternative Transportation—Parking Capacity.

Establish preliminary goals for water-use reduction. Consider setting water-reduction goals higher than the 30% reduction required by this credit, and aim for a reduction greater than 40% or higher for exemplary performance under IDc1. You are likely to need rainwater or graywater reuse to reach this threshold. 

You can earn an Exemplary Performance point through IDc1 for a 40% reduction. To help you meet this threshold, you can include appliance and process water in the calculations, even though that’s not allowed for the standard credit calculations. 

Appliance and process water uses such as clothes washers, dishwashers, cooling tower makeup, and others, are not included in the LEED water use reduction calculations for this credit.

Specify high-quality equipment with a dependably long lifespan. That way leakage is minimized at those times that carry the greatest risks; when the equipment is being installed or decommissioned. (For information about the service life of different types of HVAC equipment, see the 2004 ASHRAE Applications Handbook—HVAC Applications. See Resources.)

Submit documentation to LEED Online. This will include filling out the LEED Online Submittal Template, which requires a number of inputs on total electrical consumption (or default values) and details on the green power purchased. You will also need to upload a proof of purchase for two years of green power—see the Documentation Toolkit for an example.

Call several green power providers to get a preliminary estimate of the cost to buy green power for 35% of the assumed, actual or default electricity consumption. While you’re at it, also get an estimate for buying double the green power and earning a point for exemplary performance. Find green power providers on EPA’s Green Power Partnership website or the Green-e website. See the Resources section for links to their websites.