LEED v4.1 O+M Beta Guide
This guide provides an overview of the LEED v4.1 O+M beta rating system, including prerequisite and credit requirements, changes from LEED v4, and performance score calculations.
Central Cooling Plants Fare the Best
This credit rewards projects that are able to minimize the impact of their refrigerants on the ozone layer and global warming.
Technical guides for EBOM v4.1 Energy Performance
Technical guides for EBOM v4.1 Energy Performance
It’s All about Data
This is a performance-based prerequisite that must be documented through the Arc platform. Teams enter energy consumption into Arc using data from utility bills or invoices. The data must account for all energy used by the project—electricity, natural gas, chilled water, steam, fuel oil, propane, etc. Additionally, the data must cover at least 12 consecutive months with no gaps or missing data.
An Electrifying Condo Design
These LEED Platinum homes in Fort Collins, Colorado used a variety of design strategies to maximize efficiency and go all electric—and hopefully net positive.
by P.J. Melton
Project: L’Avenir Living condominiums
Type: Multifamily residential
Architect: Davis Davis Architects
MEP engineer: Group 14
Contractor: Philgreen Construction
Do small appliances (such as refrigerators and water coolers) that have greater than 0.5 pounds of refrigerant have to be included in the prerequisite calculations?
Standard refrigerators, small water coolers, and small HVAC units with less than 0.5 pounds of refrigerant are not considered base building equipment and are exempt from the prerequisite. However, if you have larger versions of these pieces of equipment, like a large refrigerator or larger window air-conditioning unit, that has more than 0.5 pounds of refrigerant, you do need to address those in your refrigerant management plans. The key factor is not so much the equipment type, but the amount of refrigerant.
The prerequisite states that if CFCs are maintained in the building, the project building must reduce annual leakage to 5% or less, and total leakage over the remaining life to less than 30%. Do we need to submit documentation demonstrating the leakage ra
Yes, you are required to include documentation demonstrating that the project has reduced annual leakage to 5% or less, and the total leakage over the remaining life to less than 30%.
If a project’s base-building systems do use CFCs, and an economic analysis is required, is it necessary to analyze both the conversion AND replacement of those building systems?
Yes, the economic analysis must include both the conversion AND replacement of the CFC-based building systems.
There’s no zone like the ozone
Meeting this prerequisite is easy for most buildings, particularly newer ones, but there are a few things keep in mind. You’ll need to inventory all of the refrigerant-containing equipment present in the building, including small supplemental AC units and other unitary cooling equipment. This can be a time-consuming process, especially if tenants have installed their own supplemental equipment. And, additional steps must be taken if your project includes CFC-based equipment.