MPR6 Supplemental Guidance from USGBC

This Bird's Eye View text is from USGBC's MPR Supplemental Guidance Revision #2. See the Credit Language tab for the MPR requirements.

INTENT

The goal of decreased energy and water use consumption is a major component of LEED certification. Tracking actual building consumption and comparing it to the usage proposed in design cases, or tracked during a performance period, is essential to the individual success of each LEED certified building and the ongoing evaluation and development of the LEED program.

By providing usage data, LEED project owners will not only be taking a very active part in advancing the green building movement, but they will also be provided feedback about the performance of their building in the context of comparable buildings. In addition, buildings that achieve LEED certification in a design and construction rating system will be able to streamline their certification under LEED-EB: O&M with readily available performance data.

Access to complete and accurate performance on every LEED building project will allow the USGBC to aggregate individual building information and perform program evaluations, such as average LEED energy and water savings relative to national and regional averages. Aggregate figures on carbon emissions, costs, and other environmental impacts associated with building energy usage are of significant interest to USGBC, GBCI, green building advocates, builders, owners, and operators. USGBC will use all building data to inform the continuous improvement of the LEED rating systems, develop related educational programming, identify key areas of needed research, and present clear, unbiased results to the building community. Building performance feedback will be provided to LEED project owners as part of this MPR.

SPECIFIC ALLOWED EXCEPTIONS:

When whole project meters are cost-prohibitive or physically impractical to install

Owners of LEED project buildings or spaces that do not have meters in place that measure energy and/or water usage for the entire LEED-certified gross floor area are not expected to supply energy and/or water usage data unless such meters are installed. Many commercial interiors projects, higher education campuses, and military bases will fall into this category. In PIf1 in LEED Online v3, the project team will need to detail the reasons why whole project meters are cost-prohibitive or physically impractical to install.

If meters are installed post-certification, the project owner is expected to report data for whatever time is remaining on the 5 year period, which begins at the beginning of typical physical occupancy for design and construction projects and the date certification is awarded for LEED-EB: O&M projects.

Complying with this MPR when there is a transfer of ownership

To own a LEED certified project is to participate in the ongoing evolution of the green building movement. In that spirit, and in keeping with the intent of this MPR, the owner’s commitment to provide whole-building energy and usage data is expected to carry forward to the next owner if all or part of a LEED certified project is sold, re-assigned or otherwise transferred. However, it is recognized that this may not always be possible, and USGBC will respect the realities of situations in which reasonable efforts to maintain the commitment are not successful. In this situation, the initial building owner will no longer be required to provide the data or access to the data.

ADDITIONAL INFORMATION AND CLARIFICATIONS

Correlation of actual performance to design performance is not required

Data collection is for research purposes only, and project teams are required simply to share data, NOT to show that design cases submitted during certification were accurate. For projects using rating systems other than LEED-EB: O&M, actual performance may vary from projected performance. This MPR addresses the act of data sharing, not the content of the data. Projects will not be de-certified based on performance.

NOTE: projects certifying under LEED-EB: O&M are required to submit performance data during the certification process, and this does affect if, and what level of, certification will be achieved.

The reporting timeline for design and construction projects

For projects certifying under design and construction rating systems, data tracking must begin when the project reaches 50% of typical physical occupancy, and the first data report must be submitted within two months of that date. However, project teams can begin tracking any time before that, and are encouraged to do so. If tracking begins prior to 100% typical physical occupancy, project teams are asked to make note of occupancy rates in the tool they are using to submit data.

Project teams should submit data on a monthly basis unless they are unable to do so because of a utility billing cycle. In this case, submissions aligning with that cycle are acceptable.

How to determine typical physical occupancy

The definition of ‘Typical Physical Occupancy’, as given in the definitions section below, is: “The state in which normal building operations are underway and the building is in use by the average number of people that it was designed for.”

To determine the average number of full time equivalent occupants that the building was designed for, project teams must assess buildings on a case by case basis, using reasonable judgment. Design intentions, floor area capacity, and building system capacity must all be considered.

The process of data collection

All project teams (including international project teams) have three options for sharing data with USGBC. These choices are indicated on PIf1in LEED Online v3. For details on the MPR#6 Options, refer to the Sample Form download section of LEED Online v3 and the MPR#6 FAQs located on the LEED 2009 Minimum Program Requirements page at usgbc.org.

How to change compliance method post-certification

Project teams can change their method of data sharing at any time by contacting LEEDPerformance@usgbc.org.

Publication of data will be anonymized

Analysis of aggregated data will be made publicly available on a regular basis (schedule to be determined).

Commercial Interior projects should report data only for LEED space

LEED-CI projects need not, and should not, report data unless there are meters in place that can measure usage for the entire LEED project space, and only the LEED project space.

LEED Core & Shell projects do not require special treatment

Metering and data collection for LEED-CS projects does not differ from other projects. Data may be collected from spaces that the LEED project team did not fit out as part of their core and shell design and construction – this is normal and acceptable.

Major renovations negate the need to report data

If the LEED project building undergoes a post-certification renovation or change significant enough to alter the energy and water usage patterns, than data sharing is no longer necessary.

Reporting periods are not additive for buildings certifying multiple times

The data sharing ‘clock’ starts over each time a building is certified. If, for example, a building certifies under a design and construction rating system, and then certifies under LEED-EB: O&M three years later, the project owner is only required to report five years of data from the date of LEED-EB: O&M certification, not seven years.

Data Reporting with the Building Performance Partnership

MPR#6 data-sharing requirements is not the same as participating the Building Performance Partnership (BPP). Read more about the BPP program at usgbc.org/bpp.