EBOM 2009 EAp2: Minimum Energy Efficiency Performance

I think that the short answer is yes. The updated EAp2 Case 2 calculator here http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=221 walks you through the process of using Labs21 to benchmark in conjunction with the Case 2 calculator.

There is some more information about using Labs21 for LEED-EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. here http://labs21benchmarking.lbl.gov/.

The Labs21 approach works very well and is indeed the preferred compliance path for buildings with a significant amount of lab space. Take the time to be sure you fully digest the full definition of the various space type and area variables Labs21 uses - things like Lab Area Ratio and operating hours can have drastic impacts on your analysis, and defining your spaces accurately can save heartache down the road. The climate zoneOne of five climatically distinct areas, defined by long-term weather conditions which affect the heating and cooling loads in buildings. The zones were determined according to the 45-year average (1931-1975) of the annual heating and cooling degree-days (base 65 degrees Fahrenheit). An individual building was assigned to a climate zone according to the 45-year average annual degree-days for its National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Division. sort is also somewhat counterintuitive, in that its an either-or situation rather than making smaller adjustments. But overall, Labs21 is a great resource and works with EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. very well.
Hope that helps,
Dan

Thank you all for answering!

I was a little confused about LEED acceptance when I was first introduced to LABs21. In their guidance it's written that "USGBC previously issued a credit ruling allowing the use of the Labs21, but that it does not apply to projects applying under the newer rating system".

After that I got in touch with USGBC and they told me that "The LEED Green Building Operations and Maintenance 2009 guide does not discuss LABs 21 benchmarking".

I was positively surprised checking the link Ben sent me in his reply (thank you!) showing a path from USGBC for using this tool. So, it's seems we're in the right way.

Thank you!

Presuming that your project meets the basic requirements for Portfolio Manager, you can use Case 1. I have recently clarified the language regarding the application of the new ACP and they are NOT MANDATORY. We can continue to use Portfolio Manager for international projects - the ACP offers a new alternative.

Tobias,
You can go to this link where the USGBC confirmed that international projects are eligible to use Case 1 - http://www.leeduser.com/topic/international-projects-alternative-complia...
The important part is below.
"Thanks for your question about EAp2 and EAc1 for EB projects outside of the U.S. The language stating that Case 1 was not available to projects outside of the U.S. was erroneously included in the Rating System with ACPs. The case IS available to projects outside of the U.S. and the box stating otherwise has been removed from the Rating System."

Michael, Eric, thanks a lot! Finally I've received a official answer from the gbci:

"Thank you for contacting the Green Building Certification Institute. We apologize for any confusion on this matter. Your project team is able to show compliance with EAp2 through Case 1 - Projects Eligible for Energy Star Rating."

Hope that the rating system will be updated asap to avoid more confusion in this matter...

Best regards from Berlin, Tobias

Tobias,
Glad to hear you got through to the GBCI. The USGBC has new feedback forms for international projects and it might be useful to let them know about the confusion being created by not updating the documents accurately.
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2591
I understand the USGBC is going to have workshops with the international roundtable members to try and resolve some of the small, but very annoying, issues we have in Europe.

Rather than using the Statement of Energy Performance, I would set up a new "view" in the Facility Performance area of the building on Portfolio Manager that includes the building's Weather Normalized Source EnergySource energy is the total amount of raw fuel required to operate a building; it incorporates all transmission, delivery, and production losses for a complete assessment of a building's energy use. Use Intensity. This value may be slightly different than the one that shows up on the Statement of Energy Performance.

Don't use the Site Energy Use Intensity.

Also, it's a good idea to include a screenshot with your submittal documentation highlighting the weather normalized source energySource energy is the total amount of raw fuel required to operate a building; it incorporates all transmission, delivery, and production losses for a complete assessment of a building's energy use. use intensity on Portfolio Manager.

Thank you Ben for information. Unfortunately, using my building's weather normalized source energySource energy is the total amount of raw fuel required to operate a building; it incorporates all transmission, delivery, and production losses for a complete assessment of a building's energy use. intensity for the past year, we do not meet requirements under EAp1 Option 1. We made HVAC change and added insulation mid-year last year, so my only hope is that those changes will result in reduction of energy used as we proceed through this year. If I don't meet minimum requirements using Option 1, am I allowed to use Option 2? If so, do you know of best place to find help with using Option 2.

Janna - I'm pretty sure that you have to stick with Option 1 in this case. Option 2 is only triggered if more than 10% of the space is "All Other - Not Classified" or "Service". Hopefully you can pick up some efficiency with the new changes.

It seems like your understanding of the options is correct though not that promising. The only other option would be to propose an alternative compliance path through a project specific LEED Interpretation.

I think Ben is exactly right - when all the existing options are exhausted, the onus is on the project to propose an alternative compliance path that meets the intent of the credit. That may be rather difficult, or it may require meeting a standard of performance that feels particularly challenging (for example, comparing your facility to similar facilities outside of Egypt, if you can find data for those). But its up to you to formulate a reasonable alternative and convince GBCI that your approach is valid - the project-specific LEED interpretation is the right way to do this. Good luck with it.
Dan

Always good to print out a "Statement of Energy Performance" before any changes to Energy Star Portfolio Manager are scheduled to occur.

Chris,
If the period of performance is finished before the change and you take print screens of the portfolio manager data it might work out. The issue with the change from mean to median is that it appears for many of the building types the energy performance is harder by at least 24%. That's potentially a huge difference in resultant points for the same energy use. I'm all for accurate benchmarking, but I don't like the rule change in the middle of the game.

Hello Prudence:

My first suggestion here is that you confirm your project is unable to certify now in either NC or EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. because of renovation / addition activity. That would be unusual, as LEED v2009 does not intend to exclude projects in your situation. Have you reviewed the current MPR guidance and rating system selection guidance to be sure?

If you stick with v2012 then I recommend Option 2. The reason is simple: Option 1 references ENERGY STAR, which in turn references the "current" CBECSThe Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS) is a national sample survey that collects information on the stock of U.S. commercial buildings, their energy-related building characteristics, and their energy consumption and expenditures. Commercial buildings include all buildings in which at least half of the floorspace is used for a purpose that is not residential, industrial, or agricultural, so they include building types that might not traditionally be considered "commercial," such as schools, correctional institutions, and buildings used for religious worship. CBECS data is used in LEED energy credits. data, which happens to date back to 2003. Option 2 in v2009 also ultimately references the 2003 CBECS. If CBECS is not updated soon then LEED will have little choice but to continue referencing the same CBECS version it does now, i.e., the 2003 data. I would expect this to apply to both Option 1 and Option 2 in LEED 2012.

So, although there are no guarantees, I believe your safest bet is to stick with #2, and select an EUI target relative to CBECS 2003.

You are still a LEED Certified Building. When you go to re-certify under EB-OM, your score on the energy credits will be based on the new installation, which I would hope is more efficient than the existing equipment.

If you are undertaking a major renovation in addition to moving the central plant, you might be able to use LEED - NC instead of renewing your EB-OM Certification.

What is considered a Major Renovation, is there a certain square ft criteria ? Because there is going to be a major renovation as well as relocation of central plant.

Do you know what BD-C is with regards to LEEDs

Thank You

Hi Reynaldo,

You can see the USGBC's Minimum Program Requirements for LEED NC 2009 here. 

You can also see the Rating System Selection Guidance document.

It sounds like maybe it is an area issue if you are only including the regularly occupied areas.

Here is the rule on area measurements, as well as the link the Licensed Profession Guide to Energy Star (which is were the below came from):

"The user-entered value for area must be the gross total area of the building. This value is measured from the principal exterior surfaces of the enclosing fixed walls and includes all supporting functions such as kitchens and break rooms used by staff, storage areas, administrative areas, elevators, stairwells, atria, vent shafts, etc.
Additionally, the following must be noted:
- Existing atriums should only include the base floor area that they occupy.
- Interstitial (plenum) space between floors should not be included in total.
- Gross floor areaGross floor area (based on ASHRAE definition) is the sum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building, including basements, mezzanine and intermediate‐floored tiers, and penthouses wi th headroom height of 7.5 ft (2.2 meters) or greater. Measurements m ust be taken from the exterior 39 faces of exterior walls OR from the centerline of walls separating buildings, OR (for LEED CI certifying spaces) from the centerline of walls separating spaces. Excludes non‐en closed (or non‐enclosable) roofed‐over areas such as exterior covered walkways, porches, terraces or steps, roof overhangs, and similar features. Excludes air shafts, pipe trenches, and chimneys. Excludes floor area dedicated to the parking and circulation of motor vehicles. ( Note that while excluded features may not be part of the gross floor area, and therefore technically not a part of the LEED project building, they may still be required to be a part of the overall LEED project and subject to MPRs, prerequisites, and credits.) is not the same as leasable space. Leasable space is a subset of a building‟s gross floor area.

www.energystar.gov/ia/business/evaluate.../pm_lp_guide.pdf

Nena:

Can you clarify what's about to happen? Is your ENERGY STAR label (plaque) about to expire, or is your ENERGY STAR score about to drop below 69 (the LEED minimum)?

Mike

Both. The label is expiring and we will not be able to renew it because the building will not score as well this year.

Nena

There are a couple of things going on here, but the bigger hurdle is the IT space. Have you determined if the space meets the definition of a Data Center in ENERGY STAR? A Data Center space applies to spaces specifically designed and equipped to meet the needs of high density computing equipment such as server racks used for data storage and processing. These facilities have uninterruptible power supplies, designated HVAC, and raised floor space.

If your room does not meet the definition of a data center but also has separate cooling systems and different operating hours than rest of the building, the room can be entered as a separate space in Portfolio Manager using the Office space type. In the space details, enter the weekly operating hours, zero workers, and a number of PCs that approximates the number of servers in the space. AND you won't need to worry about submeteringSubmetering is used to determine the proportion of energy use within a building attributable to specific end uses or subsystems (e.g., the heating subsystem of an HVAC system)..

As for the bad summer, it is important to remember that ENERGY STAR takes into account your building's energy performance by location and climate, so an increase in cooling demands for your building will be normalized according to similar buildings in similar climate zones. Therefore, I'd encourage you to continue to update your Portfolio Manager account monthly and track your progress if you haven't continued to do so.

But the bottom line is if your building is below a 69, it's a no-go for LEED-EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems..

I hope this helps.

Hannah

Cynthia:

I'm not sure I completely understand your question. There might be two issues here:

1) that you do not have a full 12 months of metered energy data for your building for all energy types (a requirements / compliance issue), or

2) that your energy bills do not separate out the usage of your building (a documentation issue)

#2 is much easier to fix than #1. Is #2 the only issue here?

Mike

Thank you Mike. The issue is #2, the energy bills are not separated out for my building.

Please, could someone answer what to do for issue #2, when the energy bills reflect an entire campus rather than the single building we are trying to certify? Thanks.

Kimberly,

As long as the project building has a separate meter for all energy sources, it doesn't matter necessarily if the bills are for the campus. In this case, I've seen project teams in the past submit the monthly readings from the building's meters, along with an explanation of how the data is read, verify calibration of those meters as is always required, etc, and explain why the values on the bills are different from the values used in Energy Star.

You may want to reach out to Energy Star directly since it's important to get the space classifications right, but to me the fermentation room sounds like it would be more energy intensive than a warehouse space. Sounds like "Other" to me, but again I'd suggest verifying with Energy Star.

The energy usage should be based on whatever is coming from outside the property, so if there are two separate steam meters then both would be included, even if some of the steam is used for cooling equipmentThe equipment used for cooling room air in a building for human comfort. rather than heating.

If one of these was a submeterSubmetering is used to determine the proportion of energy or water use within a building attributable to specific end uses such as tenant spaces, or subsystems such as the heating component of an HVAC system. to the other, then only the main utility level meter would be included.

From your description of separate meters, both would be included in Portfolio Manager.

Within the "Other" category in Energy Star, there are actually two options for the subclassification: "Education" and "College/University - Campus Level".

I can't find the official definition for the "Campus Level" designation, but my understanding is that is the average EUI for all buildings across a campus (labs, dorms, classrooms, gyms, offices, etc), and that it would not be acceptable to try to apply that value to a single, specific building.

The definition for the general "education" classification in Energy Star does seem as though it would fit your situation (from http://www.eia.gov/emeu/cbecs/building_types.html#Education):

"Buildings used for academic or technical classroom instruction, such as elementary, middle, or high schools, and classroom buildings on college or university campuses. Buildings on education campuses for which the main use is not classroom are included in the category relating to their use. For example, administration buildings are part of "Office," dormitories are "LodgingLodging are facilities that provide overnight accommodations to customers or guests, including hotels, motels, inns and resorts.," and libraries are "Public Assembly."

The source EUI for this space type in Energy Star is close to the "Education - General" option within the Case 2 Calculator.

So, it seems like maybe you'll need to take a look at energy efficiency opportunities in your building to get the EUI down.

Jason:

In principle that would be fine - LEED does not care how your metering is set up, just that you're measuring (and recording) the energy flowing into your building.

My one suggestion is to ensure that the quality of the metering and data logging is good enough. If you're measuring supply & return temperatures and water flows separately, just make sure you're doing it properly and robustly so you'll get accuracy and precision similar to what a dedicated, unified BTUA unit of energy consumed by or delivered to a building. A Btu is an acronym for British thermal unit and is defined as the amount of energy required to increase the temperature of 1 pound of water by 1 degree Fahrenheit, at normal atmospheric pressure. Energy consumption is expressed in Btu to allow for consumption comparisons among fuels that are measured in different units. meter would provide.

Mike

John:

This issue can get real tricky real quick, so I'm not surprised it's come up. Before we get too far into the weeds here's a general rule of thumb: if you can find a solution using existing, published guidance then you should try that, as it will minimize your risk of delaying the LEED review.

This rule may sound obvious, but what makes it complicated for your topic is that several pieces of guidance out there might offer ideas or pieces of a solution but they're in different places:

1) ENERGY STAR's rules about how to treat multiple buildings

2) USGBC's rules on multiple buildings, as described here:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2326

3) USGBC's rules related to the MPRs, which define which projects are a good fit for LEED itself:
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=2102

So I'd suggest skimming each of these resources and seeing if any pre-approved solution jumps out at you. If it doesn't, then check in here again and we can take a deeper dive.

The historical energy use data of the project building can include three years of consecutive data within the previous six years of the start of the performance period. Energy use data from three comparable buildings must inculde two consecutive years.

To normalize your building's historical data with comparable buildings I would use similar years for both. For example, use 2006, 2007 & 2008 energy data from your building + 2007 & 2008 from three comparable buildings to create a baseline.

Also, LEED Online only asks for one year of energy use data from comparable buildings even though the LEED reference guide asks project teams to gather 2 years of data.

Don't know what's going on with the online calculator.

Thanks for your response David. I should have clarified that we are doing the CaGBC version of LEED EB:O&M, so we don't have an online calculator, we have an offline excel calculator that's pretty buggy and causing some headaches. We'll continue to wait for CaGBC's answer on that though.

Omer, office buildings outside the U.S. can (and should) use Energy Star Portfolio Manager to benchmark their performance.

1. Do international projects still compare with the US average as their baseline EUI? It will not make any senses, so where can I adjust climate data to make sure its comparing with similar weather condition for an international project?

2. What if our building(11F total) has three floors unoccupied which means our total annual energy use will be a lot lower than 100% occupied? Can you deduct the gross floor areaGross floor area (based on ASHRAE definition) is the sum of the floor areas of the spaces within the building, including basements, mezzanine and intermediate‐floored tiers, and penthouses wi th headroom height of 7.5 ft (2.2 meters) or greater. Measurements m ust be taken from the exterior 39 faces of exterior walls OR from the centerline of walls separating buildings, OR (for LEED CI certifying spaces) from the centerline of walls separating spaces. Excludes non‐en closed (or non‐enclosable) roofed‐over areas such as exterior covered walkways, porches, terraces or steps, roof overhangs, and similar features. Excludes air shafts, pipe trenches, and chimneys. Excludes floor area dedicated to the parking and circulation of motor vehicles. ( Note that while excluded features may not be part of the gross floor area, and therefore technically not a part of the LEED project building, they may still be required to be a part of the overall LEED project and subject to MPRs, prerequisites, and credits.) of these 3 floors from total building gross floor area?

Tristan - Do I understand correctly that office buildings outside the US can no longer use Portfolio Manager to benchmark and must now use the calculator? The October update and the current LEED On-line forms appear to indicate that Option 1 is no longer an option.

I've just done a trial run with the calculator but it is telling me N/A. We're close to full points in Portfolio manager with an EUI of 214 but don't appear to meet the pre-requisite (under Option 1 of the calculator) because the adjusted national average for office space is 182. I suspect this is because the underground parking is included in my 214 but not in the 182.

Michael,
That would make guaranteeing a Gold certification significantly harder wouldn't it? No worries, see the USGBC response to my query on the same issue below.
"Good news. Looks like it was just a mix up.
"Thanks for your question about EAp2 and EAc1 for EB projects outside of the U.S. The language stating that Case 1 was not available to projects outside of the U.S. was erroneously included in the Rating System with ACPs. The case IS available to projects outside of the U.S. and the box stating otherwise has been removed from the Rating System.""

For the full post you can go here - http://www.leeduser.com/topic/international-projects-alternative-complia...

Hello S W:

I can start by offering some basic guidance to this, and we can get more detailed if we need to. Let's break this down to the key issues:

1) Keep in mind that if a given building CAN be scored using Case 1, then it MUST be. Since you mentioned that some of your buildings are offices, they cannot use Case 2 as you're proposing.

2) More generally, I recommend scoring each distinct building in a campus project separately because that's the approach most likely to be approved in the LEED review. Some buildings will use Case 1 and others will use Case 2, just like if they were not on the same campus.

Thanks Mike,
That makes sense. The campus is actually a training center so almost all the buildings are mixed use in some way, for example the office facilities also have educational classrooms so its almost at a 50/50 split. In this case do you think I can use the Case 2 calculator and break each building down into the space types that it includes? We are also having difficulty because there is no "Education-University Buildings" space type in the Case 2 calculator. I found a CIRCredit Interpretation Ruling. Used by design team members experiencing difficulties in the application of a LEED prerequisite or credit to a project. Typically, difficulties arise when specific issues are not directly addressed by LEED information/guide from 7/31/2009 that states the Education K-12 School option can be used instead if the building can be justified as instructional space. So if possible, I would like to break down our Office/Education buildings into "Office" and "K-12 Education."

So as long as each building within our LEED boundary meets the requirement, even if its through different options, it should still be acceptable right? So we will basically have separate documentation for each of our buildings on campus.

Thanks so much!

S W:

This can get tricky, but you're almost on the right track. For each of your mixed-use buildings, think of whether each usage type itself is ratable in ENERGY STAR. The ratable types are listed at this site:

http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=eligibility.bus_portfoliomanager_s...

In your example, both office and K-12 are ratable types, so that building can (and must) be scored using Case 1. Try that within Portfolio Manager and it should work; no need to use the USGBC's calculator.

If that doesn't work then something else is going on here and you can check back in.

Ben:

I see some time has passed since your post. If it's not too late for me to help, could you tell me a couple of things:

1) have you looked up ENERGY STAR's official definition of "warehouse" to see how closely that matches your building?

2) where is your warehouse located, and what's the average outside temperature in summer and winter?

Dawn:

Here are a couple of rules-of-thumb that may help clarify your situation:

EAp2/c1 - generally it's OK to use the ENERGY STAR label in the "streamlined path" (documentation shortcut) as long as the label is current, meaning awarded within the 12 months preceding the date you apply for your LEED review. You can also use the ES score corresponding to that label. However, if you want to use a higher ES score that reflects improvements after the label date you would need to provide the ordinary full documentation (no streamlining shortcut).

EQp1 - in EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. any performance period may be extended backward in time up to 2 years preceding the date of your LEED review application. See the introduction of the Ref Guide for details.

John, is this a home you are talking about? I am surprised that you can attempt LEED-EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. for a home.

Assuming that is possible, I don't see how you can cut a corner here, no. If you have a good Energy Star rating you should have an easy time of it, though.

Is this Energy Star for Homes in the U.S. that you're talking about, by the way? I thought it used a HERS IndexA scoring system established by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) in which a home built to the specifications of the HERS Reference Home (based on the 2006 International Energy Conservation Code) scores a HERS Index of 100, while a net zero energy home scores a HERS Index of 0. The lower a home's HERS Index, the more energy efficient it is in comparison to the HERS Reference Home., not a 5-star score.

Nell, My guess it that Portfolio Manager will deduct the amount that goes back to the utility from the total amount produced, to land at the amount consumed by the building. You might want to monkey around with the inputs to verify this.

Thanks Jenny, after more reading it does seem like LEED is only interested in solar consumed by the building. I will make sure my numbers reflect that data.