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Exceed WEp1 requirements
This credit rewards project buildings that exceed the requirements specified in WEp1: Minimum Indoor Plumbing Fixture and Fitting Efficiency. Additional points are earned if the performance calculations indicate that indoor potable waterPotable water meets or exceeds EPA's drinking water quality standards and is approved for human consumption by the state or local authorities having jurisdiction; it may be supplied from wells or municipal water systems. usage is at least 10% less than indicated in the credit baseline. Projects may be awarded an innovation point for...
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41 Comments
Custodial Sinks and Faucets
I'd like to clarify whether this credit only applies to those domestic fixtures used by tenants or if faucets used by custodial staff also need to be included?
It's misleading that the janitorial sinks are included in the Fixture drop-down list on the LEED Credit Form. The "unofficial" guidance is that janitorial sinks may be excluded from calculations. The reason is that when you're using a slop sink, you're not necessarily concerned with a flow rate because it's not being run for a certain period of time repeatedly throughout the day, it's being used for a specific purpose like filling up a mop bucket. USGBC gives you the option to include those sinks, but you would have to use some creative accounting to figure out the appropriate way to include the usage in the calculations. Bottom line, I've worked on plenty of v2009 projects that excluded janitorial sinks and never had any problems.
Thanks for the help Jason. Much appreciated.
Dual Flush Converters
Would the USGBC accept a dual flush converter as compliant vs installing new toilets?
Yes, you can replace/retrofit your existing hardware with a dual-flushA type of water-saving toilet that gives a choice of flushes depending on the type of waste solid or liquid. flushometerA device that utilizes pressure from the water supply system, rather than the force of gravity, to discharge water into the bowl of a toilet or urinal. It is designed to use less water than conventional flush toilets.. There are two things to keep in mind:
1) Since you are replacing the flushometer for the purposes of your LEED project, and since the retrofit is not considered a major plumbing renovation (i.e. no pipes or tile replaced), you are still allowed to count these retrofitted fixture as pre-1993 fixtures in your calculations.
2) Make sure to do a little research to ensure that your existing toilet bowls will still be able to flush properly with a reduced volume of water. Some older toilets that are designed to use 3.5 gpf will not function properly when only 1.6 gpf or lower is used.
How to account for telecommuters
This might not be the most appropriate credit category to ask this question but it does affect the calculations for this credit. Our project has 21 full time telecommuters. To account for this I put 21 part time employees that worked 0 hours a week in Plf3. This gave the appropriate FTEFull-time equivalent (FTE) represents a regular building occupant who spends 8 hours a day (40 hours a week) in the project building. Part-time or overtime occupants have FTE values based on their hours per day divided by 8 (or hours per week divided by 40). Transient Occupants can be reported as either daily totals or as part of the FTE. Residential occupancy should be estimated based on the number and size of units. Core and Shell projects should refer to the default occupancy table in the Reference Guide appendix. All occupant assumptions must be consistent across all credits in all categories. number, however the LEED reviewers did not like this solution. I didn't explain in the original submission that I was accounting for the telecommuters with my "0" and that may have been the problem.
It created a problem with this credit since now the FTE is considered wrong. Any ideas on how to go about calculating FTE to include telecommuters?
Thanks.
Ben, perhaps this question has an obvious answer that I am not thinking of (SSc4?), but why do you feel you need to include telecommuters in the occupant figures for the building? Are they ever there? If they only show up occasionally, would they be better represented as transients/guests?
I agree with Tristan.
Telecommuters who don't go to the building should not be classified as part time employees.
Determine how many weekly hours each individual will plan to be in the building. A person in the building 10 hours per week counts as .25 FTEFull-time equivalent (FTE) represents a regular building occupant who spends 8 hours a day (40 hours a week) in the project building. Part-time or overtime occupants have FTE values based on their hours per day divided by 8 (or hours per week divided by 40). Transient Occupants can be reported as either daily totals or as part of the FTE. Residential occupancy should be estimated based on the number and size of units. Core and Shell projects should refer to the default occupancy table in the Reference Guide appendix. All occupant assumptions must be consistent across all credits in all categories. (10 hours / 40 hours). Add everyone up. If you don't get to a total of 1 FTE you are not allowed to achieve optional IEQ credits - per the LEED MPR Supplemental guidance.
Hope this helps.
Ah, yes that is a rather painfully obvious answer. Thanks for the help!
LEED NC TO LEED OM
My building initially received one LEED point for Water Use reduction of 20% under LEED NC V2 however, after looking at the original documentation it shows that the actual reduction was 25.2% from the baseline case. My question is, in order to receive 4 points for this credit instead of 3 how should I file for this credit in LEED Online? I am not aloud to upload supporting documents and my scorecard says 20% reduction.
Thanks again,
Avkash, the requirements and documentation for LEED-EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. are different from LEED-NC. You need to follow the EBOM requirements and see how it goes!
Tristan, Thanks for the words; I figured this credit out a few weeks ago and I appreciate all of
your help. In order to achieve this credit, we collected all of the original cut sheets and compared them to each bathroom to see whether or not any upgrades were done. We then had a 3rd party come in to formally authenticate the reduction and create a narrative for LEEDonline. I am hopeful that this is
enough to be compliant for this credit.
Thank you again for all of your help.
Issues with LEED Online and WE p 1 and WE c 2 and PI form 3
The FTEFull-time equivalent (FTE) represents a regular building occupant who spends 8 hours a day (40 hours a week) in the project building. Part-time or overtime occupants have FTE values based on their hours per day divided by 8 (or hours per week divided by 40). Transient Occupants can be reported as either daily totals or as part of the FTE. Residential occupancy should be estimated based on the number and size of units. Core and Shell projects should refer to the default occupancy table in the Reference Guide appendix. All occupant assumptions must be consistent across all credits in all categories. numbers I enter in PI form 3 are not being reflected in the WE forms. Anyone else having this issue?
Also, on WE p 1 how can it be that the form is calculating the percent water use reduction in all figures to be higher than either of the figures for percent reduction of water use in flush fixtures and percent reduction of water use in flow fixtures?
Finally, should I expect any of the the percent water use reduction figures to change if the FTE numbers and/or gender percents change? Right now in LEED Online, the percents don't seem to change at all when I do change the FTE number and gender percents.
Your help is much appreciated. Thank you!
With any LEED Online glitch like this I would always first check to make sure that you're not using a BETA form? (Marked on the bottom.) If so, ask GBCI to update it via the "feedback" link.
100% WATER CONSUMPTION FROM TREATED HARVESTED RAIN WATER
The project I am working on is using 100% of its water demand by collecting rain water in a man made lake in its boundary and then treating it in a water treatment facility,also in its site.Does it contribute in saying that "100% potable waterPotable water meets or exceeds EPA's drinking water quality standards and is approved for human consumption by the state or local authorities having jurisdiction; it may be supplied from wells or municipal water systems. demand is replaced with treated water collected by rain water harvesting" and claim points for it??
Please advice.
Yes, I don't see any reason this can't work. Is there any concern that you have about this strategy?
My concern is that though the water source is 'harvested rain water' which is 100% non-potable .However,when it has to be used 20% of it is still used in the same form for irrigation etc. but 80% of it is treated to be potable and then it is used.The credit requirement says that 'to maximize indoor plumbing fixture and fitting efficiency within buildings' .The reduction is not due to efficient fittings but 'rain water harvesting 'strategy.Can I claim exemplary performanceIn LEED, certain credits have established thresholds beyond basic credit achievement. Meeting these thresholds can earn additional points through Innovation in Design (ID) or Innovation in Operations (IO) points. As a general rule of thumb, ID credits for exemplary performance are awarded for doubling the credit requirements and/or achieving the next incremental percentage threshold. However, this rule varies on a case by case basis, so check the credit requirements. for this credit?Sorry about so may confusing questions.But I am really not sure how to approach it.
The credit is focused on efficiency, but harvested rainwater is an allowable way of earning the credit. You should be able to earn an EP point if you meet the threshold.
The concerned project building is a five star hotel. Table3 in WE p1 mentions the default fixture usage for FTEFull-time equivalent (FTE) represents a regular building occupant who spends 8 hours a day (40 hours a week) in the project building. Part-time or overtime occupants have FTE values based on their hours per day divided by 8 (or hours per week divided by 40). Transient Occupants can be reported as either daily totals or as part of the FTE. Residential occupancy should be estimated based on the number and size of units. Core and Shell projects should refer to the default occupancy table in the Reference Guide appendix. All occupant assumptions must be consistent across all credits in all categories. and residents separately. In which category, shall we include hotel guests?
I would put hotel guests in a resident category, but you'd want to make sure this is appropriate for the type of use you see in the hotel.
Grey Water for Flushing
Can we claim the savings by using Grey water for flushing in this credit?
Yes, according to page 83 of the LEED-EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. Reference Guide, graywater1. Defined by the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) in its Appendix G, titled "Gray water Systems for Single-Family Dwellings," as "untreated household wastewater which has not come into contact with toilet waste. Grey water includes used water from bathtubs, showers, bathroom wash basins, and water from clothes-washer and laundry tubs. It shall not include wastewater from kitchen sinks or dishwashers." 2. The International Plumbing Code (IPC) defines graywater in its Appendix C, titled "Graywater Recycling Systems," as "wastewater discharged from lavatories, bathtubs, showers, clothes washers, and laundry sinks." Some states and local authorities allow kitchen sink wastewater to be included in graywater. Other differences with the UPC and IPC definitions can probably be found in state and local codes. Project teams should comply with the graywater definitions as established by the authority having jurisdiction in their areas. is an implementation option for this credit.
Yes, but until the last time I checked, the submittal form on LEEDonline did not accommidate this, so you can expect to submit additional information to support your claim.
we are looking at exactly the same issue and to account for this in the LEED online form, we are assigning a 0 value to the flush rate for the toilets and urinals, which use only graywater1. Defined by the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) in its Appendix G, titled "Gray water Systems for Single-Family Dwellings," as "untreated household wastewater which has not come into contact with toilet waste. Grey water includes used water from bathtubs, showers, bathroom wash basins, and water from clothes-washer and laundry tubs. It shall not include wastewater from kitchen sinks or dishwashers." 2. The International Plumbing Code (IPC) defines graywater in its Appendix C, titled "Graywater Recycling Systems," as "wastewater discharged from lavatories, bathtubs, showers, clothes washers, and laundry sinks." Some states and local authorities allow kitchen sink wastewater to be included in graywater. Other differences with the UPC and IPC definitions can probably be found in state and local codes. Project teams should comply with the graywater definitions as established by the authority having jurisdiction in their areas.. I read somewhere that this is an acceptable way of approaching this, provided this claim is supplemented with additional information, which confirm this. Am I correct?
In LEED-NC, you have to submit greywater or rainwater reuse as an alternative compliance path—the calculator won't accommodate them. I would guess that this is the same in EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems., and that jerry-rigging the calculator to make it do what you want will not be acceptable. But I am just guessing. Might be worth a note to GBCI via the "feedback" form.
thank you, Tristan. Have sent a message to LEED online and will provide feedback to LEEDUser, once clarified.
further to the discussion on accounting for graywater1. Defined by the Uniform Plumbing Code (UPC) in its Appendix G, titled "Gray water Systems for Single-Family Dwellings," as "untreated household wastewater which has not come into contact with toilet waste. Grey water includes used water from bathtubs, showers, bathroom wash basins, and water from clothes-washer and laundry tubs. It shall not include wastewater from kitchen sinks or dishwashers." 2. The International Plumbing Code (IPC) defines graywater in its Appendix C, titled "Graywater Recycling Systems," as "wastewater discharged from lavatories, bathtubs, showers, clothes washers, and laundry sinks." Some states and local authorities allow kitchen sink wastewater to be included in graywater. Other differences with the UPC and IPC definitions can probably be found in state and local codes. Project teams should comply with the graywater definitions as established by the authority having jurisdiction in their areas. in WEP1 and WE2 I sent a query to LEED online. For the benefit of others, i have included below our query and the response from LEED online, which clarifies the matter:
Inquiry: around 50% of the total flush fixtures installed in the building use only non-potable reclaimed cooling tower water. Can we account for this by assigning a 0 value in the column "installed flush rate" or do we have to use an alternative compliance path?
Response: The current WE Prerequisite 1 form does not take into account the use of nonpotable waterNonpotable water: does not meet EPA's drinking water quality standards and is not approved for human consumption by the state or local authorities having jurisdiction. Water that is unsafe or unpalatable to drink because it contains pollutants, contaminants, minerals, or infective agents.. To account for nonpotable water use, in addition to completing the tables with the occupancy, fixture, and fitting data, please use the Alternative Compliance path section of the forms (WEp1 and WEc3 if applicable) to provide additional documentation/calculations to support the additional savings claimed from non-potable water use (including but not limited to system capacity to show that the nonpotable water is sufficient to meet demand and the final water use savings percentage). By using the Alternative Compliance path section, the points documented indicated on the form will update according to the number of attempted points.
WEc2 Form
I'm having problems with the WEc2 form, I can't enter any numbers in to the form where it has zeros. Do you have to complete the WEp1 form before that form becomes active?
Yep, that's exactly right. The USGBC will not accept any sort of custom calculations for WEp1 so they really want to ensure that everyone uses the calculators they provide in the credit form to show that the prerequisite is met before attempting WEc2.
My building was completed after 1993 which in WEp1 I selected option 2, then when I go to WEc2, I cannot adjust the numbers that are set at zero, does this mean I would have to adjust WEp1 to use option 4 to then use WEc2?
building complete 1993 or later
I am confused by the table above with the tab that says building completed 1993 or later its says the baseline is 160%, the table also has a tab that says fixtures installed after 1993 or later, and the baseline for that is 120%. If the building was completed after 93' then the fixtures would of had to be installed after 93' as well. So why are these percentages different? Could someone please explain because the above explanation does not answer my question.
Rachel, the diagram has been revised recently, so please take a look and see if it makes more sense now. The previous diagram did not accurately explain the distinction between the different baselines. You only need to think about this issue with the baseline if you're using the Option 4 compliance path and doing performance calculations and even then, the LEED credit form does all the work for you.
Buildings that were built before the Energy Policy Act of 1992 had different building codes to follow. It's assumed that they have fixtures that use more water, so LEED uses the higher baseline (160%) when performing calculations to allow them more breathing room. So, if your building is pre-1993, the higher baseline is used and if it is post-1993, the lower baseline is used. Another common scenario is a pre-1993 building that has some of the original fixtures and others that have been retrofitted in the last 15 years; in this case, the baseline is pro-rated to be somewhere between 160% and 120%, based on the relevant number of fixtures and when they were installed.
"Building Completed 1993 or Later" Tab on Graph
The graph includes a tab for buildings completed in 1993 or later. For such buildings isn't the baseline 120%, as the plumbing system for such buildings was "substantially completed in 1993 or later?" (cited language is from p. 81 of LEED reference guide).
Shouldn't the tab say "Building Completed Before 1993" or something akin to that language?
The language for this credit is notoriously confusing, so thank you for helping us to fine-tune our explanation! There are several options to document compliance with this credit depending on the age of the project building and/or plumbing system.
If your building was completed after 1/1/1993, it is assumed that it meets all relevant UPCUniform Plumbing Code/IPCInternational Plumbing Code codes and you can earn one point without performing additional calculations.
The same situation applies if all relevant building fixtures/fittings were replaced after 1/1/1993.
If your building was completed before 1993, you need to use Option 4 to analyze all of your building fixtures and use the data to calculate the potable waterPotable water meets or exceeds EPA's drinking water quality standards and is approved for human consumption by the state or local authorities having jurisdiction; it may be supplied from wells or municipal water systems. consumption and compare it to the LEED baseline.
As you've pointed out, the baseline is calculated at 160% of UPC/IPC codes for pre-1993 fixtures and 120% for post-1993 fixtures; if your building has fixtures from before and after 1993, a weighted average is used to determine the LEED baseline.
So, the credit option is designed to help you account for older and newer fixtures and develop a comprehensive picture of potable water consumption, regardless of whether your building was completed prior to 1993.
...mmm...different countries have different codes also at different times. just food for thought.
Our project building was built in 2000, therefore if I can provide an inventory of all fixtures meeting or exceeding the UPCUniform Plumbing Code/IPCInternational Plumbing Code standards I achieve the WEp1. Above Jason stated in 2nd paragraph you can earn one point w/o performing additional calculations, does he mean you can earn the pre-req, not one point?
Prerequisite and one point as I understand it Paul. If your fixtures are UPCUniform Plumbing Code/IPCInternational Plumbing Code compliant, you will be able to document a reduction of greater than 10% of the EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. baseline (which is UPC/IPC + 20%).
Are there any more recent understandings regarding this topic? We are experiencing the same questions as addressed above. In the WEp1 form we found the following note:
"Note: To earn WE Credit 2, complete either the LEED Design & Construction Streamlined Path option OR the Performance Calculation option. The other streamlined paths are not applicable to WE Credit 2."
Based on this note, it is our understanding that projects using options 2 and 3 are not eligible to earn points in WEc2. Is this your interpretation?
If so, the language within the checklists tab of WEp1 stating "Project buildings built in 1993 or later will automatically earn additional points under WEc2...." is misleading. Your input or feedback is appreciated!
Leah, the language is a bit confusing, but what we tried to express was that buildings that are built to current code will have water consumption performance levels that are good enough to earn at least one point under Option 4 without any type of retrofits required. If your building meets all current UPCUniform Plumbing Code/IPCInternational Plumbing Code standards, you technically qualify to use either Option 2, Option 3 or Option 4. However, if you pick one of the streamlined paths (Option 2 or Option 3), you give up the opportunity to try to earn additional points under WEc2.
So, in theory, a project building built in 2005 could demonstrate a reduction in potable waterPotable water meets or exceeds EPA's drinking water quality standards and is approved for human consumption by the state or local authorities having jurisdiction; it may be supplied from wells or municipal water systems. consumption of 45% below the LEED baseline, but if the project team didn't feel like doing all the legwork to conduct the fixture inventory and perform the calculations, they could just use Option 2 to show that they meet the prerequisite. In doing so, they would leave a lot of points on the table, but even though it's a good idea, there's no requirement to show exactly how well your building is performing for WEp1 if you meet the criteria to use Option 2 or Option 3.
Process water for EP point
In the Reference Guide (page 84) under WEp1, it says that process waterProcess water is used for industrial processes and building systems such as cooling towers, boilers, and chillers. It can also refer to water used in operational processes, such as dishwashing, clothes washing, and ice making. appliances like dishwashers and washing machines don't count under WEp1, but may be counted under WEc2 -- but only in considering Exemplary PerformanceIn LEED, certain credits have established thresholds beyond basic credit achievement. Meeting these thresholds can earn additional points through Innovation in Design (ID) or Innovation in Operations (IO) points. As a general rule of thumb, ID credits for exemplary performance are awarded for doubling the credit requirements and/or achieving the next incremental percentage threshold. However, this rule varies on a case by case basis, so check the credit requirements.. And interestingly, this is not mentioned in the Reference Guide under WEc2.
My understanding of that notation in the Reference Guide is that it allows for the consideration of exceptionally low-volume appliances in the context of an Exemplary PerformanceIn LEED, certain credits have established thresholds beyond basic credit achievement. Meeting these thresholds can earn additional points through Innovation in Design (ID) or Innovation in Operations (IO) points. As a general rule of thumb, ID credits for exemplary performance are awarded for doubling the credit requirements and/or achieving the next incremental percentage threshold. However, this rule varies on a case by case basis, so check the credit requirements. credit.
However, it should not be read to *require* the inclusion of those appliances or similar in the calculations for WEp1, WEc2, or an Exemplary Performance credit. A building can certainly earn any of the above without addressing such appliances; the standard suite of fixtures are what dictate performance.
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