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LEED v4
Existing Buildings
Water Efficiency
Cooling tower water use

LEED CREDIT

EBOM-v4 WEc3: Cooling tower water use 2-3 points

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Ashwini Arun

WSP
Senior Sustainability Manager

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Requirements

Establishment
For cooling towers and evaporative condensers, conduct a potable water analysis within five years of submission for certification, measuring at least the five control parameters listed in Table 1.
Table 1. Maximum concentrations for parameters in condenser water
Parameter Maximum level
Ca (as CaCO3) 1,000 ppm
Total alkalinity 1,000 ppm
SiO2 100 ppm
Cl- 250 ppm
Conductivity 2000 µS/cm
ppm = parts per million µS/cm = micro siemens per centimeter Calculate the number of cooling tower cycles by dividing the maximum allowed concentration level of each parameter by the actual concentration level of each parameter found in the potable makeup water. Limit cooling tower cycles to avoid exceeding maximum values for any of these parameters.
Table 2. Points for cooling tower cycles
Cooling tower cycles Points (except data centers) Points (data centers)
Maximum number of cycles achieved without exceeding any filtration levels or affecting operation of condenser water system (up to maximum of 10 cycles) 2 2
Achieve a minimum 10 cycles by increasing the level of treatment in condenser or make-up water
OR
Achieve the number of cycles for 1 point and use a minimum 20% recycled nonpotable water
3 4
Performance
None
Pilot Alternative Compliance Path available
A pilot alternative compliance path is available for this credit to certain project types without cooling towers. For more information, please visit the Pilot Credit Library Pilot ACPs: No Cooling Tower - alternative compliance path (BD+C) No Cooling Tower - alternative compliance path (O+M) No Cooling Tower - alternative compliance path (O+M: Data Centers)
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Addenda

7/1/2015Updated: 7/1/2015
Reference Guide Correction
Description of change:
Edit the guidance to read:
"Group Approach
All buildings in the group project may be documented as one as long as all buildings in the group are served by the same cooling tower(s). If different buildings in the group are served by different cooling towers, submit this credit separately for each building in the group.
Campus Approach
Eligible. All buildings must use the same cooling tower."
Campus Applicable
Yes
Internationally Applicable:
Yes
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LEEDuser expert

Ashwini Arun

WSP
Senior Sustainability Manager

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USGBC logo

© Copyright U.S. Green Building Council, Inc. All rights reserved.

Requirements

Establishment
For cooling towers and evaporative condensers, conduct a potable water analysis within five years of submission for certification, measuring at least the five control parameters listed in Table 1.
Table 1. Maximum concentrations for parameters in condenser water
Parameter Maximum level
Ca (as CaCO3) 1,000 ppm
Total alkalinity 1,000 ppm
SiO2 100 ppm
Cl- 250 ppm
Conductivity 2000 µS/cm
ppm = parts per million µS/cm = micro siemens per centimeter Calculate the number of cooling tower cycles by dividing the maximum allowed concentration level of each parameter by the actual concentration level of each parameter found in the potable makeup water. Limit cooling tower cycles to avoid exceeding maximum values for any of these parameters.
Table 2. Points for cooling tower cycles
Cooling tower cycles Points (except data centers) Points (data centers)
Maximum number of cycles achieved without exceeding any filtration levels or affecting operation of condenser water system (up to maximum of 10 cycles) 2 2
Achieve a minimum 10 cycles by increasing the level of treatment in condenser or make-up water
OR
Achieve the number of cycles for 1 point and use a minimum 20% recycled nonpotable water
3 4
Performance
None
Pilot Alternative Compliance Path available
A pilot alternative compliance path is available for this credit to certain project types without cooling towers. For more information, please visit the Pilot Credit Library Pilot ACPs: No Cooling Tower - alternative compliance path (BD+C) No Cooling Tower - alternative compliance path (O+M) No Cooling Tower - alternative compliance path (O+M: Data Centers)

In the end, LEED is all about documentation. LEEDuser’s Documentation Toolkit, for premium members only, saves you time and helps you avoid mistakes with:

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  • Guidance documents on arcane LEED issues.
  • Sample templates to help guide your narratives and LEED Online submissions.
  • Examples of actual submissions from certified LEED projects.

LEEDuser expert

Ashwini Arun

WSP
Senior Sustainability Manager

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