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Modified from process water credit found in LEED for Schools
This prerequisite and credit is a modified version of the 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. credit originally available in LEED for Schools. This pilot credit is based on the prerequisite proposed for LEED 2012.
Credit Submittals
General
- Register for Pilot Credit(s) here.
- Register a username at LEEDuser.com, and participate in online forum
- Submit feedback survey; supply PDF of your survey/confirmation of completion with credit documentation
Credit Specific
NC, CS, Schools, Retail NC, CI, Retail CI, Healthcare:
- Provide a schedule indicating ALL process water equipment. Indicate which types of equipment that are being installed on the project are applicable to the credit and the quantity of equipment which is to be installed. For Healthcare, Schools, Retail and Hospitality projects, include the items in Tables 3& 4 as well.
- Provide a floor plan indicating the location of all process water equipment.
- Submit one-line diagrams of all piping systems associated with the referenced equipment, inclusive of design flow rates for both supply and effluent.
- Provide approved manufacturer's information (i.e. cut sheets, shop drawings, submittals) for each piece of equipment applicable to this credit, indicating at a minimum water usage, capacity of equipment, and energy star rating (if applicable).
EBOM:
Provide a copy of the purchasing policy, which must include:
- detail on its physical and programmatic scope;
- duration of applicability;
- responsible parties (by individual name or title);
- sustainability goals and objectives;
- procedures and strategies for implementation;
- specific metrics by which performance will be measured; and
- a quality assurance process to evaluate and verify successful implementation of the policy.
Additional Questions
- Did your project include any other appliances or process water items that should be included in the credit?
- Were you able to find suitable products at a reasonable cost at the flow rates required?
USGBC
Excerpted from LEED 2009 for New Construction and Major Renovations
Pilot Credit 18: Appliance & Process Water Use Reduction
Intent
To reduce the burden on water supply and wastewater systems by increasing the water efficiency of appliances and water-consuming processes.
Requirements
NC, CS, Schools, Retail, CI, Retail CI, Healthcare
Newly installed water-consuming appliances, equipment, and processes used within the project scope must meet the prescriptive minimum performance requirements listed in the tables below (as applicable to the project). Appliances and water-consuming processes not listed below are not subject to any additional prescriptive requirements.
Table 1. Minimum performance requirements for water-consuming appliances
gpm = gallons per minute
Processes: Table 2. Minimum performance requirements for water-consuming processes
Healthcare, Retail, Schools and Hospitality Only:
AND
Table 3. Appliances.
Table 4. Process.
EBOM
Have in place a Process and Appliance Water Equipment Purchasing policy for the building and site addressing of the products and purchases covered below in Table 2. The policy must cover at least those products purchases within the building and site management’s control.
Table 1. Minimum performance requirements for water-consuming appliances
gpm = gallons per minute
The policy must include detail on its physical and programmatic scope; duration of applicability; responsible parties (by individual name or title); sustainability goals and objectives; procedures and strategies for implementation; specific metrics by which performance will be measured; and a quality assurance process to evaluate and verify successful implementation of the policy.
** Based on current version of Energy Star at time of project design and construction. Only required for appliances that are eligible for Energy Star under existing Energy Star categories. Energy Star equivalent must meet all current Energy Star testing and performance requirements. Projects (especially non-US projects) may demonstrate equivalency with ENERGY STAR. To use this approach, submit documentation that the appliance complies with all flow and performance requirements outlined by the ENERGY STAR label.
Potential Technologies & Strategies
Organizations
LEED Pilot Credit Library
The homepage for the LEED Pilot Credit Library. The LEED Pilot Credit Library is intended to facilitate the introduction of new prerequisites and credits to LEED. This process will allow USGBC to test and refine credits through LEED 2009 project evaluations before they are sent through the balloting process for introduction into LEED.
Articles
Foundations of LEED
Background for the LEED Pilot Credit Library is provided in this foundational document.
LEEDuser is produced by BuildingGreen, Inc., with YR&G authoring most of the original content. LEEDuser enjoys ongoing collaboration with USGBC.
25 Comments
Commercial grade dishwasher
We're in the process of looking for a commercial grade under counter dishwasher, we have determined that the best suited for our application is the Miele G8050. In total over a 3 - 5 year time frame we'll be installing 20 of these units. Miele does not take part in the Leed certification process so I'm looking for some guidance on what steps I should take to ensure that the units are good enough to meet Leed requirements for our application.
Hi Grant, have you looked at Energy Star website. They have a long list of Energy Star products along with their water consumption.
http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.showProduc...
Purchase required for EBOM
Hi All, This may be a dumb question but it doesn't seem clear in the credit language. Is ACTUAL purchasing of this equipment required during the performance period like the other MR Credits? If it is, there should be clarification on the credit language. Thank you!
Heavy duty/industrial clothes washers
The Pilot Credit requires “commercial clothes washers” to comply with CEE Tier 3A. Upon investigation, we discovered that this standard applies only to “family-sized washers” for laundromats, multi-family buildings and institutions. The CEE website indicates that these units are “nearly identical to residential models available in retail outlets.” Many of our clients utilize “heavy duty/industrial” washers that do not fall into this category. Is anyone aware of an equivalent standard for “heavy duty/industrial” washers or if one is currently being developed by Energy Star, or CEE another group?
We (USGBC staff) would be interested to hear if anyone has found a program for heavy industrial clothes washers. Right now these aren't part of the credit because we can't find a water/energy efficiency program that addresses them the way CEE & ENERGY STAR address the smaller ones.
I was just on the Energy Star website and as of February 1st, they've expanded their criteria for washers to include some commercial-grade machines. I don't know if this helps you, but here's the link:
https://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?fuseaction=find_a_product.showProdu...
Water Use Threshold for Credit Eligibility
There should be some sort of water use threshold that the project needs to exceed in order to be eligible for the credit. I'm not sure if it should be a GPM value or a percentage of total water used, but achieving a credit for only one or two appliances on a large project seems out of sorts. Thoughts?
I disagree that the number of appliances should matter. I believe the estimated GPM for the appliances should be noted though, and that perhaps a threshold could come out of that.
Hi Adam - This pilot credit is based on the v4 Indoor Water Use Reduction credit (the portion relating to appliance and 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.). In that language there are entry thresholds to earning credit. For example, "To use Table 2, the project must process at least 120,000 lbs (57 606 kg) of laundry per year".Those thresholds, along with other updates to the credit language will be posted in January. To see what the language will look like, take a look at: https://new.usgbc.org/node/2611746?return=/credits/retail---new-construc...
Central Plant Equipment Under scope of credit?
We are looking into this credit for a restoration project at a Navy Yard. After reviewing the credit, it is feasible for us to achieve if the credit does not have any impact on the campus central plant. Within our building, we comply with the “no once through cooling with 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. for any equipment or appliances that reject heat.” However, the central plant that we get our chilled water from has cooling towers, which would need to comply with the upgrades listed in Table 2, IF this credit impacts the central plant.
Any feedback?
CEE Tier III ratings in washers
The Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) updated their list of models that are compliant for the varioius CEE Tier ratings. The website had great information on other appliances too. Check out www.cee1.org.
Residentail Diswashers and Commercial Washers
Where do I find the design flow rates for residentail diswashers and commercial washers?
for this pilot credit, the process items just need to meet a minimum performance requirement, rather than show a design case reduction from baseline.
The performance requirements for ENERGY STAR can be found here: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=dishwash.pr_crit_dishwashers (residential dishwashers) and here: http://www.energystar.gov/index.cfm?c=clotheswash.pr_crit_clothes_washers (commercial clothes washers)
Effluent for Dishwashers and Clothes Washing Machines?
How would a team determine the effluent flow rates from residential dishwashers and clothes washing machines? Are there industry standard assumptions for the amount of water lost to evaporation when opening a dishwasher door, or the amount of water leaving a washing machine on wet clothing? Or are we to assume a conservative 1:1 supply to effluent ratio for these appliances?
Hi Kimberly - effluent is not really a consideration, at least for the pilot credit. In order to make the process clear and simple to document, we're deferring to the ENERGY STAR specifications on dishwashers and clothes washers. We're looking at the efficiency of the machines in wash process, rather than the total 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. use of the building.
Clarification for credit application
hii, we are doing a LEED-CI project, in our project scope I found Dishwasher only water consuming appliance, with this can I apply for this credit and whether this will be acceptable or not??
As I understand it, this credit is on a par with EAc1.4 for CI, and also includes water. Your pre-rinse sprays and hand sinks may also be included. No ice machine? Also, as a dishwasher manufacturer, I can tell you first hand that dishwashers, particularly rack conveyor and flights, represent one of the largest opportunities for water and energy savings. There have been DRASTIC drops in both water and KW. As I also understand it, even if it is only a dishwasher, it is PURCHASED, so it counts. I don't think that there is a rule that it has to be a certain number of pieces, such as in LEED for Schools, WEc4.
Correct, if the dishwasher is the only applicable appliance then currently you could earn the point that way.
A couple of notes on this: the concern of earning a point for such a small water user came up a lot in public comment, so for the 2nd public comment version of this credit (available in July) there will be some minimum use thresholds in place to ensure that the efficient appliances are indeed having a large impact on the project's total water use.
Also, this pilot credit is based on the LEED 2012 Prerequisite, rather than the credit, so the requirements are less stringent than the credit that will be available in 2012.
thank you for reply...
But whether electric water heaters like Geyser can be counted under this credit. and please let me know what means schedule, what details need to be given in schedule.
Prerinse spray valves & Water temperature tempering
I am unable to get clarification on two requirements for this Pilot credit:
1) the prerinse spray valve flow rate of 1.3 gpm. Does this apply to dishwashers? If yes, manufacturers do not supply this information.
2) Water temperature tempering. Would this apply to the dishwasher also? If yes, the residential dishwasher in our project, made by GE, does not include a water tempering feature.
Any help on this topic would be appreciated.
I would think that the prerinse spray valve would be part of a process done outside of the residential dishwasher and that the manufacturer could provide a total water consumption for the different cycles of the dishwasher. If your user is processing dishes by spraying them first and then loading into the dishwasher, that is the spray valve you need to find. The dishwasher has no mixing valve? That is what is tempering the water.
Based on this coment I am assuming that the requirement for the prerinse spray valves would only apply to a commercial dishwasher one would find in a restaurant. I am still puzzled about the water temperature tempering requirement found in table 2.-min. performance requirements for water-consuming processes. Would this apply to the hot water being discharged by a dishwasher?
I don't have a perfect response here, as systems are different, but in general "pre-rinse spray valve" is referring to a stand alone spray hose that is often used in food service settings but wouldn't likely be present in an office kitchenette, for example. It is not referring to a part of the dishwasher.
As for the temperature tempering requirement, we received many public comments on the temperature tempering language in this credit and the difficultly in implementing the strategy that is outlined in the credit. It is currently being revisited by the Water Efficiency Technical Advisory Group (WE TAGLEED Technical Advisory Group (TAG): Subcommittees that consist of industry experts who assist in developing credit interpretations and technical improvements to the LEED system.) and will be modified/clarified for better use by project teams.
In the meantime, please document the flow rates and labels of your 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. and appliances for pilot credit review. For the dishwasher, we'll be looking for whether the dishwasher meets ENERGY STAR, which has a water efficiency component. We anticipate that the new version of the pilot credit (with clarifications) will be up in July. Currently registered projects may switch to the new language at that time.
Better late than never--if this is a commercial project.......-the commercial dishwasher gpm/gph can be found via NSF--http://www.nsf.org/Certified/Common/Company.asp?TradeName=&CompanyName=&PlantState=&PlantCountry=&PlantRegion=&Standard=003&search=SEARCH. Also, there is no ENERGY STAR standard for flight-type dishwashers, which are most common in hospitals, hotels, universities, etc. LEED for Healthcare and Retail have gal/rack standards, and a gph for flights.
To add on to Suzanne's post, this pilot credit is based on the proposed appliance & 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. prerequisite, which does not currently place requirements on flight type dishwashers. However, the proposed appliance & process water credit will have a performance metric for flight type dishwashers of 150 gph. We're also revising some of the other prerequisite and credit numbers for second public comment to better align with LEED for Retail and Healthcare numbers, and with what's available in the market. Those new numbers (and a new version of the pilot credit) should be out in July or so.
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