Performance Period
I am reviewing each credit and trying to structure some sort of timeline for the performance period. Does anyone have a brief summary of all the credits that require a performance period showing the duration and end dates within the 30 day window?
40 Comments
Performance Period starts after construction
Our project team is building an addition to an existing facility. The owner would like to certify the whole building. The existing building was certified LEED EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. about 6 years ago, but they have continued with sustainable improvements and would like to recertify the existing conditions along with the new building.
We are considering starting the performance period after construction is complete. It’s probably not logical to consider doing so but we have a chance that the square footage of new construction is just over the limit allowed in LEED EBOM. Clearly we would lose any construction credits including MRc3, MRc9 and IEQc1.5. Our intent is to Commission the building with a Level 2 audit and upgrade some of the mechanical systems in the process.
It certainly not standard operating procedure, but the building will be built in a green matter either way. Is there any reason why we would not be able to certify a building that has just finished construction?
Maybe I should ask the question differently. Is there any reason why we would not be able to certify a building that has recently finished construction?
Karin, with LEED-EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. you need 12 months of energy performance data to certify. So the soonest you could submit for certification is 12 months after data collection begins.
Thanks Tristan. Yes we would start the performance period for energy after construction is complete. Would there be a problem with that timeline?
Karin, I don't see any issue. You can start when occupancy happens after construction, and gather data for the next 12 months (note that many credits have three-month performance periods, that should all end around the same time as the 12-month period), and submit a year after construction.
Weird one I know. Thanks for the guidance.
Karin, I did this with a project that was certified last May. It was a bit strange, but possible. What we did have to do was have a few months of data collection in order to base the initial evaluations on--luckily I'm in the tropics and energy use in May is pretty much what you'll get in August or December. Without something solid to start with you'll struggle. You can still start the 12 months performance period right away, but I think you'll be much more comfortable with a 14 month program at minimum. Ours was 18, and I'm glad we didn't shorten it, because we were able to show energy reduction from the first 6 months by re-commissioning and tightening up management of systems. If you go with less time then all you're doing is getting the building certified, and you lose some of the benefit of the EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. concept.
Absolutely. Thanks all.
Comfort Survey
We have been asked if it is possible to conduct an additional comfort survey and submit the results, even though we have already completed the initial submission and gotten our first set of review comments. Is this possible?
Jennifer, you were asked to do this by your LEED reviewer or by the owner?
It's a little hard to answer your question without knowing that, and without understanding the nature of the review comments. Maybe you could give a bit more info.
We were asked by the owner, since we are losing points in other areas, if we could possibly add this credit on in the review phase. We had done the survey previously but hadn't gotten enough responses. Since then, we've put the survey online, and are hoping this will allow us to get more involvement. Could we combine the survey data from the two surveys?
LEED EBOM 2009 Performance Period / Fees - Resurrected Project
Breathing new life into a comatose certification application already through preliminary review.
Initial performance period 09/09/10 through 12/09/10.
Application submitted 04/02/12.
Preliminary review completed and reviewer's comments returned 05/03/12.
Applicant responses not yet submitted.
Application was submitted 60 days past final date of performance period and we are now more than 24 months past the initial start date of performance period. Project still has a pulse - a faint one, but still a pulse. Can we reset the performance period completely (say 01/01/13 through 03/31/13), respond to pending reviewer comments, undertake new tracking as required per credit and submit revived application?
If so, is this considered the same application or might this be considered a new application requiring new registration fees? Thanks.
Randy, seems perfectly reasonable to me. You might not really have a choice in the matter depending on the reviewer comments. Doesn't seem like new registration would be required.
Project Registration
Hi All
When you register the project, does that mean that the time clock of performance period already starts ticking?
For example, Registration date = Jan 2012
therefore
PP = Jan 2012 - Dec2014?
then
certification application = Jan to Feb 2015?
Then certification application =
Mary Ann, the project registration date bears no relation to the PP dates. For example, you could register and submit for review on the same day, with the PP stretching BACKWARD two years.
Purchasing periods may not exceed 3 months?
I am currently pursuing LEED certification for a building and have been tracking various items that have been purchased during the last 6 months. I am under the impression that performance periods generally must be a minimum of 3 months and 24 months max (excluding the two EA 1-yr PP). While entering the recent purchases on the form, I noticed that it states "purchasing periods may not exceed 3 months." Is this true and where is this stated in the reference guide? I hope that this is some kind of mistake or typo. Help!
Jessica, this absolutely not true. If you're seeing this statement somewhere on a LEED User document, could you please provide the specific location so that it can be corrected?
Performance periods must be a minimum of 3 months and can be extended to 24 months at your discretion. The only exception is EAp2/EAc1 which must use at least 12 months of recent, continuous data for energy benchmarking.
Another important item to keep in mind is that all of your performance period end dates for individual credits must fall within a shared 30-day window.
Performance Period Clarification
I have read quite a bit about the Performance Period and I want to be sure I am understanding things correctly. Basically, if the project meets the Energy Star minimum of 69 today (I haven't registered the project yet) and we add some upgrades within the next couple of months, and the Energy Star rate goes to 70, then we have already met the twelve-month minimum performance period? In other words, because we have the previous twelve month's electricity bills, we have already met the twelve month performance period requirement? If we were satisfied with the original Energy Star number of 69, we could have submitted immediately and not needed to wait or even upgrade (except if we want more energy points). I know there is a three month performance period for other credits/prerequsites, but I am just being clear on the twleve month performance period. The Owner signed a lease stating he would have the building EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. Silver within 12 months and will incur a penalty if he is not done. Unfortunately, just hiring and figuring out the credits and doing the audits have cut the timeline down to nine months left before the due date and the project has not even been registered yet. Please clarify.
Michelle, I think you have it right, except keep in mind all the performance periods for all credits must end around the same time.
Agreed - that's basically how it works. The 12-month PP for EAp2 is a rolling 12-months that ends around the same date as your other PP's. If you have complete energy data (not just electricity, as I'm sure you're aware) for the last 12 months you can generate your Estar score and then work to ensure that energy performance is maintained during the PP for your other credits. Hope that helps a bit. The performance period can get fairly messy and complicated for some credits, so I would second Tristan's recommendation of the LEED User webcast below for some insights.
Dan
Performance period - general info
I have not been able to find out much info on perf periods, so I have a few questions. If I have missed an area that provides good general info, please point me in the right direction:
-Confused where they are documented, some credit forms have them, some do not.
-There is also boxes on one of the Pf forms requesting Earliest start date and Latest end date - what are the consequences / intent of that info? - what does it affect?
-Can your performance period be prior to your date of registration?
-Are the forms linked together in any way to coordinate the required time period overlap, etc
Thanks
Tony, LEEDuser's webcast LEED-EBOM: Eight Steps to Success provides a great guide on PP management.
pursuing more credits after the performance period.
I am working on one EB project and it needs of more points to achieve a desired rating. I just received the final review comments and I am considering to pursue IEQc3.2 (Custodial Effectiveness Assessment) and EAc4 (Green Power) during appeal. Both credits require that requirements should be conducted during performance period.
Do you think the credits I will pursue during appeal will be ok to be performed after the performance period?
thank you
My understanding is that for EAc4 this is an unequivocal yes - USGBC & GBCI are quite fine with purchasing RECs retroactively for this purpose. EQc3.2 I am less certain of - I can imagine good arguments for and against this, but I would hate to be reliant on that approach for a critical point. Anyone else have more definitive thoughts on EQc3.2 in this instance?
Dan
Thank you Dan.
IEQc3.2 and EAc4 were awarded. No question was asked regarding the conducted date.
Performance Period - EBOM v2.0 - Minimum period
Is there an advantage or disadvantage to using the minimum performance period?
Using the shortest possible period to earn the credit will mean the fewest numbers to crunch and document. And I would think our best performance is in the most recent 3 months/12 months.
I think the answer to this question is highly credit-specific, in the sense that for some credits, where the behavior or performance LEED is seeking is new to your building, the minimum performance period allows you to adopt the behavior and move to certification within a reasonable time frame. For other credits, where the behavior is something you may have been doing for years, a longer performance period may more accurately reflect the longer-term successes of your efforts, or things you have done in the recent past. My usual recommendation is to assume a 3-month performance period for all credits, and deviate from that minimum where necessary (EAp2) and where it benefits your project.
Hope that helps,
Dan
imprevements made befor the performance periods
I am working with a hotel chain that has been working on energy efficiency fo years now, their figures are super good, even if we implement a plan to improve them we will not get to much as they have done everything possible to enhance their perfomrance How can this cout towards LEED ebomEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems.
Alicia, you will be pleased to hear that the EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. rating system is designed to ensure that buildings like yours are not penalized (or held to a higher standard) for their great achievements in the past. Rather than basing your rating on 'change' or rate of improvement, EBOM is based on building performance relative to peers. Your EBOM score will reflect that performance, even if it hasn't changed one bit during the 'performance period'. Your hotel chain sounds like they are in great shape in that regard.
Hope this helps,
Dan
Starting Performance Periods
We registered our project a few months ago but have just recently paid the fee due to a delay. Can we use energy information from a few months ago for our performance period starting at the registration date, or do we have to start from the date paid?
Prudence - The date of registration and/or fee payment doesn't really have any bearing on your performance period. Your performance period could theoretically precede your registration, overlap your registration, or follow your registration date by some period of time. Because the required performance period for EAp2/c1 is 12 months, that period will often overlap the actual date of registration. But LEED is comfortable with you registering your project years before you submit, days before you submit, or anywhere in between.
Hope that helps,
Dan
Increase in FTE during performance period
The top floor of our 4 story building was fit out and rented toward the end of our performance period (it was shell space prior to this). Some credits that required surveys, such as SSc4 and IEQc2.1, were completed before the tenants moved into the building. 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. that we've been using is based on 3 floors of occupancy, not 4 floors. Is the original FTE still legitimate even though the increased occupancy will affect energy and water usage credits?
I can't speak to this with 100% confidence, but the answer should be yes. Occupancy in buildings is constantly in flux and projects can't be expected to wait until the last day of the performance period to survey occupants. And even if they did, if a major tenant had left the day before, that survey would be less accurate than one conducted earlier. Ultimately you have to pick a day for your survey and get it done - just explain in your submittal why your occupancy figures differ in various areas of the submittal. I suspect you'll get some friction in your preliminary review, but ultimately your situation reflects a reasonable accommodation. Hope that helps.
Post-review changes to the performance period
We submitted our preliminary application for LEED 2009 EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. and received a whole list of credits that were approved and pending. It seems that we can achieve some of the pending credits simply by changing their start dates and thereby shortening or lengthening the performance periods that we had originally set. For whatever reason, the start dates of these performance periods were set the way they were and they may have cost us the credit. Will the LEED reviewers accept a change of performance period?
Thanks!
I have a query as above from Melissa.
Will LEED reviewers accept modifications in the performance period for a different stage of submissions?
Hoping for some assistance.
I'm not quite sure I grasp Pablo's question, but in response to Melissa's question, I don't think a reviewer would have grounds to reject a change in the PP as long as it is consistent with the basic PP guidelines. The 3-month minimum is intended to create a clear window whereby your activities BEFORE that window can't hurt you, they can only HELP you. So if adding months to the 3-month period or subtracting months from a longer period enhances your outcomes, it really just means that you are more accurately reflecting current operating practices. As a reviewer, I would look carefully at those changes to make sure nothing smelled fishy, but its certainly not against the spirit of the rating system if employed properly. Hope that helps.
re: Performance Period
Hi Paul,
It's a great strategy to map out the overall timeline for your LEED project. The key thing to keep in mind as you begin this process is that the performance period requirements apply to every credit you attempt in your application. For some credits, the performance period will involve tracking of specific performance data, such as purchasing data or recycling amounts. For other credits, the performance period may just indicate the time period during which specific plans, programs and/or policies are being observed. But every credit must be documented during a performance period. This period must have a duration of at least 3 months and no more than 24 months, and, as you've pointed out, all performance periods must end within a shared 30-day window. So, as you're mapping out your strategy, think about the optimal 3-month period that will give you the most bang for your buck when documenting your performance. Keep in mind that you will have to have a minimum 12-month performance period for EAp2/EAc1 because the energy benchmarking covered in those credits must include the 12 most recent months of energy consumption data. So if you're implementing a number of energy-efficiency initiatives at your project building, keep that in mind when deciding the starting point for your energy benchmarking. Essentially, there's no one-size-fits-all timeline for these performance periods because every project has a different perspective and may have different considerations when figuring out how to document performance. Generally, it's a good idea to make sure that you can meet all of the prerequisites before starting the performance period for the rest of the credits. So, in case there's a delay in meeting the prerequisites, you can minimize the other tracking efforts until absolutely necessary.
I have a very basic question. I can't find a direct answer anywhere. There are certain audits or surveys which are carried out on one day or during one week for example SS c4, MR c6, IEQ c3.2. We chose to spread these out during the performance period, not during the final month. They all require performance period start & finish dates on the submittal sheet. So what do we put if all the performance periods are meant to line up during the 30-day shared window? Do we have to re-do all our surveys in the final month or these items are exempt from that 30-day window ? Or is the performance period from the day we do the survey to the final day of the performance period to line up with all the other credits? Thanks so much for clarifying this!
Melissa - Your audits for credits like SSc4, MRc6 and similar credits can all be conducted at any point in time during your EBOMEBOM is an acronym for Existing Buildings: Operations & Maintenance, one of the LEED 2009 rating sytems. Performance Period. Generally, you are looking to wrap up your PP simultaneously for all credits (with the flexibility you note) - as long as the audits were conducted within the MAXIMUM performance period, which in EBOM is two years, they are viable. Many projects choose to conduct these audits within the minimum performance period (3 months) but that is neither required nor even recommended by LEED. I personally advise my clients to conduct SSc4 and MRc6 data gathering very early in the process - seeing that data allows us to either a) plan our certification strategy with a higher degree of confidence about points or b) identify opportunities for performance improvement, make changes, and then re-survey/audit to reflect those improvements in our final data. So to answer your final question - the PP for those credits can indeed by the day you do the survey to the final day of the PP as aligned with the other credits.
Hope that wasn't more information than you were looking for. . .
Dan
its exactly the answer I was looking for, thanks so much.
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