UEM supporting LEED Building Projects
The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) has recognized the energy and environmental benefits of buildings connected to district energy systems and utilizing combined heat and power. Beginning with LEED for New Construction version 2.2 and continuing through LEED 2009, project buildings can earn additional points in Energy Atmosphere Credit 1 by outlining their connection to a district energy system like the one operated by Utilities and Energy Management (UEM).
Obtaining these points requires following USGBC’s guidance document Treatment of District or Campus Thermal Energy in LEED V2 and LEED 2009 – Design & Construction. The requirements are limited to Energy and Atmosphere and seek to ensure that upstream generation equipment meets the intent of LEED certification. The following prerequisites and credits are impacted for building projects on the UT Austin Main Campus:
- EAp2 and EAc1 - Energy Performance
- EAc3 - Enhanced Commissioning
- EAp3 and EAc4 - Refrigerant Management
- EAc5 - Measurement and Verification
The registration close date for all LEED 2009 rating systems is October 31, 2016. The last day projects can submit for certification, also called the sunset date is June 30, 2021. If your project is pursuing certification under LEED v4, please reference the supporting documents located on the LEED v4 webpage.
View UEM's compliance with the LEED 2009 guidelines.
EAp2 and EAc1 - Optimize Energy Performance
The following document outlines the modeling method and approach typically utilized to incorporate DES/CHP as well as the supporting efficiency data:
EAc3 - Enhanced Commissioning
The USGBC guidelines extend the commissioning requirements beyond the building itself to include the district energy system. This is addressed through a narrative, provided here:
EAp3 - Fundamental Refrigerant Management
The USGBC guidelines expand the zero-CFC requirements from the project building itself to the chilling stations supplying the building. All existing UEM chillers are now CFC-free and meet the prerequisite requirements.
EAc4 – Enhanced Refrigerant Management
UEM chillers do not use any low-impact refrigerant. Calculation of Refrigerant Impact, project will not earn this credit for upstream equipment.
The UEM chiller inventory and supporting information is provided below, in the format required for LEED submittal.
Required Submittals:
EAc5 – Measurement and Verification
The USGBC guidelines require that the DES/CHP efficiency values used in modeling for EAc1 follow the intent of EAc5 and can be measured and verified. The narrative supporting these requirements is available here:
For additional information, contact Roberto Del Real at roberto.delreal@austin.utexas.edu.