[Bldg-sim] LEED - What does it take?

Nick Caton ncaton at smithboucher.com
Wed Jan 16 12:34:31 PST 2013


A very simple way of looking at LEED & energy, which I come back to often for discussions on that level, is to consider a building's performance like a tripod with three important legs:  Lights, Mechanical, and Envelope.  If any of those legs is too short, the tripod falls over.

Building on that analogy, to do 10% better than a LEED baseline, a good starting place is to have at least:
-  10% better lighting (10% lower LPD), 
-  10% better HVAC & hot water heating (10% better efficiencies), and 
-  10% better envelope (10% more insulation in walls/roof, 10% better windows).  
For each of these, you can source the baseline/prescriptive levels from the standard of your choosing.

Overperforming in one area can sometimes make up for underperfomance in another, but with diminishing returns.  Amazing HVAC equipment/design has a harder time shining when you have a poor envelope and/or the lighting designer treats LPD's as a "budget" they have to use up.  For such reasons, it's advisable to always consider building performance in holistic fashion in early/broader discussions. 

That's my (simple) take anyway!

~Nick

NICK CATON, P.E.
SENIOR ENGINEER

Smith & Boucher Engineers
25501 west valley parkway, suite 200
olathe, ks 66061
direct 913.344.0036
fax 913.345.0617
www.smithboucher.com 


-----Original Message-----
From: bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org [mailto:bldg-sim-bounces at lists.onebuilding.org] On Behalf Of RobertWichert
Sent: Wednesday, January 16, 2013 9:24 AM
To: EnergyPro at yahoogroups.com; bldg-sim at lists.onebuilding.org
Subject: [Bldg-sim] LEED - What does it take?

I know that LEED is way more than just energy, and energy is way more than just equipment, but just for a basis, what SEER and EER do people have to use to get 10% better than ASHRAE 90.1 to qualify for LEED?  I also know that you don't have to use ASHRAE 90.1, but that is what I am doing.

So, what does it take?

My shot - Residential Apartment, individual DX units, 17 SEER and 13 EER in California CZ 12 (Mostly cooling).

  Next?


--
Robert Wichert P.Eng. LEED AP BD&C
+1 916 966 9060
FAX +1 916 966 9068







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