LEED…..if you have heard it once, you have heard it a thousand times. LEED is an initiative that is not going to be going anywhere or fading out, like so many other special interest plans that have come before it. The green initiative has been around for many years now and is setting things in stone that can offer building owners and manager’s energy savings and green certifications. A buildings air conditioning and refrigeration are major roles in making sure these energy savings and certificates can be achieved. LEED and energy star are the upper echelon of standards when it comes to rating a building and incorporating its energy use and indoor air quality. Having a building that has been LEED certified is something that anyone should be proud of as it is quite a journey to get to that point.

A newer credit that has been put into the LEED equation is Cooling Tower Water management. There are a total of two possible points available towards the LEED certification in this credit. The intent of this credit is to lower the amount of potable water used for cooling towers through the proper management of the tower and its water.

There are two options to achieving the points, option one is through a Chemical Management plan. The chemical management plan needs to be well developed and implemented. The plan must cover the towers chemical treatment, bleed off, biological control and it must also incorporate staff training as it relates to the towers treatment. Another part of this plan should be to increase the water efficiency by installing automatic controls and conductivity meters. Option number two is through Non Potable Water Use. Option number two can be achieved by using at least 50% of non potable water for the buildings cooling tower system. Some of the ways to reach the non potable requirements are through the use of harvest rainwater, storm water, cooling tower blow down, and recycled treated waste water from toilets and urinals. In order to get the point there must also be a measurement system in place, which is calibrated to manufactures recommend intervals. In order to receive both points the building must achieve both of the requirements under the Cooling Tower Water Management credit.

LEED has incorporated the energy star rating system into their point system in an enormous way. Energy and Atmosphere are major ways to get points on the buildings certification. HVACR systems take up the majority of buildings energy and in turn are a great way to earn points when trying to earn any of the LEED certifications. Points are awarded based on the buildings energy star rating and the points increase accordingly with the buildings increase in energy star rating. The building must have energy meters that measure the building throughout the performance period. The time period for performance measurement must be a full twelve months of consecutive readings.

The energy and atmosphere section of the LEED certification offers multiple options on how to save energy and money for the building and its owners. Another way to earn points and save is the building commissioning credit. The intent of this credit is to have a true understanding of the buildings major energy using systems, have options for maximizing the energy performance on those systems and put together a plan to achieve those energy savings. There are two possible options for this credit and a total of two points available. Option number one is the commissioning process. This option covers developing a ongoing commissioning plan or recommissioning, documenting the breakdown of energy use in the building, listing operating problems and putting together capital improvements that will provide cost effect energy savings. Option number two of this credit is the ASHRAE Level II energy audit. Earning this credit takes and energy audit that meets the requirements of ASHRAE level II, documented breakdown of the energy use in the building, perform a savings and cost analysis, as well as list the capital improvements that will improve cost effective energy savings.

Indoor Environmental Quality provides many options on earning points through the buildings HVACR system as well. IEQ credit 1.2 Outdoor Air Delivery Monitoring is one of those options. The intent behind this credit is to help sustain occupant comfort and well being through ventilation system monitoring. Studies have shown that monitoring Indoor Air Quality leads to more productive work and generally happier building occupants. The requirements of this credit are to install permanent, continuous monitoring systems to ensure that minimum outdoor airflow rates are constantly being met. Another possible point earned is the IEQ credit 1.3 Increased Ventilation. The intent of this credit is to provide further outdoor air delivery to improved indoor air quality and the well being of the buildings occupants.

There are many options for lowering the buildings energy costs and at the same time increasing the well being of the buildings occupants. This article only covers a few of those options, but gives an idea of how important a buildings HVACR system are in the LEED process. For further information on how to achieve possible points and lower your energy, contact DebonAir Mechanical.