Rating System

LEED BD+C: New Construction

Rating System Version

v2 - LEED 2.2

Inquiry

It is unclear whether it is the intent of this credit to include commercial kitchen sinks in the calculations. While the reference guide states, "Calculations are based on estimated occupant usage and shall include only the following fixtures: water closets, urinals, lavatory faucets, showers and kitchen sinks," the definition of "kitchen sink" is a bit unclear. Our hospital project includes a commercial kitchen and dining room to serve the entire hospital population. There are two kinds of sinks in this commercial kitchen: hand sinks primarily used for hand washing, and commercial sinks used in the preparation of food. We believe that the hand sinks within the kitchen clearly fall within the fixture group that is to be used in this calculation. Our question lies with the commercial sinks and whether or not they should be included in the calculation. Our initial interpretation is that the commercial sinks in the kitchen are used for process loads: filling pots, washing vegetables, etc. We came to this conclusion partially based on a credit interpretation ruling dated 3/9/2004, "Process water includes, but is not limited to, water use from cooling towers, dishwashers and clothes washers." Process water fixtures and equipment are not included in the calculation for this credit, therefore our understanding is that we should not include the commercial kitchen sinks in this calculation. We found further guidance on this decision by looking at Table 2 on page 141 of the LEED for New Construction Version 2.2 Reference Guide. This table titled, "Standard Fixture Uses by Occupancy Type" states that for a non-residential kitchen sink, the usage is 1-15 second duration from each FTE per day. While this is a reasonable estimate for each of the hand sinks, the commercial sinks are likely to be used for much longer periods of time to, for example, fill a pot or rinse vegetables. Please advise on our initial interpretation that the commercial sinks are process load fixtures.