Rating System

LEED BD+C: New Construction, LEED BD+C: Schools, LEED ID+C: Commercial Interiors, LEED BD+C: Core and Shell, LEED O+M: Existing Buildings

Rating System Version

v2 - LEED 2.2, v2 - Schools 2007, v2 - LEED 2.0, v2 - LEED 2.0, v3 - LEED 2008

Inquiry

This project involves the construction of a new 800,000 square foot events center in Orlando, Florida. This facility will be a sports and entertainment arena for all of Central Florida to enjoy. It will be capable of hosting events of local, regional, and national importance, such as concerts and family shows, civic and community-based events, and professional and amateur sporting events, including but not limited to NCAA and state competitions and NBA and AFL games. The seating bowl portion of this facility will be designed to accommodate approximately 19,000 spectators. The Prerequisite for EQ Pr 1 requires designing mechanical ventilation systems to meet ASHRAE Standard 62-2004 using the Ventilation Rate Procedure. According to this method of the Standard, the prescriptive outside air rate for a sports arena would be 7.5 cfm per person plus 0.06 CFM per square foot, for approximately 152,000 cfm for this facility. The ASHRAE Standard also has an alternate compliance path called the Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) Procedure. The IAQ Procedure is performance-based and requires a more detailed analysis of the space, including identification of contaminants of concern, sources for those contaminants, concentration targets, and perceived acceptability targets. Using the IAQ Procedure, it is estimated that the ventilation rate could be reduced to approximately 95,000 cfm. This would be accomplished using gas phase filtration similar to Bioclimatic bio-polar ionization filters in conjunction with MERV 13 particulate filters. A life cycle cost analysis will be performed to confirm that the increased cost of filtration will be offset by the energy savings from reducing outdoor air quantities, especially in a hot and humid climate like Orlando. The Project Team would like to use the IAQ Procedure for this project, as described in Section 6.3 ASHRAE Standard 62.1-2004 (the "Standard"), to be able to provide the best Indoor Air Quality while consuming the least energy over the life of this facility. The Engineering firm responsible for designing the HVAC systems has extensive experience with sporting venues, and it is their experience that the IAQ Procedure is often the best choice for venues with large occupancies such as this facility. In many cases, using the IAQ Procedure can offer significant cost savings in equipment and energy, while maintaining proper ventilation and indoor air quality. The design team feels that using either the IAQ Procedure or Ventilation Rate Procedure as allowed by ASHRAE meets the intent of the LEED Prerequisite.