Rating System

LEED BD+C: New Construction

Rating System Version

v2 - LEED 2.0

Inquiry

The LEED V2.0 Reference Guide dated June 2001 does not clearly indicate whether a project must include Cooling Tower water use or commercial kitchen equipment when performing the calculations for Water Credit 3-Water Use Reduction. Page 98 of the reference guide suggests that a project consider specifying efficient cooling towers and employing water recovery systems for cooling tower make-up. However, the calculation tables and the LEED Calculator do not make any reference to Cooling Tower water demands or commercial kitchen equipment. Since cooling towers in commercial office buildings generally use at least fifty percent of the water consumed by these building types, it would seem that requiring their inclusion in this Water Efficiency Credit 3 would discourage most projects from pursuing this credit. In addition, measures to increase the efficiency of cooling tower water use generally results in a greater consumption of electricity except for rain water reuse, which is a strategy with a very high first costs. Furthermore, LEED References the 20% and 30% reductions with respect to the Energy Policy Act of 1992 (EPACT) Fixture Performance Requirements. EPACT does not address cooling towers. Based on the issues raised above, the design team is of the opinion that cooling tower water use is not to be included in the calculations for determining the 20% or 30% reduction in water use. Does the LEED V2.0 Rating system require a project to include Cooling Tower water when determining the percentage reduction of potable water used in a building for Water Efficiency Credit 3.1 and 3.2? In addition, this project includes a large cafeteria capable of serving 200+ people. The equipment used in the kitchen of the cafeteria is considered a "process load" in the LEED Optimize Energy Performance Credit, and thus is not included in the energy reduction calculations. Does this classification as a "process load" also apply to the LEED Water Efficiency Credit and thus exempts the dishwashing equipment to be exempt from the Water use reduction calculations?