Rating System

LEED BD+C: New Construction

Rating System Version

v2 - LEED 2.0

Inquiry

This inquiry is regarding the envelope criteria for energy modeling of a new building (ASHRAE 90.1-1999, Section 11.4.2). Based on LEED Energy Modeling Protocol and ASHRAE 90.1, "the budget building design shall have identical conditioned floor area and exterior dimensions and orientations as the proposed design" The proposed new Barrel Aging Room (5805 s.f.) was initially designed by a local architect as a standard above ground facility, similar to other structures in the region. The winery\'s interest in sustainability drove the decision to pursue burying the building as an energy conservation measure. The current architectural firm was asked to redesign the project and completed the design as an earth-covered building. The intent of burying the building was to save energy by eliminating most of the building\'s cooling load.(see note below) In modeling the PowerDOE proposed building (underground), standard procedure requires that the first foot of the walls be calculated as "underground-wall type" in order to estimate the associated edge loss to the first foot of soil, the remainder of the wall is modeled as an "interior-wall type." When changing the proposed model to the budget building, the "exterior wall type" was used to model the walls, as is typical of an above ground building. The dimensions of the building have not changed, only the dimensions attributed to each required wall type designation. This credit interpretation is being submitted to obtain approval for comparing the proposed walls that are modeled as "below-grade" to the baseline walls modeled as "exterior." The conditioned floor area between the two models remains unchanged. The exterior dimensions and orientation on the site between the two models remains unchanged. Summary We believe our proposed modeling method meets the spirit and intent of EA Credit 1 to optimize energy. If our modeling method is accepted, the project will pursue 8 points under Energy & Atmosphere Credit 1: Optimize Energy Performance. (Note) The average ground temperature in Oregon is about 53