Happy Friday to you all!

Several LEED Pilot Alternative Compliance Paths (ACPs) may be of interest to BLDG-SIM Users relevant to LEED BD&C (and in some cases ID&C) EA Prerequisite: Minimum Energy Performance and EA Credit: Optimize Energy Performance. LEED Pilot ACPs provide an alternate method for complying with the LEED requirements for the specified credit. Projects must register for each Pilot ACP in order to use it on the project; however, there is no obligation for projects to use the alternative path once registered.

1. Alternative Energy Performance Metric (https://www.usgbc.org/credits/eapc95v4).
This Pilot ACP was recently updated to address market feedback (Advocacy letters are no longer required). Project teams may use performance metrics other than cost (Source or Primary energy, Greenhouse Gas Emissions, and Time Dependent Valuation) to document performance improvement, as long as all required metrics are reported. The top two performance metrics are averaged to determine the performance improvement for the project.

2. Energy Performance Metering Path (https://www.usgbc.org/credits/new-construction-core-and-shell-schools-new-construction-retail-new-construction-healthca-95).
This allows projects to use one year of post-occupancy metered data to document performance for newly constructed buildings in lieu of "validation" energy models. Design phase analysis, and compliance with mandatory ASHRAE provisions is still required in order to pursue this ACP.

3. Alternative Performance Rating Method (https://www.usgbc.org/credits/new-construction-core-and-shell-schools-new-construction-retail-new-construction-healthc-110).
This allows projects to use the new stable baseline methodology established in the ASHRAE 90.1-2016 Performance Rating Method to document building performance. ASHRAE 90.1-2016 includes all details for the baseline model in the body of Appendix G (rather than referencing other sections of ASHRAE 90.1); and allows local code authorities or above-code programs (such as LEED or utility incentive programs) to establish Building Performance Factors that align with the targeted performance for the project application. LEED has established these thresholds to be roughly equivalent to the PNNL Building Performance Factors (BPF) aligning with ASHRAE 90.1-2010, averaged across all ASHRAE climate zones for each rating system.

4. District Energy (https://www.usgbc.org/credits/new-construction-core-and-shell-schools-new-construction-retail-new-construction-healthca-48).
This allows projects to seek a single PEER certification for a District Energy System (DES), and then quickly document Optimize Energy Performance points for LEED project buildings served by the DES. This eliminates the requirement for detailed upstream modeling, and individual review of DES performance for each LEED building project.

Please direct any questions about these Pilot ACPs to the USGBC Contact Us page: https://www.usgbc.org/contactus

Thanks!

Best Regards,
Gail Hampsmire, P.E., LEED Fellow
Technical Director, HVAC/Energy Team

Green Business Certification Inc.
2101 L Street NW I Suite 500 I Washington DC 20037