Energy Efficiency in Commercial Buildings: LEED BD+C Energy and Atmosphere Credits Explained

LEED BD+C (Building Design and Construction) is a green building rating system developed by the US Green Building Council (USGBC) to recognize sustainable building practices and reduce the environmental impact of buildings. The Energy and Atmosphere (EA) category under LEED BD+C provides credits for energy efficiency, renewable energy, and greenhouse gas reductions.

The total number of points that can be earned by a project under the EA category is 33. There are ten credits under this category, each with specific documentation requirements:

1. Fundamental Commissioning and Verification (Required, Mandatory): This credit requires commissioning of electromechanical systems in the building which includes HVAC, air conditioning systems, lighting systems, ventilation systems, and other electrical interfaces. The documentation requirements include a commissioning plan, commissioning report, and training documentation.
2. Minimum Energy Performance (Required, Mandatory): This credit requires demonstrating an improvement of 2% for core and shell projects in the proposed building performance rating compared with the baseline building performance rating. The documentation requirements include energy models and calculations.
3. Building-Level Energy Metering (Required, Mandatory): Building level energy metering requires the installation of energy meters at each building. The documentation requirements include meter specifications and placement drawings.
4. Fundamental Refrigerant Management (Required, Mandatory): This credit is achieved by installing HVAC & R systems which are CFC free. The documentation requirements include refrigerant type and inventory.
5. Enhanced Commissioning (6 points, 4 mandatory, 2 optional): Project has achieved 4 points for enhanced commissioning. However, 2 additional points can be achieved through building envelope commissioning. The documentation requirements include commissioning plan, commissioning report, training documentation, and envelope commissioning report.
6. Optimize Energy Performance (18 points, 10 mandatory, 8 optional): Ten points have been achieved with 24% energy saving from the baseline. Maximum of 18 points can be achieved from the baseline if the project can demonstrate 50% energy savings. We can still try to improve on the energy savings 26% through building envelope strategies and higher COP Chillers. The documentation requirements include energy models and calculations.
7. Advanced Energy Metering (1 point, mandatory): Building level energy metering requires the installation of energy meter at each building. The documentation requirements include meter specifications and placement drawings.
8. Demand Response (2 points, mandatory): Project requires participation in the demand response program of the discom to achieve 10% of demand reduction. The documentation requirements include a demand response plan.
9. Renewable Energy Production (3 points, 1 mandatory, 2 optional): The project has maximum 10% of renewable energy which is achievable. The project has to explore the area available for solar PV installation. The documentation requirements include a renewable energy feasibility study and system specifications.
10. Enhanced Refrigerant Management (1 point, optional): One point is awarded when projects show that no or low impact refrigerants have been used. The documentation requirements include refrigerant type and inventory.

To summarize the above information, the table below shows each credit’s specific documentation requirements and the credit points that can be earned by the projects: