LEED Certification for Homes – EA CREDIT: ANNUAL ENERGY USE

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Requirement

HOMES

Projects with major energy users not included in the HERS Index, including pools, spas, heated driveways, and heated garages, or other major energy users not included in the HERS index must use Option 1.

Option 1. LEED Energy Budget

Design and construct a building whose modeled annual energy usage is lower than the LEED energy budget.

The LEED Energy Budget is based on the ENERGY STAR for Homes, HERS Index Target Procedure for National Program Requirements, version 3, with the following modifications:

The size adjustment factor is always 1.

The building is a slab-on-grade ranch whose floor area is equal to the ENERGY STAR reference home’s conditioned floor area.

There are no floors over unconditioned spaces. The gross exterior wall area is as shown in Table 1.

There are two exterior half-lite doors, unshaded, one on the south wall, one on the west wall. Glazing is 15% of the floor area.

The ceiling is insulated, and its gross area equals the conditioned floor area. The storage water heater has an energy factor of 0.59 for gas, 0.92 for electric. The thermal distribution system is 100% in the attic, above insulation.

The LEED Energy Budget shall be displayed in MBtu/year, and is based on source energy. Any major energy users not covered by the energy model, including heated driveways, pools,

spas, and heated garages, must be added to the annual energy consumption of the Rated Home.

Table 1. Exterior wall area of LEED reference home, by number of bedrooms
 12345678 or more
Area (square feet)1,3001,6671,9572,2002,4112,6002,773+ 150 ft2 per additional bedroom
Area (square meters)120154181204223241257+ 14 square meters per additional bedroom

Individual units in multifamily buildings are compared to the LEED Reference Homes. Points are awarded according to Table 2.

Table 2. Points for reducing energy usage below LEED energy budget
Percentage reduction  Points
1%1
2%2
3%3
4%4
5%5
6%6
7%7
8%8
9%9
10%10
12%11
14%12
16%13
18%14
20%15
22%16
24%17
26%18
28%19
30%20
32%21
34%22
37%23
40%24
50%25
60%26
70%27
80%28
90%29

OR

Option 2. HERS Index with Home Size Adjuster

Design and construct a home whose modeled annual energy usage achieves a HERS index rating of 70 or better (or USGBC-approved equivalent for projects outside the U.S.). Points are awarded according to Table 3.

Table 3. Points for achieving HERS index ratings
HERS indexPoints
705
696
687
678
669
6510
6411
6312
6213
6014
5815
5616
5417
5218
5019
4520
4021
3522
3023
2524
2025
1526
1027
528
029

AND

Earn 1 point for every 4% decrease in conditioned floor area compared with the ENERGY STAR for Homes, version 3, reference home (Table 4).

Table 4. Conditioned floor area of reference home, by number of bedrooms
 12345678 or more
Floor area (square feet)1,0001,6002,2002,8003,4004,0004,600+ 600 ft2 per additional bedroom
Floor area (square meters)93148204260315371427+ 55 square meters per additional bedroom

For multifamily buildings, home size includes only in-unit space.

MIDRISE

Follow the criteria in EA Prerequisite Performance for Energy Star Homes to demonstrate a percentage improvement in the proposed building’s performance compared with the baseline building performance of ASHRAE 90.1–2010, or USGBC-approved equivalent standard for projects outside the United States.

Points are awarded according to Table 5.

Table 5. Points for reducing energy usage below ASHRAE baseline
Percentage reduction  Points
6%1
7%2
8%3
9%4
10%5
11%6
12%7
13%8
14%9
15%10
16%11
17%12
18%13
19%14
20%15
22%16
24%17
26%18
28%19
30%20
33%21
36%22
39%23
42%24
45%25
48%26
51%27
54%28
57%29
60%30

AND

Earn 1 point for every 4% decrease in conditioned floor area compared with the ENERGY STAR for Homes, version 3, reference home (Table 6).

Table 6. Conditioned floor area of reference home, by number of bedrooms
 12345678 or more
Floor area (square feet)1,0001,6002,2002,8003,4004,0004,600+ 600 ft2 per additional bedroom
Floor area (square meters)93148204260315371427+ 55 square meters per additional bedroom

For multifamily buildings, home size includes only in-unit space.