Utility Metering – Saving Energy Dollars and Meeting the

Requirements for LEED v4

William Broome – CFM, SFP, LEED GA

Brandi Williams – LEED BD+C, FMP, SFP

Introduction

• In management classes the saying goes, “What gets measured, gets done”

• In Facility Management, “What gets measured, gets managed, gets analyzed, gets funded, gets built or renovated, gets done…and saves money”

• Metering is an effective means to measure energy and resources

The Westminster Schools

• The Westminster Schools is a private K-12 school located in Atlanta. It consists of 26 buildings and structures totaling more than 700,000 square feet and 188 acres of land.

• In the Summer of 2008 the Facilities Department at The Westminster Schools became very concerned about the rising cost of water and other utilities and began to look at options of what we could do to reduce those costs.

The Original Idea

• Find an alternate solution to the using potable City of Atlanta water for irrigation of athletic fields

• A retention pond on campus was already capturing 80% of the campus rainwater runoff and could allow us to come off of city irrigation

The Energy Audit

• In the Fall of 2009 we contracted with an independent energy auditor to look for areas of savings and sustainability

• The energy audit reveled $174,819 in energy and water savings through a number projects including lighting retrofits, HVAC upgrades, low flow fixture installations, condensate recover, and metering water to the cooling towers

The Retention Pond

• The retention pond was not part of the energy audit

• The project took five years to fully complete, and required us to line the pond, install a pumping system, install three wells and a removable air gap that would allow us to come off of city water

• The entire project cost $322,846. The average annual savings from the project has been approximately $20,000 annually. Since August of 2013, we have cut our cost for City irrigation water by 100%.

Water Metering

• Cooling tower – sub-meters were placed on the make-up water lines

• Project cost - $16,992

• Annual cost savings - $50,000

• Payback Period - $16,992/$50,000 = 0.339 (4 months)

Non-potable Water Source

• Turner Gym Dessert Aire Units remove humidity from the indoor pool area

• Condensate water is collected and used for the cooling tower in summer months

• Project cost - $8,651

• Annual Savings - $3,412

• Payback Period – 2.4 years

Water Metering

• Westminster Campus Water Metering• Sub-meter 10 Buildings

• Sub-meter 9 Cooling Towers

• Weekly reports are generated by the Building Automation Systems• Unusual increases are noted and problems are more easily

identified

• Utility data is analyzed each month to check for issues with the infrastructure

Water Usage

• FY08 26,522 CCF

• FY14 13,984 CCF

• Overall Reduction (47%)

Water Cost

• FY08 $319,098

• FY14 $255,729

• Overall Reduction (20%)

Financial Strategy

• For the Pond Project: demonstrated the annual cost savings and project payback• Initial Payback Period was 15 years

• Based on Atlanta Water Rates in 2008

• For the Energy Audit: projects with the shortest paybacks and biggest savings were implemented first

Lessons Learned

• Metering has provided a tool for usage analysis

• Metering has provided a tool for cost analysis

• Demonstrating savings and paybacks has been made easier with data

LEED 2009

LEED v4 BD+C

LEED v4 O+M Existing Buildings

LEED v4 PrerequisitesOutdoor Water Use Reduction

• Outdoor water use reduction – Required

• Intent – To reduce outdoor water consumption.• Option 1. No irrigation required

• Option 2. Reduced irrigation – 30% from the calculated baseline

• Changes from LEED 2009• This was formerly a credit and is now a prerequisite

• The WaterSense Water Budget Tool is now listed as the referenced calculation tool

LEED v4 PrerequisitesOutdoor Water Use Reduction

• Projects with no landscape area are exempt from this prerequisite

• Nonvegetated surfaces, such as permeable or impermeable pavement, should be excluded from landscape area calculations

• Athletic fields and playgrounds (if vegetated) and food gardens may be included or excluded at the project team’s discretion

• Reductions must be achieved through plant species selection and irrigation system efficiency

LEED v4 PrerequisitesIndoor Water Use Reduction

• Indoor water use reduction – Required

• Intent – To reduce indoor water consumption• Compliance Path 1 Prescriptive Achievement is for projects whose

installed fixtures do not exceed WaterSense maximum levels

• Compliance Path 2 Usage-Based Calculation is for projects that cannot demonstrate the 20% reduction for each fixture

• Projects pursuing points under WE Credit Indoor Water Use Reduction must use this compliance path

LEED v4 PrerequisitesIndoor Water Use Reduction

• Building Water Use

• Reduce aggregate water consumption by 20% from the baseline, Table 1. Baseline water consumption of fixtures and fittings is given

• All newly installed toilets, urinals, private lavatory faucets, and showerheads that are eligible for labeling must be WaterSense labeled

• Appliance and process water use

• Install appliances, equipment, and processes within the project scope that meet the requirements listed in Table 2. Standards for Appliances

LEED v4 PrerequisitesIndoor Water Use Reduction

• Table 3. Standards for processesProcess Requirement

Heat rejection and cooling No once-through cooling with potable water for any equipment or appliances that reject heat

Cooling towers and evaporative condensers

•Equip with: makeup water meters•conductivity controllers and overflow alarms•efficient drift eliminators that reduce drift to maximum of 0.002% of recirculated water volume for counterflow towers and 0.005% of recirculated water flow for cross-flow towers

LEED v4 PrerequisitesIndoor Water Use Reduction

• Changes from LEED 2009• now includes requirements for water-using appliances and processes

• WaterSense label requirements are now mandatory in the U.S.

• The prescriptive compliance path, based on demonstrating that all fixtures are 20% below baseline, is new

• autocontrol faucets with automatic fixture sensors or metering controls are no longer allowed in the design case

•  nonpotable water is no longer allowed as an alternative compliance path

LEED v4 PrerequisitesBuilding Level Water Metering

• Building-level water metering – Required

• Intent – To support water management and identify opportunities for additional water savings by tracking water consumption

• This is a new requirement for a LEED certified project

LEED v4 PrerequisitesBuilding Level Water Metering

• Step 1. Identify all potable water end uses

• Step 2. Determine scope of public water supply metering, if applicable

• Step 3. Determine number, location, and type of all meters

• Step 4. Track water consumption

• Step 5. Share water consumption data with USGBC

LEED v4 PrerequisitesBuilding Level Water Metering

• Install permanent water meters that measure the total potable water use for the building and associated grounds

• Meter data must be compiled into monthly and annual summaries; meter readings can be manual or automated

• Commit to sharing with USGBC the resulting whole-project water usage data for a five-year period beginning on the date the project accepts LEED certification or typical occupancy, whichever comes first

LEED v4 CreditsOutdoor Water Use Reduction

• Intent – To reduce outdoor water consumption

• Reduce outdoor water use through one of the following options. Nonvegetated surfaces, such as permeable or impermeable pavement, should be excluded from landscape area calculations. Athletic fields and playgrounds (if vegetated) and food gardens may be included or excluded at the project team’s discretion

LEED v4 CreditsOutdoor Water Use Reduction

• Option 1. No irrigation required (2 points except Healthcare, 1 point Healthcare)

• Option 2. Reduced irrigation (1-2 points except Healthcare, 1 point Healthcare)• 50% Reduction from baseline

• 100% Reduction from baseline

LEED v4 CreditsOutdoor Water Use Reduction

• LEED O+M Existing Buildings (30% and 40% reductions from baseline)

• Option 1. No irrigation required (2 points except Healthcare, 1 point Healthcare)

• Option 2. No irrigation meter installed: calculated water budget (1–2 points)

• Use the existing landscape to calculate the landscape water requirement using the EPA WaterSense Water Budget Tool

• Install an irrigation meter

• Option 3. Irrigation meter installed (1–2 points)

• The baseline is established using the annual average of at least 3 years of consecutive data out of the last 5 years

LEED v4 CreditsIndoor Water Use Reduction

• Intent – To reduce indoor water consumption

Percentage reduction

Points (BD&C)

Points (Schools,

Retail, Hospitality, Healthcare)

Points (ID&C)Points (CI

Retail)Points (CI

Hospitality)

25% 1 1 2 2 2

30% 2 2 4 4 4

35% 3 3 6 6 6

40% 4 4 8 8 8

45% 5 5 10 10 10

50% 6 -- 12 -- 11

Table 1. Points for reducing water use

LEED v4 CreditsCooling Tower Water Use

• Intent – To conserve water used for cooling tower makeup while controlling microbes, corrosion, and scale in the condenser water system

• For cooling towers and evaporative condensers, conduct a one-time potable water analysis, in order to optimize cooling tower cycles

• Measure at least the five control parameters – Ca, Total alkalinity, SiO2, Cl and Conductivity

• This is a new Credit

LEED v4 CreditsCooling Tower Water Use

•  As the water on a cooling tower evaporates, dissolved solids become more concentrated in the remaining water and eventually begin to deposit scale on cooling tower or evaporative condenser elements, making such systems less efficient

• Cooling tower or evaporative condenser water efficiency is measured in the number of recirculation cycles before water must be removed by blowdown

• Chemically analyzing makeup water allows for calculation of optimal cycles

• Supplement potable water with a nonpotable source

LEED v4 CreditsWater Metering

• Intent – To support water management and identify opportunities for additional water savings by tracking water consumption

• Install permanent water meters for two or more of the following water subsystems:• Irrigation, Indoor plumbing fixtures and fittings, Domestic hot

water, Boiler with aggregate annual water use of 100,000 gallons, Reclaimed water, Other process water

• This is a new Credit

LEED v4 CreditsWater Metering

• BD+C is 1 point

• O+M for Existing Buildings• 1 point for two water subsystems

• 2 points for four or more water subsystems

• All meters, including whole-building meter, must be recorded at least weekly and used in a regular analysis of time trends

LEED v4 CreditsWater Efficiency

• U.S. buildings account for 13.6% of potable water use

• Metering is a viable strategy for reducing potable water use

• “What gets measured, gets managed, gets analyzed, gets funded, gets built or renovated, gets done…and saves money”

Thank you for your attention

Questions?

Course Review Questions

1. The Water Efficiency section of LEED v4 BD+C has how many prerequisites? a) 1

b) 2

c) 3

d) 4

Course Review Questions

2. In the U.S., All newly installed toilets, urinals, private lavatory faucets, and showerheads that are eligible for labeling must be:

a) EPA approved

b) WaterSense labeled

c) Energy Star labeled

d) Water Efficiency labeled

Course Review Questions

3. Building level water metering is:a) Optional for LEED v4

b) Situational in LEED v4

c) Required for LEED v4

d) Not required in LEED v4

Course Review Questions

4. Whole-project water usage data must be shared with the USGBC for a period of:

a) 2 Years

b) 3 Years

c) 4 Years

d) 5 Years

Course Review Questions

5. The initial cost of a project to install water submeters was $25,000. If the metering will provide an annual savings in water costs of $5,000, what is the expected simple Payback Period?

a) 6 Months

b) 2 Years

c) 5 Years

d) 6 Years

References

• http://www.usgbc.org/credits/new-construction/v4/water-efficiency

• http://www.usgbc.org/credits/existing-buildings/v4

• William Broome, 2013, Westminster Schools FMXcellence Energy Audit Presentation