Demonstrate a 10% improvement for new buildings or a 5% improvement for existing building renovations in the proposed building performance rating compared to the baseline building performance rating per ASHRAE/IESNA Standard 90.1-2007 by a whole building project simulation using the Building Performance Rating Method in Appendix G of the Standard as well as the requirements of the Labs21 Laboratory Modeling Guideline.

Appendix G of Standard 90.1-2007 requires that the energy analysis done for the Building Performance Rating Method include ALL of the energy costs within and associated with the building project. To achieve points using this credit, the proposed design—

must comply with the mandatory provisions (Sections 5.4, 6.4, 7.4, 8.4, 9.4 and 10.4) in Standard 90.1-2007;
must include all the energy costs within and associated with the building project; and
must be compared against a baseline building that complies with Appendix G to Standard 90.1-2007 as well as the requirements of the Labs21 Laboratory Modeling Guidelines. The default process energy cost is 25% of the total energy cost for the baseline building. For buildings where the process energy cost is less than 25% of the baseline building energy cost, the LEED submittal must include supporting documentation substantiating that process energy inputs are appropriate.

For the purpose of this analysis, process energy is considered to include, but is not limited to, office and general miscellaneous equipment, computers, elevators and escalators, kitchen cooking and refrigeration, laundry washing and drying, lighting exempt from the lighting power allowance (e.g. lighting integral to medical equipment) and other (e.g. waterfall pumps). Regulated (non-process) energy includes lighting (such as for the interior, parking garage, surface parking, façade, or building grounds, except as noted above), HVAC (such as for space heating, space cooling, fans, pumps, toilet exhaust, parking garage ventilation, kitchen hood exhaust, laboratory fume hoods etc.), and service water heating for domestic or space heating purposes.

Process loads shall be identical for both the baseline building performance rating and for the proposed building performance rating. However, project teams may follow the Exceptional Calculation Method (ASHRAE 90.1-2007 G2.5) to document measures that reduce process loads. Documentation of process load energy savings shall include a list of the assumptions made for both the base and proposed design, and theoretical or empirical information supporting these assumptions.

The Labs21 Laboratory Modeling Guideline is available at: http://www.labs21century.gov/toolkit/bp_guide.htm

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