Maximizing Energy and Water Credits under LEED V. 4

With the release of Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) v. 4, the threshold for certifying projects has increased, which means that reaching even the lowest level of certification requires projects to have impacts that go beyond building codes. This encourages project teams to develop creative strategies that identify how to maximize synergies between cross-functional credits under the new rating system.Two credit categories that have notable crossover are the energy and atmosphere and water efficiency categories. Because water consumption and energy are linked, this article will provide an overview of the water/ energy nexus in buildings and detailed suggestions for maximizing synergies in those LEED v. 4 categories; i.e., the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimates that a faucet running for 5 minutes uses the same amount of energy as a 60-watt light bulb that burns for 14 hours (12). Therefore, making material improvements in water efficiency creates ancillary benefits of lower energy consumption. The activities under the credit categories described in this article will collectively decrease a building's carbon footprint and save natural resources. © Copyright Association of Energy Engineers (AEE).