855773667-LEED-v5-O-M-Reference-Guide-Launch-Edition-1 - Page 132

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OTHER FUELS FOR ALL PROJECT LOCATIONS

For other fuels, such as wood fuels, use the default source energy conversion factors or provide published data supporting the determination of a custom conversion factor, determined consistent with the definition of source energy above.

DISTRICT ENERGY SYSTEMS (DES)

Source energy is typically a more appropriate metric than site energy for projects with district energy systems (DES). District chilled water artificially inflates total estimated site energy consumption compared to the benchmark which is derived using onsite cooling generated from electricity.

When using the source energy metric, projects may use the default factors if default factors were used for electricity and fossil fuel.

Projects may also use published source energy conversion factors (SEF), determined consistently with the definition above if available. These source energy conversion factors must be derived using the same source-to-site factors for electricity (SEFElectricity) and natural gas (SEFNaturalGas) as those referenced above. When published data is not available, Equations 3 through 5 can be used to derive these site-to-source energy conversion factors.

Equation 3. Source energy conversion factor: Chilled water from water-cooled electric chillers

𝐶 𝐶𝐶(𝑊 𝑊 𝑊𝑊−𝑐 𝑐 𝑐 ) 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸𝐸 𝑆 𝐹𝐹 = 0.325 × 𝑆 𝐹𝐹

𝐶 𝐶𝐶(𝐴 𝐴𝐴−𝑐 𝑐 𝑐 ) 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸𝐸 𝑆 𝐹𝐹 = 0.400 × 𝑆 𝐹𝐹

Equation 4. Site-to-source conversion factor: Chilled water from air-cooled electric chillers

𝐻 𝐻𝐻 𝑁 𝑁 𝑁 𝑁 𝑁 𝑆 𝐹𝐹 = 1.2 × 𝑆 𝐹𝐹

Equation 5. Site-to-source conversion factor: District heat from hot water or steam (SEFHHW)

U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Operations and Maintenance, April 2025 Launch Edition 122