855773667-LEED-v5-O-M-Reference-Guide-Launch-Edition-1 - Page 159

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CUSTOM ELECTRICITY GHG EMISSIONS FACTORS Projects may use published utility emissions factors from the utility supplier delivering electricity to the project. Non-compliance RECS from the utility or unbundled RECS procured directly for the project shall not be recognized within these custom factors.

TIER 1 AND TIER 2 RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY Both Tier 1 and Tier 2 renewable electricity have a 0 GHG emissions factor, up to 100% of annual project electricity use. Refer to Option 2 for further details on qualifying renewable energy.

100% electric projects that supply or procure all annual energy use from Tier 1 and/or Tier 2 renewable resources have zero annual GHG emissions.

TIER 3 RENEWABLE ELECTRICITY Tier 3 systems must use the same emissions factor as the purchased electric grid.

FUELS FOSSIL FUELS For fossil fuels, projects in the U.S. and Canada must use the default GHG emissions factors. U.S. defaults are based on the national average. Canadian defaults are per province. These factors are not adjustable with custom factors.

Projects outside the U.S. and Canada may use published GHG emissions factors for their project location or the default values.

OTHER FUELS For other fuels, like wood, biodiesel, or renewable natural gas, use published national or local GHG emissions factors for the project’s location.

DISTRICT ENERGY Projects may use the default factors if these default factors were used for electricity and fossil fuel. Projects may also use published GHG Emissions factors from the District Energy Providers. When published data is not available, Equations 2–4 can be used to calculate the GHG emissions conversion factors based on the electricity and natural gas emission factors referenced above.

Equation 2. GHG Emissions factor: Chilled water from water-cooled electric chillers

𝐶 𝐶𝐶(𝑊 𝑊 𝑊𝑊−𝑐 𝑐 𝑐 ) 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸 𝐸𝐸 𝐺 𝐺𝐺 𝑓 𝑓 𝑓 = 0.325 × 𝐺 𝐺𝐺 𝑓 𝑓 𝑓

U.S. Green Building Council LEED v5 Reference Guide for Operations and Maintenance, April 2025 Launch Edition 149