LEED-BDC-v4-v5-Summary-of-Changes - Page 008

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Energy and Atmosphere

The Energy and Atmosphere (EA) credit category in LEED v5 aims to facilitate the design and construction of low-carbon buildings by increasing carbon literacy and providing a clear framework for reducing or eliminating emissions. It focuses on three critical steps for decarbonization: electrification, reduced peak thermal loads, and energy efficiency. The category introduces new credits for electrification and reduced peak thermal loads, while maintaining a strong emphasis on energy efficiency. Additional strategies include enhanced commissioning, renewable energy, grid-interactive systems, and refrigerant management. These approaches can lead to reduced operational costs, improved resilience, and enhanced value for building owners, occupants, and communities.

LEED v5 Platinum-certified projects are expected to achieve industry best practices in energy efficiency, eliminate on-site combustion (except for emergencies), use 100% renewable energy, and reduce embodied carbon. The EA category ultimately supports the goal of decarbonizing buildings by mid-century to combat global energy emissions.

Prerequisite	Fundamental Commissioning and Verification	Replaced all previously referenced standards with ASNI/ASHRAE/IES Standard 90.1 as the commissioning requirements without Section 4.2.5.2 exceptions. Removed allowance for the CxP to be a qualified member of the design or construction team for projects smaller than 20,000 square feet or data center projects. Modified requirement such that the CxP is to assist in the development, reviewing, and updating of the Owner’s Project Requirements (OPR). Added CxP attendance of one or more meetings with the design team focused on MEP and envelope review comments. Added CxP review of submittals and substitutions for design deviations. Added CxP attendance of 50% and 100% construction milestone meetings. Added 10% sample review of completed contractor documentation. Added requirement of envelope CxP to include testing in Cx documents and witness of sample of tests (not required by Core + Shell). Moved ongoing commissioning plan requirement from enhanced commissioning credit to fundamental commissioning credit. Removed current facilities requirements and operations and maintenance plan development.
Prerequisite	Minimum Energy Performance	Prerequisite renamed to: EAp Minimum Energy Efficiency. Moving from ASHRAE 90.1-2010 to ASHRAE 90.1-2019 or 2022 versions. Option 1: (before 2028 only) comply with ASHRAE 90.1-2019 via energy cost or future source energy. Option 2: comply with ASHRAE 90.1-2022 via energy cost, future source energy, source energy, or site energy.

Repair provenance

Reconstructed from the PDF’s embedded text and word/block coordinates, then visually verified against original PDF page 8 on 2026-07-26. The category introduction, two prerequisite rows, and all bullet associations were confirmed from the original page image; no Marker or OCR text was used.

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