News Release

RMF’s Tim Griffin: District Energy No Longer a Slam Dunk to Score LEED Points

The gold standard for determining a building’s environmental impact, the US Green Building Council’s (USGBC) LEED certification is updating its trusted rating system, dubbed version 4.1, and thus raising the bar for green building certification. While the focus on a building’s energy efficiency is still very important in the analysis, for the first time, the greenhouse gas emissions associated with a building’s energy use are also being considered. These changes will impact the choice between a district energy system or on-site boilers and chillers in the pursuit of LEED points.

In a recent International District Energy Association webinar, RMF Executive Vice President Tim Griffin spoke about the intricacies of creating an energy efficiency plan that’s best suited for each individual project, and how a renewed focus on greenhouse gas emissions is driving LEED’s 4.1 version. Griffin shared the latest guidelines and technologies making the process easier to follow, revealed which regions are doing the best job with their greenhouse gas output, and discussed how USGBC is raising the bar to achieve Net Zero impact.

Additional highlights include:

• In previous versions of LEED every region of the country was treated the same. In Version 4.1, now a region’s electric grid efficiency greatly impacts the analysis. As a result, a district energy system in one region of the country may earn a different number of points that a district energy system in another.
• As USGBC moves toward a Net Zero impact, greenhouse gas emissions, and thus source energy, are now becoming a more important conversation. Griffin discusses how this will impact district energy design in the future.
• The updated LEED rating guidelines are another example of forces changing the District Energy Industry. Griffin shares why the future for this trusted method of heating and cooling looks bright.