EA Prerequisite + Credit: Energy Performance

🔹 EA Prerequisite: Minimum Energy Performance

🎯 Intent

👉 To reduce environmental and economic harms of excessive energy use
👉 by establishing a minimum level of energy efficiency

🧩 Compliance Options (VERY IMPORTANT)

🥇 Option 1: Whole-Building Energy Simulation (Performance Path)

📊 Requirement:

Compare Proposed Building vs Baseline Building

👉 Using:

• ASHRAE 90.1–2010 (Appendix G)

📉 Minimum Improvement Required:

👉 ⚠️ MEMORIZE: 5% – 3% – 2%

💡 Key Insight:

👉 This is the only option that unlocks maximum points later

🥈 Option 2: Prescriptive – ASHRAE 50% AEDG

👉 Follow:

• ASHRAE 90.1–2010
• ASHRAE 50% Advanced Energy Design Guide

📌 Characteristics:

• No modeling required
• “Checklist-based”
• Less flexible

👉 ⚠️ Limitation:

• Max 6 points in Optimize Energy Performance

🥉 Option 3: Core Performance Guide

👉 Follow:

• ASHRAE 90.1–2010
• Advanced Buildings™ Core Performance Guide

⚠️ Eligibility:

• Must be < 100,000 sq ft
• ❌ Not allowed for:
  • Healthcare
  • Warehouse
  • Laboratory

👉 ⚠️ BIG:

• Not eligible for Optimize Energy Performance points

🧠 Key Comparison

⚠️ CRITICAL EXAM INSIGHT

👉 Your choice here:

Directly limits how many points you can earn later

⚡ EA Credit: Optimize Energy Performance

🎯 Intent

👉 Achieve higher energy performance beyond prerequisite

👉 Reduce:

• energy use
• costs
• environmental impact

🧩 Options (Linked to Prerequisite)

🥇 Option 1: Energy Simulation

👉 Must use:

• ASHRAE 90.1–2010 Appendix G

📊 Starting Threshold:

👉 ⚠️ Notice:

Credit starts at +1% above prereq

🏆 Maximum:

👉 Up to 18 points

⭐ Exemplary Performance:

👉 ~54% improvement

(You don’t need all numbers—just remember this high benchmark)

🥈 Option 2: Prescriptive (AEDG)

👉 Must have used AEDG in prerequisite

📊 Points:

👉 Up to 6 points only

🧠 Key Concept: Energy Modeling

💡 What is Energy Modeling?

👉 A computer simulation comparing:

• Proposed building
  vs
• Baseline (code-compliant building)

⏱️ When should it be done?

❌ Late design:

• Only compliance tool

✅ Early design:

• Decision-making tool
• Optimizes performance

👉 ⚠️ BEST PRACTICE (Exam concept):

Start energy modeling early in design

🔍 Exceptional Calculation Method (ECM)

📌 When is it used?

👉 When:

• Energy model cannot simulate a system or feature

Examples:

• new technology
• non-standard systems
• non-regulated loads

👉 ⚠️ LEED allows ECM to:

Estimate energy savings outside normal modeling capability

⚡ Process vs Non-Process Energy

🔵 Non-Process (Regulated Loads)

👉 Included in energy model

• HVAC
• lighting
• service water heating

🟠 Process Energy

👉 Not fully regulated

Examples:

• computers
• kitchen equipment
• laundry

👉 ⚠️ Important:

• harder to model
• may require ECM