LEED 2009 and its Impact on Foodservice Equipment Selection

The U.S. Green Building Council's LEED 2009 umbrella of rating systems, including LEED for Retail launching this summer, will pave the way for more restaurants and operators to seek LEED certification, while positioning foodservice professionals as integral figures in the process.

By Amelia Levin, Sr. Associate Editor -- Foodservice Equipment & Supplies, 4/1/2009 12:00:00 AM

In the main dining hall’s servery at Grinnell College in Iowa, a demand-controlled hood system reduces energy usage at this pasta bar station. LED lighting, Energy Star equipment and other features also helped the project earn LEED Silver Certification.

LEED is getting bigger by the minute, it seems. And it's just gotten huge. The U.S. Green Building Council plans to release LEED 2009 this month, its new, revitalized umbrella of criteria for achieving various levels of LEED certification. And, this summer, following a roughly two- year pilot program involving several drafts and revisions, the council plans to unveil its official LEED for Retail rating system for New Construction/Major Renovations and Commercial Interiors projects. As a result, LEED will, for the first time, include specific criteria that directly apply to kitchen operations and design.

One could say in the past, foodservice operations, both standalone buildings or those located within larger buildings and structures, were essentially an afterthought when it came to LEED. "The USGBC didn't know exactly how to deal with kitchens, or how much impact they could have on the total building energy use," according to Richard Young, senior engineer and director of education for the PG&E Food Service Technology Center in San Ramon, Calif., an energy efficiency research and testing organization.

Now, with a growing interest in LEED among the foodservice community, including various chain restaurants "leed-ing" the pack in that regard, the USGBC realized not only the need, but also the importance, to get those industry professionals involved. This came about roughly three years ago when the USGBC began to develop a rating system for office buildings and small commercial operations, a departure from its longtime focus on larger buildings like government institutions and healthcare facilities. That led to the launch of the LEED for Retail pilot program. After the first and second drafts in April 2007 and October 2007 came out, "foodservice professionals began to raise their voices," Young says. "The FSTC also spoke up and became an advocate for the foodservice community."

As a result, Young and the FSTC, operated by Fisher Nickel Inc., along with a number of other foodservice professionals, were invited to join a working group to develop a third, updated version of LEED for Retail that would better address the energy and water usage concerns created by commercial kitchens. The biggest change to come out of that process was a "prescriptive path," or guide for selecting the proper kitchen equipment and fixtures in order to meet, or exceed the requirements outlined by LEED.

This prescriptive path takes shape as a chart included in the 2009 LEED for Retail — NC draft called "Commercial Kitchen Appliance Prescriptive Measures and Baseline." The chart lists a battery of commercial cooking and other equipment, including fryers, griddles, steamers, ice machines, refrigerators, exhaust hoods, ovens and other products with corresponding data. The left side of the chart lists industry baseline levels of energy efficiency and water-savings, while the right side lists those required by LEED for basic certification.

According to LEED 2009, in order to earn just basic LEED certification, the project needs to demonstrate a minimum of 20-percent energy savings, which is higher than industry baseline standards.

So, what are those industry baseline standards? In order to develop this prescriptive path used for LEED, the FSTC was tasked with the job of first determining such standards for comparison. "You need to know the industry standard so you know how much better you are," Young says. "For example, the Toyota Prius is considered an 'energy-efficient car' with 45 to 50 miles per gallon, but compared to what? Well, we know that the average U.S. car uses about 27 miles per gallon, so based on that one can figure out how much they've saved with a hybrid car." The same theory applies to commercial cooking equipment.

For example, according to the chart, fryers have a baseline of 75-percent efficiency and a baseline idle rate of 1050 watts, as reported by the FSTC. However, for LEED to consider this equipment as part of the overall energy-use calculations for the building, the fryer must demonstrate an 80-percent efficiency level, and cannot exceed an idle rate of 1000 watts, which can be achieved by purchasing an Energy Star- or CEE-rated fryer, since these standards have already been demonstrated by such labels.

This chart takes a major strain off of LEED project team members to try and figure out how much energy and water a building uses when a kitchen is involved. "The whole deal behind the prescriptive path was to make it easier for foodservice to qualify a building as LEED-certified without jumping through so many hoops," Young says.

The main dining hall at Grinnell College in Iowa earned LEED Silver certifi-cation for its servery-style dining hall. Some of its environmentally friendly features include a compost-ing program, demand-controlled ventilation, and energy-saving combi ovens and other equipment.

In the past, LEED project team members had only one way of demonstrating the energy and water use of a kitchen: energy modeling. Many elect to hire an outside firm to do this because of the complexity of the task, according to Young. Because, when it comes to restaurants, energy modeling is not as cut and dry as it is to model office spaces or other like commercial venues.

"When it comes down to energy modeling an office space, it's a little less difficult because the energy loads, which are the people in the building and lights turned on and off, stay relatively the same every day," Young says. "People generally work nine to five, so the office tends to have hours when the lights are on and off. When it comes down to modeling a restaurant, there are so many different energy loads in oddball configurations within a small space. You have people going in and out of the building at all times during the day, and then you have peak hours, like on the weekends, that could have all different energy configurations.

"On top of that, you have an exhaust hood in the back sucking up all the air and heating, and all these energy-intensive appliances adding radiant heat to the building," Young continues. "The current energy models were not developed to handle an odd space like a kitchen. It takes a lot of knowledge about kitchens and serious modification of the model to get any kind of reasonable answer."

The prescriptive path literally takes a load off, not just energy-wise, but also in terms of finances and complexity. But, there's a catch: With the energy modeling, projects can get three to four points for demonstrating energy efficiency. However, with the newer, prescriptive path method, "you only get one lousy point," Young says. In a sense, it's ironic — you may end up saving more energy and water use by using the prescriptive measures for kitchen equipment, but you get fewer credits.

This is a clear testament to the youth of the concept, but something that Young certainly envisions getting revised over time. "I fully expect that to change," he says.

So, why even bother with the prescriptive path? What's even the point? "From a design standpoint, it's a great guideline in general," Young says. "Let's say I don't have a lot of money, but I want to get my restaurant LEED-certified. I don't want to spend $50,000 on modeling so I'll follow the prescriptive path. It says if you buy this piece of equipment, you'll meet the LEED requirements. So, I don't have to work super hard at figuring everything out, I just do what the chart tells me to do and I get credit."

Another positive element of the prescriptive path is even if a restaurant or foodservice operation doesn't want to strive for LEED certification, the chart offers a great starting point for at least building a LEED-style or "green" restaurant.

Most importantly, though, the prescriptive path is just that: prescriptive. LEED doesn't allow projects to opt out of purchasing energy-efficient equipment; if there is a kitchen, energy-efficient and water-saving equipment is absolutely required. Going forward, that's a huge step in the right direction for foodservice when it comes to working together as an industry to reduce its impact on the environment.

The Modeling Conundrum

You might be wondering at this point, where did the energy modeling stuff come from anyway? The idea was introduced years ago after the USGBC realized a major flaw in its original rating systems. For example, in the early days of LEED, a project seeking Commercial Interior certification, and which may have had a kitchen or cooking equipment similar to a coffee shop or other small foodservice operation, could essentially opt out of considering its equipment because the project could earn enough credits for certification from other areas, like indoor air quality, site selection and better lighting.

"People complained about the old rating systems, and said, well, then that's not really a green building," Young says. "The USGBC realized this flaw and began requiring restaurants and everybody else in the foodservice industry to do something about their energy."

Kitchen energy use, then, became considered "process loads," which are viewed differently than "regulated loads." Examples of regulated loads include general plumbing, indoor air-quality requirements, heating and cooling and basically any other aspect of the building regulations as defined locally.

"It's similar to an auto manufacturing plant," says Chad Edwards, principal of Emersion Design and a LEED Accredited Professional who has led several LEED projects. Take, for instance, the assembly line within the plant. That line eats up a lot of the site's energy use, so if it were included in LEED calculations, it would be difficult for the project to earn certification, Edwards points out. However, the assembly line is vital to the company's business. In years past, this was essentially LEED's view of kitchens, except perhaps for the kitchen's exhaust hoods and makeup air systems that were considered regulated loads.

Despite some of the flaws that may still exist, LEED 2009 and the LEED for Retail program is a huge milestone for the U.S. Green Building Council. "LEED is only about a decade old and the Council didn't know how fast it was going to grow," Young says. "When the U.S. Green Building Council started LEED, they did so with a single criterion, that was suited to larger buildings like government offices and universities. Then they introduced criteria for healthcare, schools and retail, etc. Everything started to pull in different directions. So, they decided to bring all of the LEED standards at least partially inline with a foundation or baseline set of guidelines, and that is LEED 2009. From there, you have the specific modifications for categories like LEED for Schools and LEED for Retail."

The LEED System

It's important to note that a substantial part of the research in this article comes from a draft of the 2009 LEED for Retail — New Construction and Major Renovations supplied to FE&S. At the time this article was written, the USGBC members had yet to vote to ratify the draft. The document includes written guidelines and suggestions for earning credits in various building construction and design areas, along with supporting tables, charts and graphs. The same goes for the entire LEED 2009 draft, which the council said at press time they expected to have passed the ballot for a release this month. They expect to release 2009 LEED for Retail this summer.

LEED 2009 consists of six different categories: LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations; Existing Buildings, Operations & Maintenance; Commercial Interiors; Core & Shell; LEED for Homes; and Neighborhood Development. In addition, LEED for New Construction and Major Renovations consists of five subcategories, including LEED for Multiple Buildings/Campuses; LEED for Schools; LEED for Healthcare; LEED for Laboratories; and LEED for Retail, the newest rating system. LEED for Retail is also a subcategory for Commercial Interiors.

While foodservice- and kitchen-related criteria certainly appear under LEED for Multiple Buildings/Campuses and LEED for Schools, most of the changes to LEED guidelines specially affecting the foodservice industry occurred under LEED for Retail, and more specifically, in the New Construction subcategory, Young says. "LEED for Retail — New Construction is definitely where we've all been spending our time and effort."

LEED for Retail — Commercial Interiors, on the other hand, applies to projects that could include foodservice operators that make up an interior part of an existing building. This could be a retail operation within a mall, or larger building construction.

Let's breakdown LEED for Retail — New Construction. This subcategory features seven areas of point accumulation: Sustainable Sites, which include preserving more natural land, reducing pollution, etc.; Water Efficiency, covering plumbing, landscaping, wastewater; Energy & Atmosphere, addressing energy efficiency, refrigerant management, green power and renewable energy; Materials & Resources, looking at recycling programs, using recycled materials for construction, etc.; Indoor Environmental Quality, air performance, use of daylight, etc.; Innovation & Design, where kitchen credits can come in and having a LEED AP on staff; and Regional Priority, which are decisions based on the needs of certain regions.

LEED 2009 takes the Innovation & Design credits section a step further, and also capitalizes on the involvement of a kitchen in other areas. The changes occur mainly in the Water Efficiency and Energy & Atmosphere sections.

Water Efficiency Section Changes

Foodservice designers faced challenges trying to fit traditional-sized equipment into the elliptical walls of the University of Cincinnati’s 374,000-square-foot Campus Recreation Center, Ohio’s first LEED Platinum project. Once they did, the project saved 20 percent on water usage through an efficient warewasher, and also used energy-efficient equipment, LED lighting and other green initiatives.

Under the Water Efficiency section, a project can earn credits for "Innovative Wastewater Technologies," and, under the revised guidelines, a minimum 20-percent water reduction is required for LEED certification, according to the USGBC draft. Thereafter, a project can earn additional credits for a 30-percent, 35-percent and 40-percent reduction in water savings, up to 10 possible credits. This is an area where kitchen water savings, in the form of energy-efficient dishwashers, low-flow pre-rinse spray valves, aerators and other tools can tremendously impact the building's overall point accumulation, and make the difference between a Silver, Gold or Platinum level of certification, according to Young. For example, since low-flow pre-rinse spray valves operating at 1.6 gallons per minute (gpm) are required by law, LEED projects must beat this level by a required 20-percent minimum, with credits earned for exceeding 1.6 gpm by up to 40 percent, which can be accomplished by using units with 0.65 gpm, according to Young.

The prescriptive path chart outlines water usage requirements for commercial ice machines, dishwashers, food steamers and combi ovens. Whereas in the past, the kitchen as a process may not have had clear guidelines for water savings, the draft provides more specific suggestions for improving overall water use reduction.

Outside of the kitchen, a project can earn water efficiency credits through efficient landscaping in the form of using plants and trees that are native to the area and don't require excess watering; and by catching rainwater for irrigation purposes.

The Food Service Technology Center has been working furiously in the last few years to keep up with energy testing demands for a variety of foodservice equipment. The way the center works is that manufacturers submit products to undergo a rigorous battery of tests at the center. The center then sends back the reports, which they make available to the public, and the manufacturer can submit those to Energy Star when pursuing certification. Manufacturers also have the option to do their own testing at their own facilities using the testing standards developed by the FSTC. However, many elect to have the center do the testing because of a lack of testing resources, and the desire to have the work done by an independent and unbiased third-party.

In addition, the Consortium for Energy Efficiency, a nonprofit organization working with its members to promote the use of energy-efficient products, also sets standard levels of energy performance based on testing reports, quantifying the capabilities of certain equipment as either CEE Tier 1 or more efficient, CEE Tier 2. LEED rating systems include equipment at the highest level, whether they are Energy Star or CEE Tiers. Basically, these labels just make it easier for foodservice projects to demonstrate a certain level of energy efficiency, without having to go to the trouble of submitting endless reports documenting the same thing. In some cases, a CEE Tier 1 reach-in refrigerator equates an Energy Star refrigerator, but in other cases, higher levels of efficiency may be demonstrated by using CEE Tier 2 equipment. This is outlined on the Prescriptive Path chart to be included in the new LEED for Retail version.

While the idea of testing and certifying foodservice equipment may generate a lot of attention today, it's not exactly a new idea. "About 10 years ago, we started with a couple appliances, mainly griddles and fryers," Young says. "We created an advisory group to help guide us as we developed standardized tests to measure appliance efficiency and performance. We brought onboard the Gas Research Institute, the American Gas Association, Penn State University, Marriott, McDonald's, UL, the Electric Power Research Institute and others." The idea was to create a representative group of people involved in the energy, gas, electric, end-user, academic and testing areas of the foodservice business.

"Every six months they would grill us for an entire day and a half, trying to look for holes in our procedures," Young says. "We would test, improve, test, improve, until we came up with a standard the industry could use. Now, any lab in the United States can use our testing standards and come out with the same answer. If you follow our test procedures, there's no way you can cheat against it."

The plan was to have the test procedures blessed by equipment manufacturers and published by ASTM International, formerly known as the American Society for Testing and Materials. "The test procedures we created got ratified by ASTM and this became bigger than us. Since then, we've created 35 test procedures. We continue to create them based on demand from the industry." A lot of the demand for testing within existing categories, Young says, stems from the growing number of rebates available for energy-efficient equipment.

Young makes it clear that reports completed by the Food Service Technology Center serve as an educational resource and unbiased, third-party standard. The center, he stresses, is not a consulting firm that charges for the research provided.

With these LEED revisions, purchasing energy-efficient equipment is not just an option, it's indeed a requirement. And, the efficiency level of that equipment directly affects the number of credits the building project can earn towards LEED certification.

Innovation & Design Section

In the past, LEED Accredited Professionals had to be somewhat creative to get credits for improvements in the kitchen. This was certainly the case for the University of Cincinnati's Campus Recreation Center, a project on which Edwards was the LEED AP while an associate with KZF Design, an architectural firm in Walnut Hills, Ohio. Edwards worked closely with Chape Whitman of Ricca Newmark to essentially fit a kitchen and servery within the elliptical walls of the serveries, a challenge to say the least.

At the time, the prescriptive path did not yet exist; however, realizing the benefit of demonstrating savings in these kitchen areas, the team brought in water-saving ice machines and a more efficient warewasher, as well as low-flow pre-rinse spray valves, and aerators for kitchen sink faucets. "We were able to reduce the water use in the building by 20 percent off the normal baseline, so we got an innovation credit for that," Edwards says. "Heapy Engineering out of Dayton was critical to that process as well."

With LEED 2009, that kind of water savings has been incorporated as possible credits earned in the Water Efficiency section. With these changes, innovation credits can now instead go toward other resource-saving initiatives not already documented in the set of guidelines. This would include, according to Edwards, waste management systems such as composting and documenting a reduction of food waste, use of green cleaning products, using local foods, and others. Recycling programs, however, have always been a prerequisite in the LEED rating systems.

The other change in the Innovation & Design section in the LEED for Retail — NC draft, comes in the form of an increase in total possible innovation credits from four to six.

Regional Priority Section

The Regional Priority section is an entirely new section in LEED 2009, according to Edwards. Part of the USGBC's revision process was pinpointing professionals from certain regions around the country for their input on what environmental standards matter most to them. For example, water efficiency may be extremely important in California and other Western states, but perhaps not as dramatically important in the Great Lakes region.

According to the new LEED guidelines, if approved, projects will have an option to choose four regionally focused, environmentally friendly tasks out of six listed, for a total of four points.

LEED for Retail — Commercial Interiors

The entire scope of the article until now has focused on LEED for Retail — New Construction. Now, let's talk about LEED for Retail — Commercial Interiors. This includes foodservice operations or other small retail units within a larger building or mall system that may or may not be LEED-certified. "It helps if the larger building is a LEED-certified or pending project, but it is not necessary," Edwards says.

The four outlined ways to save energy are: reducing lighting power density from 15 percent, 20 percent, 25 percent, 30 percent or 35 percent below the standard (using LED lighting is a good example of this, Young says); enhancing lighting controls by ensuring more natural daylight comes through the building or motion-sensor lighting; improving efficiencies of the HVAC system; and using energy-efficient equipment. Within that latter category, a project can earn credits by ensuring that 70 percent, 77 percent, 84 percent or 90 percent of the eligible equipment is Energy Star-rated. While Energy Star is required in all cases, in other cases, CEE Tier 2 could function on a higher level.

In addition, similar to LEED for Retail — NC, here, assuming the draft is passed, projects can earn up to six Innovation & Design credits as well as up to four regional credits. And, in the water efficiency section, a similar credit system applies, with between 6 and 11 credits given for 30-percent, 35-percent and 40-percent reduction of water use.

Other LEED Changes

The USGBC has taken a strong initiative to move its program entirely online. LEED APs working on projects have an ability to manage all the documents submitted through an online program, with various players on the project's team submitting documents online as well, yet without a master control of the entire package.

Moving Forward

Though it may seem otherwise at times, the goal behind LEED is not to necessarily certify every building and interior in the country, Young says. Rather, the philosophy of LEEDis to lead. "A LEED-certified building is the best of the best," he says. "It shows you have gone above and beyond the call of duty, and you are truly a leader. Just two years ago, almost nobody in the foodservice world was going for LEED certification. Now, two years later we are starting to get a pretty good variety of operators getting involved." For multi-unit foodservice operators in particular, the benefit behind certifying just one restaurant allows that location to serve as a prototype for other units to more easily and swiftly earn certification. "Once you build one LEED-certified store, it's easier to build other stores or branches afterward. The USGBC has allowed sort of a cookie-cutter type of program," Young says, which only takes the strain off operators more.

And now, after a decade of progress, the USGBC's new LEED for Retail criteria will not only make it easier for foodservice professionals to contribute to the LEED certification process, but also vital for them to do so. In addition, it will force architects and other non-foodservice professionals on the project to better cooperate with foodservice professionals, and perhaps encourage them to more proactively seek their help and input at the start of projects. Now, that's a win-win situation.

Visit www.fesmag.com for the "LEED page," your resource for learning all about how LEED relates to the foodservice industry. View a draft of the "Commercial Kitchen Appliance Prescriptive Measures and Baseline" chart discussed in this article; get your questions answered through our "Ask the Expert" section; talk with other peers in our LEED chat room; read through related articles; and more.

Restaurant Chains "LEED" the Way

Chipotle

Two of the four LEED-certification projects Chipotle has undertaken are nearing certification, one in Minnetonka, Minn., and the other for a newly constructed, stand-alone building in Gurnee, Ill., (pictured). Both were 2009 LEED for Retail pilot projects. Built from recycled construction materials, the Gurnee store features a variety of energy- and water-saving equipment inside the restaurant, including LED lighting, efficient faucets, toilets and cooking equipment. Outside, a six-kilowatt wind turbine on the building's already solar reflective roof, which reduces cooling needs, generates about 10 percent of the restaurant's electricity, and a cistern collects rainwater for irrigating the store's landscaping, made up of naturally occurring vegetation for that region.

Yum! Brands: KFC-Taco Bell

Yum! Brands Inc. opened an environmentally friendly KFC-Taco Bell restaurant in Northampton, Mass., and is pursuing LEED certification for this facility. This location's highlights include reducing energy use by 30 percent through energy-saving equipment and lighting; recycled building materials; and water conservation through faucet fixtures, harvested rainwater for irrigation, and a rain garden with filters for improving storm water quality. In addition, the store uses solar energy to reduce the use of natural gas, and it also converts frying oil into biofuel.

McDonald's

McDonald's first green restaurant opened in Umea, Sweden, in 2000, and in 2005, the chain earned gold status for its first LEED-Core and Shell-certified restaurant in Savannah, Ga. The chain plans to open another restaurant targeted for LEED certification in Chicago (pictured). The restaurant reduces energy and water use through more efficient cooking equipment, rooftop mechanical equipment, and boilers, and it also incorporates environmentally friendly décor options in the restaurant designed to enhance indoor air quality and promote natural lighting. Also notable is the building's green roof with storm water management, high-efficiency LED lighting for exterior signage, and green power purchased through renewable energy credits. McDonald's is a member of the LEED for Retail pilot program.

Becoming a LEED AP

Another major change to the LEED system involves the LEED Accredited Professional program, or LEED AP as it's nicknamed. Essentially, being a LEED AP means one has prepared, taken and passed the U.S. Green Building Council's rigorous test and, as a result, is qualified to lead LEED projects, which involves collecting and submitting the final documents.

To get a better idea about these changes, FE&S spoke with Ray Soucie, principal of RSA Inc. in Portland, Ore., a LEED AP who offered input to the USGBC during the 2009 LEED for Retail pilot program. Under LEED 2009, the AP program will consist of four categories:

LEED Green Associate
LEED AP
LEED AP Plus
LEED AP Fellow

LEED AP Plus and LEED AP Fellow stand among the highest ranked of the categories. "These categories signify an extraordinary depth of knowledge and specialization in a particular field," Soucie says. The idea of subcategorizing LEED AP was to highlight such specializations in different LEED categories, from building design and new construction, to commercial interiors, to retail.

In general, LEED AP isn't easy to earn. The program can take anywhere from a few months to a year or longer to complete, depending on pace of study. The study period is rigorous and tests, which can take several hours, are demanding. Not everyone passes on the first try.

"There are 416 pages in the reference guide that includes the glossary and that's just the reference guide, not the entire study materials," he says.

By restructuring the LEED AP program this way, the USGBC now allows people to pick and choose what level of commitment and specialization of the process they desire. Becoming a LEED AP is important for foodservice professionals, not just because they are doing something good for the community, but also because it helps get a leg up on competition. "Foodservice professionals have more opportunities to gain points by contributing to the energy and water savings within the buildings and kitchens," Soucie says. "Those elements were always there, but our input will be weighted more heavily now."

Here are Soucie's quick tips for getting started:

Visit the U.S. Green Building Council's web site at www.usgbc.org.
Find a local USGBC chapter and talk to others who have gone through the process.
Purchase the study materials. Discounts are given to USGBC members.
Take a structured workshop and go through several practice exams.

Talkback

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I would like to make one correction:
The Campus Recreation Center at the University of Cincinnati was not Ohio''s first LEED Platinum Rated project. It was awarded the Certified level. Fernald Preserve Visitors'' Center was the first LEED-NC Platinum Rated project. emersion DESIGN''s office was the first LEED-CI Platinum Rated project. Thank you.

Chad Edwards - 4/15/2009 3:12:00 PM PDT