Shared base building HVAC systems may be entered and linked among buildings in a BBL for Heating Plants, Cooling Plants, and Condenser Plants. Below are entry options for shared HVAC systems.
Note: the 'Show un-required fields' button located at the top of the screen may need to be selected to view shared Plant input fields.
Option 1 - Plant is physically located on the BBL property that is being edited, and may serve more than one building in a BBL:
- Add the Plant and associated components in one building
- If the plant serves other buildings in a BBL, link to this plant when editing the HVAC section of the other buildings that are served by the plant.
Example: For a BBL property with 5 buildings using steam heat from a single central boiler located on the property, create a Heating Plant in building #1 with Steam Boiler selected as the Heating Plant Type. Edit the HVAC section of the other 4 buildings, select the blue ‘Link BBL Heating Plant’ button, and select the plant created for building #1 from the pull down menu.
After linking, the BINs of the buildings selected as sharing the plant will be displayed on screen and in the audit report for reference:
To remove a link to a plant for the current building, select the black ‘X’ icon. The plant may be edited or deleted for the entire property by selecting the edit or trash button from within any building on the property.
Reporting energy use: If multiple buildings on a BBL share a base building system, then the energy use for the shared system should be entered on the report for the building that houses the shared system. On the Plant entry screen, check the ‘Plant serves other BBLs or other BINs on this BBL’ box, and enter values on the Shared System Annual Summary for Energy Use and Energy Cost screen.
Option 2 - Plant is physically located on another BBL property and serves this building:
- Add the Plant and associated components in one building
- Check the ‘Plant is not located on this BBL’ box, and enter the BBL of the property where the plant is located.
- If the plant also serves other buildings on the BBL, link to this plant when editing the HVAC section of the other buildings that are served by the plant.
Example: A group of buildings on a BBL use the steam generated from a district heating plant located off the property. District Steam should be selected as the Heating Plant Type.
Option 3 - Plant is physically located on the BBL property that is being edited, and serves other BBL properties:
- Add the Plant and associated components in one building
- Check the ‘Plant serves other BBLs’ box, and enter the BBLs of the other properties that the plant serves
- If the plant also serves other buildings on the BBL, link to this plant when editing the HVAC section of the other buildings that are served by the plant.
Example: A building or group of buildings on a BBL use the steam generated from a district heating plant located on the BBL property, that also serves other BBL properties. District Steam should be selected as the Heating Plant Type.