Comments on: LEED or Get Out of the Way http://science.kqed.org/quest/2009/05/15/leed-or-get-out-of-the-way/ Explore science, nature and environment stories from Northern California and beyond with KQED’s multimedia series Thu, 24 May 2012 05:51:00 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Everblue http://science.kqed.org/quest/2009/05/15/leed-or-get-out-of-the-way/#comment-11963 Everblue Sat, 30 May 2009 13:56:35 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=2469#comment-11963 The USGBC completed a study of 500 LEED Certified buildings. The study compared the LEED building's actual energy usage vs two benchmarks. One was the energy model of the building required under LEED and the second was the commercial equivalent benchmark taken from the DOE's Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey. You can find the study on the GBCI website. The results were interesting. The buildings overall did not measure up to their energy models but a full two thirds were more efficient that their commercial counterparts (some exceeding so). Many of the remaining third that did not save energy had some type of unplanned usage change for the space (like extra people). The study concluded that much work needs to be done to make Energy Models more realistic and it also did an analysis of energy usage compared to buildings that did commissioning, daylighting, and assorted other things to see if those items had an impact on energy usage. Overall, they did not but the daylighting actually slightly reduced energy usage (attributed to lower light loads). The USGBC completed a study of 500 LEED Certified buildings. The study compared the LEED building's actual energy usage vs two benchmarks. One was the energy model of the building required under LEED and the second was the commercial equivalent benchmark taken from the DOE's Commercial Building Energy Consumption Survey. You can find the study on the GBCI website.
The results were interesting. The buildings overall did not measure up to their energy models but a full two thirds were more efficient that their commercial counterparts (some exceeding so). Many of the remaining third that did not save energy had some type of unplanned usage change for the space (like extra people).
The study concluded that much work needs to be done to make Energy Models more realistic and it also did an analysis of energy usage compared to buildings that did commissioning, daylighting, and assorted other things to see if those items had an impact on energy usage. Overall, they did not but the daylighting actually slightly reduced energy usage (attributed to lower light loads).

]]> By: Jim Gunshinan http://science.kqed.org/quest/2009/05/15/leed-or-get-out-of-the-way/#comment-11962 Jim Gunshinan Fri, 29 May 2009 17:20:44 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=2469#comment-11962 Joan, I did the research. Tinted windows don't provide near the insulating value of walls. And I was talking about LEED new construction, which has been around for a while. The LEED existing building program is fairly new and a response to the poor energy performance of LEED buildings. Now if LEED would require that new buildings meet the performance standards of the existing buildings program for certification, than that would be something to crow about. Joan,

I did the research. Tinted windows don't provide near the insulating value of walls. And I was talking about LEED new construction, which has been around for a while. The LEED existing building program is fairly new and a response to the poor energy performance of LEED buildings.

Now if LEED would require that new buildings meet the performance standards of the existing buildings program for certification, than that would be something to crow about.

]]> By: Joan http://science.kqed.org/quest/2009/05/15/leed-or-get-out-of-the-way/#comment-11964 Joan Fri, 29 May 2009 16:41:11 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=2469#comment-11964 You should do some more research before making these claims. First of all, the reason that LEED certified buildings have a large percentage of windows-they are tinted and therefore maximize natural light while blocking heat. Second, your claim that LEED certification does not require performance testing on buildings is completely false. LEED for existing buildings requires a re-certification application to be filed at least once every 5 years to maintain certification. The documentation in the application must include reports of the buildings operating performance data for the entire performance period. The "Green Building Impact Report 2008" is published proof of the ongoing efforts to keep track of LEED certified building performance and its impact on our environment. Here's a link to it: http://www.greenerbuildings.com/greenbuildingimpactreport/html?page=0%2C1 You should do some more research before making these claims. First of all, the reason that LEED certified buildings have a large percentage of windows-they are tinted and therefore maximize natural light while blocking heat. Second, your claim that LEED certification does not require performance testing on buildings is completely false. LEED for existing buildings requires a re-certification application to be filed at least once every 5 years to maintain certification. The documentation in the application must include reports of the buildings operating performance data for the entire performance period. The "Green Building Impact Report 2008" is published proof of the ongoing efforts to keep track of LEED certified building performance and its impact on our environment. Here's a link to it: http://www.greenerbuildings.com/greenbuildingimpactreport/html?page=0%2C1

]]> By: FLGreenliving http://science.kqed.org/quest/2009/05/15/leed-or-get-out-of-the-way/#comment-11965 FLGreenliving Wed, 27 May 2009 16:12:15 +0000 http://www.kqed.org/quest/blog/?p=2469#comment-11965 Hi, Just read your post, Glad to hear your good news from LEED standard. Thanks for this program, Yeah! let's fight global warming, and grow a green economy. Go Green! Hi,

Just read your post, Glad to hear your good news from LEED standard. Thanks for this program, Yeah! let's fight global warming, and grow a green economy. Go Green!

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