An interesting article in the New York Times this morning focuses on how some buildings that have earned LEED certification aren't living up to their green promises. The problem, apparently, is a disconnect between design and performance...
Some Buildings Not Living Up To LEED
New York Times
LEED certifies the construction of a building and not the performance (which is where things were going wrong), so starting this year they will also be requiring newly constructed buildings to hand over their first five years of water and energy bills.
From the article:
But in its own study last year of 121 new buildings certified through 2006, the Green Building Council found that more than half — 53 percent — did not qualify for the Energy Star label and 15 percent scored below 30 in that program, meaning they used more energy per square foot than at least 70 percent of comparable buildings in the existing national stock.
Read the whole article here. It's fascinating.
(Image: Flickr member Wade Roush licensed for use under Creative Commons)
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This is the inherent flaw of a point system for sustainable design that is generally being directed by architects. As building commissioners and MEP engineers, we have seen a large number of buildings that have sacrificed true energy efficiency for recycled materials, expansive windows/ daylighting, and green roofs (one project slashed the budget on a more efficient mechanical system in favor of terrazzo floors). Yes, all of it goes toward LEED Certification but these design elements very rarely reduce energy usage. I hope with LEED v3, the focus will be in the right place.
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The USGBC aligned its priorities in LEED 2009 with a report by NIST favoring the reduction of fossil fuels for building energy use over the extraction and transport of materials. This article's argument that buildings don't live up to the g...reen label is misleading - they met the requirements of LEED's rating system when they were built. At the time of the construction of the Youngstown building (7 years ago!), bamboo flooring was more important (however incorrectly) than lowering your energy use. Aligning LEED with Energy Star is the right step in delivering on the NIST energy use priorities and will ensure that developers can't benefit simply from the low-hanging fruit of bamboo floors (which are hideous anyway) and less toxic paint. LEED has been an evolution from the start with a large group of stakeholders and a public voting system unparalleled in the industry. If you really believe that energy use reduction is essential to buildings, then get involved and make your voice heard.
view rarelement's profile