by Shane Henson — November 28, 2011—A report released by the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL), Re-Assessing Green Building Performance: A Post-Occupancy Evaluation of 22 GSA Buildings, makes clear to what extent sustainably designed federal buildings outperform typical commercial buildings.
The U.S. General Services Administration commissioned PNNL to conduct a post-occupancy evaluation of 22 “green” federal buildings from across the country. In the report, PNNL found that, on average, green buildings, compared to commercial buildings in general:
- Cost less to maintain, by 19%;
- Use less energy, by 25%, and less water, by 11%;
- Emit less carbon dioxide, by 34%; and
- Have more satisfied occupants, by 27%.
“To measure green building performance you must look at the building holistically, which includes the occupants and maintenance impacts in addition to the commonly targeted energy and water use,” said Kim Fowler, a senior research engineer and buildings relationship manager at PNNL, who is lead author of the paper. “One can design and construct a building well, with the greenest of specifications, but if it’s not operated well or isn’t meeting the needs of the occupants, the grandest intents go out the operable window,” she said.
The PNNL team conducted the analysis in seven of GSA’s national administrative regions to evaluate how well its sustainably designed buildings are performing in comparison to average commercial buildings and to GSA’s baseline measurements of its sustainably constructed buildings. Researchers worked with building contacts to collect data from utility bills about energy and water use, maintenance and operations costs, and waste and recycling costs. They also conducted a survey to glean information about occupant commute and satisfaction. They then compared those results to national averages.
One of the buildings evaluated was the U.S Courthouse in downtown Seattle, Washington. The courthouse has been deemed one of the safest structures ever built. In 2004, the courthouse won GSA’s award for construction excellence. It features radiant floor heating, high- efficiency lighting, an energy management system, natural gas boiler and waterless urinals. PNNL’s analysis found that, despite a slightly higher janitorial cost, the U.S. Courthouse’s operating costs are 35% lower than the industry baseline.
