by Rebecca Walker — April 8, 2009—Controversy continues to dog a February report released by NAIOP, the Commercial Real Estate Development Association. The study, conducted by ConSol, a California-based independent energy-modeling firm, concluded that reaching a 30% to 50% reduction above the ASHRAE standard for new office buildings is not feasible using common design approaches and would exceed a 10-year payback.
However, organizations voicing concern about the accuracy of the report’s conclusions include ASHRAE, American Council for an Energy-Efficient Economy (ACEEE), New Buildings Institute, Architecture 2030, and the U.S. Green Building Council.
Among the experts’ complaints:
- The study used average commercial utility prices per state rather than actual rates.
- The study failed to consider integrated design, and in fact discounted the process.
- The study disregarded a number of accepted and available low-cost energy-efficient measures, such as chilled-beams, daylighting, and automatic light sensors.
An article on the controversy is on the Web site for Building Design and Construction.
