by Rebecca Walker — July 13, 2009—Exactly how energy-efficient are the nation’s most sustainable buildings? That question has puzzled experts because of insufficient data, but the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) will soon have an answer.
The organization will also examine the data to determine which LEED credits are most effective at optimizing building performance, helping inform future revisions to the 10-year-old rating system.
“Building performance will guide LEED’s evolution,” Brendan Owens, vice president of LEED technical development, said in a statement. Energy requirements for LEED are currently based on building codes or, under some platforms, the average energy intensity for similar building types. Hypothetically, if USGBC aggregated enough performance data, LEED energy requirements could one day be formulated using the average performance of other LEED buildings.
The most comprehensive study on the energy performance of LEED-certified buildings, completed by New Buildings Institute last year, was able to gather data on just 122 certified buildings (about 550 buildings were invited to participate.)
USGBC said it would work with building owners to pursue “cost effective ways” for every LEED building to become metered, although it would consider exceptions.
For more information, see the USGBC Web site.
