Energy Reporting Requirement Raises the Bar for LEED Green Buildings by Greg Shank

The new energy performance reporting requirements for LEED green buildings set forth by the U.S. Green Building Council has sparked a variety of reactions: joy, fear, misinformation etc. It seems like a good time to answer some of the most frequently asked questions about the new regulations and their importance to designing, constructing and operating more energy efficient buildings:

Q: Will my LEED building be decertified if it is an energy hog?
A: LEED buildings can be decertified for not reporting performance—not for poor performance. Being targeted as an energy hog is the most frequently repeated misunderstanding. The aim of the new rules is to evaluate buildings and learn from them. For example, what factors contribute to wasteful energy use that are not currently captured by LEED requirements? The aim is to improve performance by improving the USGBC LEED Rating System.

Q: Why is this data so important?
A: Collecting data is just the start. What counts is what you do with the data. Despite the tendency to immediately label a building as a high-performer or a hog, the greatest value is derived from reviewing daily, monthly, and annual trends to reveal performance slippage or anomalies. Some typical ways to benefit from the information:

• Pinpoint when filters need changing or controls need calibrating


• Discover HVAC equipment or lighting that is unnecessarily running 24/7


• Use building performance data from the months immediately following Commissioning to establish a baseline/benchmark


• Educate building occupants on the impacts of their behaviors

Q: How can my building perform poorly if it's achieved the LEED energy credits?
A: LEED-NC EA credit 1 requirements are based on a set of strict operating assumptions and rules to ensure apples-to-apples comparison of buildings across the country and throughout the world. The resultant energy model is effective at determining, on a percentage basis, the efficiency of your building's design compared to a minimally code-compliant building of the same size and shape. These models help designers compare, for example, the relative benefits of different glazing options versus lighting options, but they are not intended as predictors of actual energy use under real-world conditions.

Q: What about the Energy Star score as a predictor of energy performance?
A: Energy Star is a better measure of actual use, but it too has limitations. An Energy Star score of 90 means the building scores in the 90th percentile of a national database of buildings. That database of buildings is strong in some building types and regions of the country and weak in others. Furthermore, specialty building uses can dramatically skew results. For example, buildings with data centers need to take extra steps to properly account for the higher energy use intensity of those spaces to avoid skewing the building rating. Similarly, the presence of laboratory spaces in hi-tech or classroom buildings can dramatically influence the relevance of metrics that rely on "average" consumption data.

Q: How could my building end up way over code in losses?
A: There can be a number of reasons. The analysis has to include variables like equipment, occupancy and behavior. Some examples:

• Metered use in identical apartments can differ by 100%, 200% or more based on occupant behavior and computer/TV equipment


• Individual floors of a building with the same organization or tenant can vary by as much as three to one.


• An on-site laundry facility in a hotel or hospital can increase the total energy use by 25% or more.

Q: Isn't this energy performance requirement just another administrative boondoggle?
A: Of course only time can truly answer that question, but there are clear opportunities to make this a worthwhile program. One hope is that this information will serve as a critical resource for future technical committees as they work to continuously improve the LEED Rating Systems and strengthen the connections between credit requirements and dependable performance. A second opportunity lies simply in the coordinated creation of an intelligent data set with regional and building-type diversity. This type of information has not been readily available from utilities or government agencies. Information is power, especially in this internet age, and it is highly likely that third party consultants and organizations will be able to leverage this information in 5-10 years in powerful ways to inform the design of buildings, systems, and equipment.

-Greg
Greg Shank is the Vice President of CTG Energetics