Buildings are responsible for around 70% of the energy use in the United States. They also provide opportunities for low cost energy efficiency improvements that can often be paid for in direct energy cost savings in a short period of time. The United States Green Building Council (USGBC) sponsors an award called Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) that certifies excellence in building design and its performance.
CNT Energy's building has received the highest rating, Platinum, for the reconstruction we did in 2005. Since then we have monitored its performance to make sure it has achieved the goals that it was expected to, and track how our daily use in the building has effected the results. We have done this out of curiosity, and in our belief that performance monitoring and maintenance should be an active part of a certification for LEED buildings.
In the release of the new standards for LEED 2009, the USGBC has declared that certified buildings must report back their energy and water use performance for the first 5 years. This will not only make sure that building operators are achieving the results the building is modeled for, but it will also provide a lot of data so the USGBC can make the best changes to their certification that maximize the designs that have the best results.
A buzz word in the energy efficiency world is the "Snackwell Effect." Like the popular cookie a few years back, it has less calories but the consumers would end up eating more of them and the healthy snack lost its edge. Some families that change their lightbulbs to CFLs have a tendency to leave them on all day because they're energy efficient. Of course, at the end of the month the bill won't look any different. Actively monitoring performance will help the building owners get the most out of their LEED certified investment.
For more information check out this BuildingGreen.com article.
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