USGBC
Stetz Consulting LLC is an USGBC Education Provider (#0132) committed to enhancing the ongoing professional development of the building industry and LEED Professionals through high quality continuing education programs. As a USGBC Education Provider, Stetz Consulting LLC has agreed to abide by USGBC-established operational and educational criteria, and is subject to annual reviews and audits for quality assurance.
Two courses are currently offered to evaluate building energy use and performance as it applies to the LEED 3.0 BD&C and LEED-O&M. These courses provide updates on the LEED 3.0 rating system, discuss the relevance of building energy use and performance expectations, and introduce concepts of the International Performance Measurement & Verification Protocol. The 100 level course is 1.5 hours and is intended for local USGBC chapter meeting programs. It is valued at 1 GBCI CEU, and is LEED-Specific for Green Associates, LEED AP BD&C and O&M. This course has been well received in Austin, Durango, Tampa, Ft. Meyers, Ottawa, and St. Louis.
| Accreditation | Category |
|---|---|
| LEED Green Associate | IV. Project Systems and Energy Impacts, A. Environmental Concerns |
| LEED AP O&M | III. Project Systems and Energy Impacts, F: Energy Performance Measurement |
| LEED AP BD&C | III. Project Systems and Energy Impacts, B: Energy Performance Measurement |
Four studies that researched projected and actual performance of LEED certified buildings are referenced in these courses. See below for summaries and references.
The latest course to earn GBCI approval is engineering economics. This class introduces the principles of Life Cycle Costing as a method of economic evaluation. While emphasis is placed on evaluating the cost-effectiveness of energy-efficiency alternatives, the principles can be applied to any economic decision that provides definable economic benefits. Architects and engineers can use these principles during the design phase to identify the most cost-effective options. Real estate professionals, financiers, facility managers, and those in a position to make investment decisions affecting operating costs will benefit from this class. Examples and sample problems will be demonstrated with Microsoft Excel, so familiarity with this spreadsheet program is expected. Participants will be able to construct simple economic models using Excel to evaluate investment decisions. This is a 300 level class worth 2 GBCI CE Hours.
Comparing Projected Building Performance to Actual
In the Building Performance Measurement classes, there are references to studies comparing projected LEED building performance to actual performance.
The first of these reports was commissioned by USGBC and performed by the New Buildings Institute called “Energy Performance of LEED for New Construction Buildings.” The study gathered whole building energy data from 121 LEED-NC buildings across the country that had been occupied for at least one year. The results look at the relationships of actual performance levels to other benchmarks, including initial modeling and ENERGY STAR ratings.
On average, this report claims that LEED buildings are delivering the anticipated savings, performing 25-30% better
than national average or modeled baselines. Individual building results, however, display a high degree of scatter, with some performing much better than average and some much worse. These and other results from this exploratory study suggest several opportunities for improved feedback tools, follow-up research on actual performance factors, improved modeling guidelines, and LEED program refinements.
National Research Council Canada conducted a re-analysis of data Post Occupancy Evaluation of Green Buildings used in the aforementioned NBI study. Energy consumption from ~100 buildings was compared to the energy use of the general US commercial building stock. NRC also examined energy use by LEED certification level, and by energy-related credits achieved in the certification process.
On average, this report claims that LEED buildings used 18-39% less energy per floor area than their conventional counterparts. However, 28-35% of LEED buildings used more energy than their conventional counterparts. Further, the measured energy performance of LEED buildings had little correlation with certification level of the building, or the number of energy credits achieved by the building at design time. These findings should be considered as preliminary, and the analyses should be repeated when longer data histories from a larger sample of green buildings are available.
The Energy Engineering Program at the University of Massachusetts Lowell completed a study of the actual energy performance of 19 green buildings across the Bay State. The study — funded by the Massachusetts Renewable Energy Trust — identified 13 schools certified under the LEED-based Massachusetts Collaborative for High Performance Schools Criteria plus 6 additional buildings that had earned LEED certification. The study compared energy consumption as predicted during the design phase and actual occupancy post-construction; buildings included in the study provided at least one year of occupancy data. The authors also interviewed individual project teams and energy modelers and conducted occupancy surveys in evaluating the effectiveness of various types of efficiency measures.
The Regional Green Building Case Study Project: a Post-Occupancy Study of LEED Projects in Illinois report summarizes the first year of a multi-year study to analyze the post-occupancy benefits of 25 LEED certified projects in Illinois related to: energy use, greenhouse gas emissions, water use, construction and operating costs, cost of building green, health and productivity impacts, and occupant comfort. The study found that sustainability does not stop with building design and construction. While a building may be designed to be sustainable, it is often ongoing operational issues that affect the amount of energy, water, and other resources it consumes. Accordingly, ongoing performance evaluation is a key component of long-term sustainability.
For information about EPA’s Portfolio Manager and the DOE/EIA Commercial Buildings Energy Consumption Survey (CBECS), see the Energy Star Services page. If you are looking for weather data for a particular location, see the National Climatic Data Center
