Page 011 - and improvements
Source section: Section 1 - Introduction to Green Buildings and Communities PDF page: 11 Guide page: 4 OCR quality: medium (200 words)
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By building green, we can reduce that environmental damage. In many cases, green buildings can even enhance the health of the environment and the people who use them. Astudy by the New Buildings Institute found that in green buildings, average energy use intensities (energy consumed per unit of floor space) are 24% lower than in typical buildings.‘ Additionally, the U.S. General Services Administration surveyed 12 green buildings in its portfolio and found these savings and improvements:
- 26% less energy usage
- 27%higher levels of occupant satisfaction
- 13% lower maintenance costs
- 33% lower emissions of carbon dioxide (CO,)5 120 100 i i i . ° 80 60 a ° a x r “i G = 40 | u : P EP 5 = c i z fal rm r : rs a t = a y = t x fa] 20 2 E = a 5 z 4 } & E (o} | w ENERGY USE INTENSITY (kBtu/sf/yr) a 5 0 Pees e ee ee Pee SECereeerree reer eee seeecerecercccec scree rere cece ees eeerereserrer rece c tere reer eee ecer eee reet reer eee reece rere eee errerr retest eer ress w 5 Figure 1.1. Energy Use Intensities for Sustainably Designed U.S. Government Buildings (Source: GSA 2008) be The dotted line indicates the national average energy use intensity. ° O Ww a 8 4 Turner, C. & Frankel, Energy Performance of LEED” for New Construction Buildings (2008), a newbuildings ora/sites/default/files/Eneray Performance of LEED-NC Buildings-Final 3-4-O8b pdf. i] 5 Public Buildings Service, “Assessing Green Building Performance: A Post Occupancy Evaluation of 12 GSA Buildings” 4 (General Services Administration, 2008), gsa.gov/araphics/pbs/GSA_ Assessing Green Full Report.pdf. 4