Page 071 - Unsustainable energy supply and demand have serious implications for everything
Source section: Section 4 - Green Building Core Concepts and Application Strategies PDF page: 71 Guide page: 64 OCR quality: high (277 words)
OCR Text
Energy has emerged as a critical economic issue and top priority for policymakers. Unsustainable energy supply and demand have serious implications for everything from household budgets to international relations. Buildings are on the front line of this issue because of their high consumption of energy. Studies have repeatedly shown that efficient buildings and appropriate land use offer opportunities to save money while reducing greenhouse gas emissions. One such study, conducted by the New Buildings Institute, investigated 121 LEED-certified commercial office buildings in the United States and found that they used 24% less energy than the national average. Almost half of the buildings in the study achieved an ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager score of 75 or above, with an overall average score of 68.74 Set up by EPA as a part of the ENERGY STAR program, ENERGY STAR Portfolio Manager is an interactive, online management tool that supports tracking and assessment of energy and water consumption. In Portfolio Manager, a score of 50 represents average building performance. The New Buildings Institute study also collected data suggesting that a significant percentage of buildings underperformed their benchmarks. This finding reinforces the importance of commissioning systems and monitoring performance so that green buildings can maintain their efficiencies and achieve their full potential over time. The proper design and operations of buildings and neighborhoods can dramatically boost energy efficiency and benefits from cleaner, renewable energy supplies.
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= 24 C. Turner and M. Frankel, Energy Performance of LEED for New Construction Buildings (March 4, 2008)
newbuildings.org/sites/default/files/Energy Performance of LEED-NC_ Buildings-Final_3-4-O8b.pdf. 64