Study on Energy Performance of LEED Buildings Released by NBI

A recent study conducted by the New Buildings Institute found that, on average, LEED Certified buildings used 25-30% less energy than the national average.

Although the results of the study were positive overall (i.e., LEED Certified buildings are saving energy), the study also highlights some areas for concern.  From our perspective as professional energy analysts, one the more troubling findings was the large discrepancies between a building's predicted energy use and its actual energy use.  In fact, over half of the energy models in the study were found to have troubling inaccuracies (i.e., deviations between expected energy use and actual energy use of greater than 25%), and a full 12% of the LEED Certified buildings studied performed worse than would be expected for a traditional, built-to-code building.

While some of the deviations found in the study may be due to differences between design and operating procedures, we suspect that energy modeling practices contributed significantly to the poor outcome.

Modern day energy modeling is complex and unforgiving in nature.  To do it well requires a thorough understanding of both engineering principles (e.g., heat transfer, moisture transport, and materials physics) and software limitations.

In all but the simplest of simulations, rather significant engineering assumptions have to be made, and proper training and experience are required to ensure that the software’s results are interpreted correctly.  Without a comprehensive understanding and review of an energy analysis, a design team risks basing its decisions on uncertain results (unfortunately, problematic results are common with today’s energy modeling software - especially when modeling complex systems such as those used in LEED-Certified buildings).

Consequently, at Building Synergies, all of our energy analysts are licensed, professional engineers.

LEED 2009 available soon for public comment

On Monday, May 19, the first public draft of LEED 2009 (i.e., LEED v3) will be available for public  comment.  The document should be available at the USGBC website.

Please be sure to provide the USGBC with your ideas and comments so that the next version of LEED is the best version yet!

This new version of LEED will take into account project location, and we're curious to see how the new standard will affect Colorado projects (we're located in Denver).

As we learn more, we'll post the information here.

Building Synergies is updating its website!

Over the next several weeks, Building Synergies will be updating its website.  The new site will better reflect our work in energy modeling and simulation, value engineering, financial parametric analysis, sustainability consulting, and LEED consulting and project management.

Additionally, we will be adding projects and research sections to our site to help keep you apprised of the work that we are doing.  Finally, we think you'll like our new resources section with its comprehensive information on sustainability, green building practices, and energy analysis' role in the built environment.

We're excited about the upcoming changes and hope that you will be too!  In the interim, if you have questions that aren't addressed by the website, please contact us.

EnergyPlus 2.2 for the Mac is Released!

Today, Building Synergies finished its work on the Macintosh version of EnergyPlus 2.2.  The new installer should be available shortly on the  EnergyPlus website.