Page 60 - Green Building Through Integrated Design

OTHER GREEN BUILDING RATING SYSTEMS 37

monitors, and printers; building orientation and massing to utilize passive solar
heating and cooling design; high-efficiency lighting (often using high-output T-5
lamps in many applications); carbon dioxide monitors that monitor room occu-
pancy and adjust ventilation accordingly, so that energy is not wasted in ventilating
unoccupied space; occupancy sensors—which turn off lights and equipment when
rooms are unoccupied; and higher-efficiency HVAC systems, variable speed fans
and motor drives, to produce the same comfort level with less input energy; and
many similar techniques.
The New Buildings Institute conducted a study in 2007 of more than 120 LEED-
certified office buildings for which energy performance data were readily available.*
LEED Gold and Platinum projects had an average energy use about 44 percent below
the average of all commercial buildings in a 2003 national survey. Overall, for all
LEED projects, the energy savings amounted to 24 percent below the average energy
use of commercial buildings. The study concluded, “On average, LEED buildings are
delivering anticipated savings,” but the data showed a large amount of variation,
“suggesting opportunities for improved programs and procedures.”
Before the end of construction, LEED requires that all buildings to be commis-
sioned, through the use of performance testing and verification for all key energy-
using and water-using systems. Typically, commissioning involves creating a plan for
all systems to be tested, performing functional testing while the mechanical and con-
trols contractors are still on the job, and providing the owner with a written report on
the performance of all key systems and components. Green building commissioning
involves third-party peer reviews during design, to see if design intent has actually
been realized in the detailed construction documents. Finally, most commissioning
programs also involve operator training and documentation of that training for future
operators. Getting the future building maintenance staff involved is also a critical com-
ponent of effective commissioning practice. †
Think of commissioning as analogous to the “sea trials” a ship undergoes before it
is handed over to the eventual owners. No ship would be put into use without such
trials, which may expose flaws in design or construction. In the same way, no build-
ing should begin operations without a full “shakedown cruise” of all systems that use
energy and affect comfort, health, and productivity. Often, the documentation provided
by the commissioning process can be helpful later on in troubleshooting problems
with building operations. It’s really amazing to me that any building would be built
today without a full commissioning process, so it’s a good thing, absolutely essential
for a high-performance building, that LEED requires it for all projects.
High-performance buildings achieve higher levels of indoor air quality through a
careful choice of less-toxic (low-VOC or no-VOC) paints, sealants, adhesives, carpets,
and coatings for the base building and tenant improvements, often in conjunction with
building systems that provide higher levels of filtration and carbon dioxide monitors

*Cathy Turner and Mark Frankel , “Energy Performance of LEED for New Construction Buildings,” New Buildings
Institute, March 2008, www.newbuildings.org, accessed April 30, 2008.
† Personal communication, Paul Schwer, PAE Consulting Engineers, May 2008.