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Energy and Greenhouse Gas Savings for LEED-Certified U.S. Office Buildings

Author

Listed:
  • John H. Scofield

    (Department of Physics & Astronomy, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 44074, USA)

  • Susannah Brodnitz

    (Department of Physics & Astronomy, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 44074, USA)

  • Jakob Cornell

    (Department of Physics & Astronomy, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 44074, USA)

  • Tian Liang

    (Department of Physics & Astronomy, Oberlin College, Oberlin, OH 44074, USA)

  • Thomas Scofield

    (Department of Mathematics, Calvin University, Grand Rapids, MI 49546, USA)

Abstract

In this work, we present results from the largest study of measured, whole-building energy performance for commercial LEED-certified buildings, using 2016 energy use data that were obtained for 4417 commercial office buildings (114 million m 2 ) from municipal energy benchmarking disclosures for 10 major U.S. cities. The properties included 551 buildings (31 million m 2 ) that we identified as LEED-certified. Annual energy use and greenhouse gas (GHG) emission were compared between LEED and non-LEED offices on a city-by-city basis and in aggregate. In aggregate, LEED offices demonstrated 11% site energy savings but only 7% savings in source energy and GHG emission. LEED offices saved 26% in non-electric energy but demonstrated no significant savings in electric energy. LEED savings in GHG and source energy increased to 10% when compared with newer, non-LEED offices. We also compared the measured energy savings for individual buildings with their projected savings, as determined by LEED points awarded for energy optimization. This analysis uncovered minimal correlation, i.e., an R 2 < 1% for New Construction (NC) and Core and Shell (CS), and 8% for Existing Euildings (EB). The total measured site energy savings for LEED-NC and LEED-CS was 11% lower than projected while the total measured source energy savings for LEED-EB was 81% lower than projected. Only LEED offices certified at the gold level demonstrated statistically significant savings in source energy and greenhouse gas emissions as compared with non-LEED offices.

Suggested Citation

  • John H. Scofield & Susannah Brodnitz & Jakob Cornell & Tian Liang & Thomas Scofield, 2021. "Energy and Greenhouse Gas Savings for LEED-Certified U.S. Office Buildings," Energies, MDPI, vol. 14(3), pages 1-19, February.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jeners:v:14:y:2021:i:3:p:749-:d:490670
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Mohamed Issa & Mohamed Attalla & Jeff Rankin & A. John Christian, 2011. "Energy consumption in conventional, energy-retrofitted and green LEED Toronto schools," Construction Management and Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 29(4), pages 383-395.
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    Cited by:

    1. Yana Akhtyrska & Franz Fuerst, 2021. "People or Systems: Does Productivity Enhancement Matter More than Energy Management in LEED Certified Buildings?," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(24), pages 1-35, December.
    2. Sumin Kim & Benson Teck Heng Lim & Bee Lan Oo, 2022. "Energy Consumption and Carbon Emissions of Mandatory Green Certified Offices in Australia: Evidence and Lessons Learnt across 2011–2020," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(21), pages 1-18, October.
    3. Svetlana Pushkar, 2021. "LEED 2009 Recertification of Existing Buildings: Bonus Effect," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 13(19), pages 1-14, September.

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