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Conservation & Efficiency in Commercial Buildings

Is LEED the answer?

Commercial Buildings

Energy Used in the Commercial Sector 18.02% of consumption (2011)

New Construction Approximately $ 165 billion

75% of building stock will be replaced in the next 20 years

Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design

(LEED) United States Green Building Committee (USGBC)

Nonprofit “Ecolabel”

Point based system 5 Categories

Sustainable Sites Water Efficiency Energy and Atmosphere Material and Resources Indoor Environmental Quality

LEED basics Prerequisites

Required before credits Credits

Compliance Points Certification (100 pt.

scale) Certified: 40-49 points Silver: 50-59 points Gold: 60-79 points Platinum: 80+ points

Registration Submittals

Design phase Construction phase

Review (after construction)

13,500 certified LEED buildings as of June 2013

Report operations data

Class Simulation

2 Members of LEED 1 Financier 3 Teams Requirements for Teams

LEED Gold Budget Costs

Economics Criticism

Initial Cost 2% more (NRDC)

Fees Registration fee Per square foot fee $35,000 on average

Praise Life Cycle Cost

Lowered Overhead More employees and Expand operations

Investment in Emerging Technology

Environmental Effect

Praise 14% generated renewable energy 12% took major steps to reduce water use e.g. treat sewage

on site Increased use of low-flush toilets, low-emitting paints, and

materials from sustainably harvested wood

Criticism Easiest and cheapest points

used No proven environmental

benefit Certified prior to occupancy

Port of Portland Headquarters

Ratings Forbes rates top 10 high tech buildings LEED Platinum

http://www.portofportland.com/prj_POP_HQP2_Home.aspx

Regulatory Structure

Control and Command Detailed, legal requirements on sources of pollution Environmental standards, permit allowances, penalties

Incentives Based Compliance is optional Tax breaks, grants, expedited permitting, etc.

Free Market Purely voluntary compliance No government regulation

Hybrid Independent organizations develop standards

Regulatory Reality

Mandatory Regulation “442 localities . . . 35 state governments . . . [and] 14 federal

agencies or departments” have implemented LEED - USGBC More than 200 jurisdictions require for new public buildings Some jurisdictions require for private commercial buildings

Incentives 200 jurisdictions (in conjunction with or in place of LEED)

Tax deduction up to $1.80 per square foot Tax credit 26 U.S.C. § 48

30% of costs for investing in solar energy 10% of costs for certain geothermal equipment and heat

pumps 170 cities give tax breaks, grants, expedited permits, or

waivers

The Road Ahead Positives

Flexibility in standards and process Innovation in Design Regional Priorities Online Submittals

Growing alternatives: Energy Star, Green Globes, GGHC Government as consumer

Negatives Government regulation mandating use of LEED Predicted energy use not equaling actual energy use

Recommended Changes for LEED More actual energy use data More aggressive benchmarks

The Hybrid Approach