Studies Confirm Better Performance of Green Certified Buildings

Posted on April 4, 2008 by Joyce Benson   Add a Comment |
Tag(s): Energy, Green Building

The intent of the U.S. Green Building Council’s LEED certification system and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Energy Star program is to improve the performance of buildings. That’s exactly what two new studies confirm.

The studies released by the New Buildings Institute and CoStar Group validate just that. Not only do LEED-certified and Energy Star-rated buildings benefit from larger energy savings, but they fetch higher rent premiums, have higher occupancy rates, and even sell for significantly more per square foot than their conventional counterparts.

Both programs also emphasize the importance of monitoring a building’s operation and maintenance to maintain high performance and yield continuous savings over time.

Energy use is typically slashed by 25-50% for third-party certified buildings. LEED-certified buildings also require additional considerations including proper site selection and orientation of the structure, water conservation, improved indoor air quality, waste reduction and recycling, and greener material selection.

HGTVPro has all the details here.

Click here for more information about LEED.

Click here to learn more about the Energy Star Program.

Comments