ENERGY
STAR Rating System & LEED EB Certification
by
Ken Sidebottom
The
adoption of Leadership in Energy & Environmental Design
for New Construction (LEED NC®) or Existing Buildings (LEED
EB®) by many local, state, and federal government entities
as well as a significant number of leading private sector
businesses has spawned a market transformation in the
construction industry. Many owners want or even mandate
“green” environmentally friendly buildings as certified
by the U.S. Green Buildings Council (USGBC) through LEED.
Green buildings have been mentioned in many sectors
– from health care to higher education – as a
comprehensive way to address environmental, social and
economic issues in facilities.
Many
of these progressive businesses, organizations and
government entities are already members of ENERGY STAR ®, a
federal government-backed program administered by the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and Department of
Energy (DOE) that helps businesses and individuals protect
the environment through superior energy efficiency.
Even if they are not members, it is likely they are
familiar with the ENERGY STAR brand.
Public awareness of ENERGY STAR has jumped to 64
percent of
U.S.
households, according to a recent nationwide survey. In many
major markets where local utilities and other organizations
use ENERGY STAR to promote energy efficiency to their
customers, public awareness of ENERGY STAR is even higher,
averaging 74 percent.
So
what are the virtues and complimentary aspects of the two
programs that building owners can use to quantify their
existing buildings’ impact on the indoor and outdoor
environment and –often more importantly – their
financial status?
ENERGY STAR Rating System
According
to ENERGY STAR, in 2004 it helped Americans save enough
energy to power 24 million homes, avoid greenhouse gas
emissions equivalent to those from 20 million cars and save
$10 billion. Consumers
are most familiar with ENERGY STAR labels on electronic
equipment, such as computers or washing machines.
But thousands of businesses and organizations have
their buildings rated through ENERGY STAR and even become
working Partners.
The
ENERGY STAR Rating System ranks a facility based on its
Energy Use Index (BTU/SF/YR) for various building types
including multiple uses of office buildings, healthcare,
hotels, schools, dormitories, supermarkets, warehouses,
garages/parking lots and more.
It is a two-step process for establishing an existing
building's relative energy efficiency and indoor
environmental quality.
Step
One: Determine Energy Rating.
The input of the facility’s historical utility and
operating data are entered into the ENERGY STAR web-based
software program to benchmark and compare the energy
performance of similar facilities. A score of 75 or greater
(on a scale of 100) must be achieved to qualify the building
for the next step in the ENERGY STAR Label process.
Step
Two: Verification.
A registered Professional Engineer provides an audit
of the utility and operating data and a physical site survey
of the facility to confirm that it meets additional industry
standard criterion for indoor environmental quality for
lighting, ventilation air, comfort, and indoor pollutants.
Buildings that earn the ENERGY STAR have been shown to use
about 40 percent less energy than average buildings, without
compromising comfort or services.
Some
benchmarking participants go on to become ENERGY STAR
Partners and voluntarily commit their organizations to
improving energy efficiency and reporting on progress to
ENERGY STAR. Because
of its excellent brand recognition, the public may have a
better understanding that these ENERGY STAR Partners are
committed to energy efficiency.
LEED EB Certification Program
LEED,
which was developed in the late 1990s, encompasses more
factors than just energy and indoor air.
Both LEED-NC and LEED EB include Sustainable Sites,
Water Efficiency, Materials & Resources, Indoor
Environmental Quality, Energy & Atmosphere and
Innovations in Upgrades, Operations &
Maintenance. These
elements have been shown to have a tremendous effect on the
economic, environmental and social impact of buildings,
often referred to as sustainability.
By
obtaining credit points in the six credit categories, the
LEED EB Rating System allows building owners to obtain
various levels of LEED EB Certification as follows:
| LEED
EB Certification Level |
Points
Required
|
| Certified |
33
– 39
|
| Silver |
40
– 47 |
| Gold |
48
– 63 |
| Platinum |
6
4 + |
The
ENERGY STAR score is a prerequisite in the Energy &
Atmosphere Category of LEED EB, with a minimum score of 60
needed to be considered for LEED EB certification.
If a facility does not fall into one of the ENERGY
STAR market segments listed above, the LEED EB program
requires compliance with either an industry-recognized
benchmarking standard for that facility type or a benchmark
can be developed via an analysis using facility historical
energy use data.
