June 30, 2009 14:34 Research conducted by several researchers
from the National Research Council Canada—Institute for Research
in Construction, Ottawa, Canada, reveals some interesting
information about the energy performance of LEED buildings. The
researchers conducted a re-analysis of data supplied by the New
Buildings Institute and the U.S. Green Building Council. The
energy use data was from 100 LEED certified commercial and
institutional buildings. The data was compared to the energy use
of the general U.S. commercial building stock. The researchers
also examined energy use by LEED certification level, and by
energy-related credits achieved in the certification process. On
average, LEED buildings used 18 to 39 percent less energy per
floor area than their conventional counterparts. However, 28 to
35 percent of LEED buildings used more energy than their
conventional counterparts. Further, the measured energy
performance of LEED buildings had little correlation with
certification level of the building, or