Getting a "C"

Tuesday

Aug182009

Tuesday, August 18, 2009 at 1:35PM

First of all, if you are a regular visitor to the Build2Sustain website, THANKS! We're sorry for some of the changes in design, we're working on a new layout and a stronger landing page, so things might be a little wonky for a bit. As always, we'd love your feedback.

Enough about us-let's talk about rating systems, or more specifically a new rating system from ASHRAE. I came across this article from DJC Oregon, its worth a read all on it's one. The article describes the current war of the rating systems between Energy Star and ASHRAE. Energy Star has a pass/fail system for being in the 75th percentile or above for energy effiency. Whereas the new ASHRAE system will grade with a letter system to exemplify the best performers with higher grades. As always we have no great devotion to any specific code but there were some specific quotes from the article that caught my eye.

Building EQ (the new ASHRAE system) focuses solely on energy, unlike Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design, which considers other factors. As such, Building EQ will appeal to building owners who wouldn’t consider LEED, said Louis Starr, a commissioning agent for Heery.

“I’ve seen schools say, ‘We want to do something about energy efficiency, but we don’t want to go through the LEED process because it costs a lot and a lot of it doesn’t relate specifically to energy efficiency,’ ” Starr said.

This is the crux of what I was trying to say with yesterday's post. LEED is an excellent rating system and presents real thought leadership. But it's not always the right fit for a given client. As design/build professionals it's our responsibility to steer our clients toward the best long term solution for them and the environment. I'm happy to see national organizations working to create more intelligent and more stringent rating systems. This last quote codifies the spirit of competition more rigorous rating can engender.

...the competitive nature of the grading scale could easily leave Energy Star in the dust.

“We all know what it feels like to get a ‘C,’ ” Kane said. “And we all know we want to do better.”

What's your take? The comment section awaits.

James Bedell |

4 Comments |

tagged

ASHRAE,

Energy Star,

LEED,

rating systems

Reader Comments (4)

There's little detail available about the ASHRAE rating system so it's hard to compare with Energy Star Portfolio Manager. Our city is interested in using Portfolio Manager as part of a green building policy, so we have tried it out on a couple of our buildings and have discussed experiences with some local users. PM has a fairly robust structure and pretty good national database of similar buildings for comparisons, and seems to be getting regular updates now. The ASHRAE rating announcements have been silent on how it will work.