Green Building Performance by John Rickert, AIA, LEED AP

John Rickert, AIA, LEED AP

You might ask yourself, how you are going to measure the success of your energy efficient building.  Whether it is a new design project or a small renovation project, the performance can almost assuredly be based on the economic choices that were made during the design or selection process.  If the desire is to strictly save on utility costs, you might find your design decision to be immediate with the purchase of a new piece of equipment that is more efficient than the current unit.  If your choice resulted in the elimination of a piece of equipment that had not yet reached the end of its useful life, but needed a little tender loving care to continue operating, did the decision result in an economic waste?  Could the decision have been better served to fund some maintenance and defer the new equipment for a time when technology might event improve the performance of the piece of equipment?

Choices made based on the Life-Cycle assessments seem to lead to better results in the performance of the building and I think lead to a more environmentally friendly result.  How is the environment being impacted when a new piece of equipment is created?   All of the energy required to design, fabricate, transport and install a new component in the building may adversely affect the performance outcome.  Make decisions to be Green wisely.